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How about making access to the games fairly priced and easily accessible? Streaming services have dramatically reduced piracy by making it way easier and way c

How about making access to the games fairly priced and easily accessible? Streaming services have dramatically reduced piracy by making it way easier and way cheaper than ever before to consume content. I don't live in Europe, but if it is like US sports, you need to jump through hoops, pay through the nose, and have 14 different accounts to watch all the sports you want.

yousif_123123 1y ago
Also just more accessibility in terms of being able to pay for it. As a viewer in Canada, there was no service whatsoever that was showing the Real Madrid vs Barcelona Spanish cup final a few months ago (Copa del Rey). I had to signup on a Spanish state tv website and use a VPN to access it for free. I would have gladly paid, but there was no opportunity. Content fragmentation and some sports rights not being bought and resold by anyone is also a big problem.
- Beijinger 1y ago
  "Content fragmentation and some sports rights not being bought and resold by anyone is also a big problem." I dont watch soccer. But if you want to watch soccer with a decent exposure (national league, Champions league etc.) in some EU countries you pay easily 100 Euros. And for Europe, this is a lot!
rpdillon 1y ago
I still believe Gabe Newell was right when he said that piracy is a service problem. This case doesn't seem to be any different.
- SpecialistK 1y ago
  It's entirely true. I've canceled all of my streaming services because of the fragmentation and poor quality of the apps compared to my own Plex server. A few years ago I was happy to just pay $10 or $20 a month for nearly everything I wanted to watch.
  - freedomben 1y ago
    Same (though s/plex/jellyfin/g). I was a long time subscriber to CBS (now Paramount+) and many others, but I've slowly cancelled them all as their quality is utter shit, and now they've started rolling ads even at the high paid tier. Using an unmodded Chromecast w/ Google TV on a stock TV, I couldn't get Paramount+ to stream any of the newer Star Trek without falling back into a horrifically obnoxious constant shift in color tone that the internet informed me is a "feature" of their DRM to sabotage the quality if somebody is trying to record it. I was just trying to watch it, after paying for the damn service! Absolutely nothing in my setup was modded or sus in any way. Guess what, I still ended up watching it, but after cancelling their service and figuring out a way outside of their system. The only streaming service I have left now is Netflix, which does work remarkably well, though how long they stay "ad free" remains to be seen. The first time they show me an ad, will also be the last time they show me an ad.
    - SpecialistK 1y ago
      I probably would have moved to Jellyfin if they had an Xbox app available at the time (I see they re-launched it a month and a half ago now...) but alas, the main thing is that my media is mine to enjoy when and how I wish without needing to jump through any DRM hoops or ads or multiple services. I still have Prime as a "bonus", though I wouldn't pay if it was removed because I only use it for The Grand Tour. Netflix was the first to go, as it was where I found the removal of content most annoying. It also decided to geoblock me on a 2019 trip to Japan: I had downloaded some shows, on my Canadian wifi, to my unrooted phone with a Canadian SIM card, with Canadian taxes paid on the subscription, and it still blocked access as soon as I was in Japan. That will never be an issue