Make Sports Accessible Again By: Breana Blackman
While most are bummed and trying to soak up the last of the sun, football fans have much to be thrilled about. Beer sales go up. Beach time goes down. Once upon a time, you would flick the cable remote and tune into sports with no problem. But now Google will have you singing a different song.
YouTubeTV now has the rights to NFL Sunday Ticket after DirecTV maintained out-of-network games since it launched in 1994. The NFL Sunday ticket is anything but affordable. Youtube TV subscribers are offered a discount pricing the package at $299. If you aren't a subscriber, you'll be looking to pay $399 to watch out-of-network football games!
Google knows that fans don't have this money to willy-nilly handout and is now offering payment plans. But why does it feel like a shakedown to watch some of your favorite teams play? It doesn't help that payment plans are only available in 43 states. You're out of luck if you are a New York, Georgia, New Jersey, Nevada, Missouri, Minnesota, or Tennessee resident.
Many fans can't afford to fork over 400 dollars to watch football. That's not one but two car payments. YouTube's solution to combating this is offering students a discount, But how many college students will afford this? 3-4 college friends chipping money on the ticket sounds more reasonable. But what if Sam can't make his payment for the month?
Gone are the cheaper days of sports, and I hate to say it, but I'm surrendering to YouTube this season. I know there are plenty of workarounds to be able to watch "free," but I want to do things the right way and virus free! As I mentioned splitting the plan with family or friends can be highly beneficial, and that's what I intend to do.
After a few quick calculations and splitting the bill 3-4 ways, I will only have to pay about $25 monthly, which is alright. But I can't imagine how many other fans wish things were slightly different. Price hikes are inevitable, and we will continue to see them regardless, but when and where do we draw the line? If we don't have Taylor Swift Ticket prices to watch at home, I and other fans must pay the price.