For true sports fans, every game their team plays is a brand new episode of their favorite reality TV show.
New episodes multiple times a week, new cast members every season, a steady stream of drama.
Why isn’t there an all-access paid broadcasting experience for sports teams?
For $99.99 per month, you never see any commercials (never leave the court), you get constant behind the scenes content, unfiltered mic’d versions of the broadcast, exclusive access (online or otherwise) to the athletes — the possibilities are endless.
How many superfans would pay for this?
Let’s assume that Instagram followers is a reasonable proxy for fanbase.
The Los Angeles Lakers have 25 million followers.
Would 1 out of 100 fans be willing to pay $99/month for unfiltered, immersive access?
If 250k fans signed up, that would add $25 million per month, or roughly $150 million per season in additional revenue.
A 28% increase to 2023-2024 revenues of $522 million, at relatively minimal incremental cost.
Sure, there are entrenched broadcasting rights considerations, but are those truly insurmountable?
We might also say that sports teams tend to prioritize winning championships, and distractions like this might be dilutive towards performance. That’s probably true. But only one team wins the championship every year—are there no owners intent on maximizing the value of the product?