with self-hosting. Disney+ is the one I'd like to cancel next - it's my partner's account and has just blocked her dad's access, but there's a lot of content I would need to self-host. I'm inspired to by a really annoying quirk of their app: if you put on a show, then fall asleep, reopen the app and the top choice will be "continue watching" which takes you straight back to playing where the app paused with the "are you still watching?" message. So to get back to the episode list, you need to fast forward through the entire episode and then choose "back to episode listing" in the 15 seconds before it goes to the next ep. Why the "continue watching" button doesn't just bring up the episode list is a mystery to me.
epanchin 1y ago
That’s what it’s like in the UK now. Legal streaming is much more complicated than satellite back in the day. As a consequence people have gone back to illegal streams where you can find all the sports on one menu.
jaoane 1y ago
Not defending them or what they are doing, but if you can’t afford to watch football you always have the option of not watching it. I don’t know why this is always framed as “make it cheap or it’s right to pirate it”
- geodel 1y ago
  Exactly right. Behind all these reasonably priced or easily accessible arguments for digital goods is the plain threat "Give it to me on my terms or else I simply take it for free"
- redundantly 1y ago
  This goes well beyond just an affordability issue. They’re price gouging, forcing customers into one-off subscription services that are deliberately hard to cancel and make it difficult to get a refund, even when one is clearly warranted. They want people to pay to watch, and that’s fair. But if they make it too difficult, too expensive, or outright exploitative, they should fully expect that people will find ways to watch without paying them directly.
- ta1243 1y ago
  In the 90s I used to download star trek episodes in the UK the night after US broadcast. They simply weren't available. It's not a cost problem - when they were eventually released in the UK I spent the modern equivalent of $20 per episode to buy on VHS. If you're unwilling to sell it, then someone else will.
  - donalhunt 1y ago
    Still happening in 2025. :/ One well-known US show started airing the current season in the UK (on a streaming service) — 7 weeks after it started airing in the US.
teeray 1y ago
> you need to jump through hoops, pay through the nose, and have 14 different accounts to watch all the sports you want. It’s not even that. Just to watch the games for one sport and one team requires this. “Remember, next week’s game is available exclusively on ShitStreamTV.” Of course, ShitStreamTV is a Brand New Streaming Network that you’ve never heard of and need yet another subscription for. Then they can’t actually handle the traffic and crash halfway through the game. Trying to get your $24.99 back? Impossible. “Terms of Service mumble mumble blah blah.”
cgh 1y ago
Yes, NHL blackouts are a great example. You want to watch your home team? Great, you have to subscribe to what they refer to as your “RSN” (regional sports network, usually a regular tv channel). But the RSN doesn’t show all the games across the league, nor will it show playoff hockey. So you need to also subscribe to a big streaming service like Sportsnet. It gets worse: your RSN may not offer a streaming service. So you need an old-fashioned cable package to get it. The cost becomes ridiculous, just to watch hockey.
- vel0city 1y ago
  I'm so glad Diamond Sports Group imploded from their excessive debt load and now Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers are available on Victory+ for free.

yousif_123123 1y ago

Also just more accessibility in terms of being able to pay for it. As a viewer in Canada, there was no service whatsoever that was showing the Real Madrid vs Barcelona Spanish cup final a few months ago (Copa del Rey). I had to signup on a Spanish state tv website and use a VPN to access it for free. I would have gladly paid, but there was no opportunity. Content fragmentation and some sports rights not being bought and resold by anyone is also a big problem.

Beijinger 1y ago
"Content fragmentation and some sports rights not being bought and resold by anyone is also a big problem." I dont watch soccer. But if you want to watch soccer with a decent exposure (national league, Champions league etc.) in some EU countries you pay easily 100 Euros. And for Europe, this is a lot!

rpdillon 1y ago

I still believe Gabe Newell was right when he said that piracy is a service problem. This case doesn't seem to be any different.

SpecialistK 1y ago
It's entirely true. I've canceled all of my streaming services because of the fragmentation and poor quality of the apps compared to my own Plex server. A few years ago I was happy to just pay $10 or $20 a month for nearly everything I wanted to watch.
- freedomben 1y ago
  Same (though s/plex/jellyfin/g). I was a long time subscriber to CBS (now Paramount+) and many others, but I've slowly cancelled them all as their quality is utter shit, and now they've started rolling ads even at the high paid tier. Using an unmodded Chromecast w/ Google TV on a stock TV, I couldn't get Paramount+ to stream any of the newer Star Trek without falling back into a horrifically obnoxious constant shift in color tone that the internet informed me is a "feature" of their DRM to sabotage the quality if somebody is trying to record it. I was just trying to watch it, after paying for the damn service! Absolutely nothing in my setup was modded or sus in any way. Guess what, I still ended up watching it, but after cancelling their service and figuring out a way outside of their system. The only streaming service I have left now is Netflix, which does work remarkably well, though how long they stay "ad free" remains to be seen. The first time they show me an ad, will also be the last time they show me an ad.
  - SpecialistK 1y ago
    I probably would have moved to Jellyfin if they had an Xbox app available at the time (I see they re-launched it a month and a half ago now...) but alas, the main thing is that my media is mine to enjoy when and how I wish without needing to jump through any DRM hoops or ads or multiple services. I still have Prime as a "bonus", though I wouldn't pay if it was removed because I only use it for The Grand Tour. Netflix was the first to go, as it was where I found the removal of content most annoying. It also decided to geoblock me on a 2019 trip to Japan: I had downloaded some shows, on my Canadian wifi, to my unrooted phone with a Canadian SIM card, with Canadian taxes paid on the subscription, and it still blocked access as soon as I was in Japan. That will never be an issue with self-hosting. Disney+ is the one I'd like to cancel next - it's my partner's account and has just blocked her dad's access, but there's a lot of content I would need to self-host. I'm inspired to by a really annoying quirk of their app: if you put on a show, then fall asleep, reopen the app and the top choice will be "continue watching" which takes you straight back to playing where the app paused with the "are you still watching?" message. So to get back to the episode list, you need to fast forward through the entire episode and then choose "back to episode listing" in the 15 seconds before it goes to the next ep. Why the "continue watching" button doesn't just bring up the episode list is a mystery to me.

epanchin 1y ago

That’s what it’s like in the UK now. Legal streaming is much more complicated than satellite back in the day. As a consequence people have gone back to illegal streams where you can find all the sports on one menu.

jaoane 1y ago

Not defending them or what they are doing, but if you can’t afford to watch football you always have the option of not watching it. I don’t know why this is always framed as “make it cheap or it’s right to pirate it”

geodel 1y ago
Exactly right. Behind all these reasonably priced or easily accessible arguments for digital goods is the plain threat "Give it to me on my terms or else I simply take it for free"
redundantly 1y ago
This goes well beyond just an affordability issue. They’re price gouging, forcing customers into one-off subscription services that are deliberately hard to cancel and make it difficult to get a refund, even when one is clearly warranted. They want people to pay to watch, and that’s fair. But if they make it too difficult, too expensive, or outright exploitative, they should fully expect that people will find ways to watch without paying them directly.
ta1243 1y ago
In the 90s I used to download star trek episodes in the UK the night after US broadcast. They simply weren't available. It's not a cost problem - when they were eventually released in the UK I spent the modern equivalent of $20 per episode to buy on VHS. If you're unwilling to sell it, then someone else will.
- donalhunt 1y ago
  Still happening in 2025. :/ One well-known US show started airing the current season in the UK (on a streaming service) — 7 weeks after it started airing in the US.

teeray 1y ago

> you need to jump through hoops, pay through the nose, and have 14 different accounts to watch all the sports you want. It’s not even that. Just to watch the games for one sport and one team requires this. “Remember, next week’s game is available exclusively on ShitStreamTV.” Of course, ShitStreamTV is a Brand New Streaming Network that you’ve never heard of and need yet another subscription for. Then they can’t actually handle the traffic and crash halfway through the game. Trying to get your $24.99 back? Impossible. “Terms of Service mumble mumble blah blah.”

cgh 1y ago

Yes, NHL blackouts are a great example. You want to watch your home team? Great, you have to subscribe to what they refer to as your “RSN” (regional sports network, usually a regular tv channel). But the RSN doesn’t show all the games across the league, nor will it show playoff hockey. So you need to also subscribe to a big streaming service like Sportsnet. It gets worse: your RSN may not offer a streaming service. So you need an old-fashioned cable package to get it. The cost becomes ridiculous, just to watch hockey.

vel0city 1y ago
I'm so glad Diamond Sports Group imploded from their excessive debt load and now Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers are available on Victory+ for free.