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Sports Rights in the Multiverse

The full impact of a post-monoculture world, where sports are viewed on multiple platforms, is beginning to emerge. To no one’s surprise, the streamers, who are younger and new to the ad game, are already starting to dominate.

NFL
We live in a brave new world. Not only are consumers forced to utilize more services to watch their favorite sports, but the streamers themselves have refocused from subscription-first models to more blended ones. Photo: Nic Antaya/Getty Images
John Ourand
June 5, 2025

Over the past half-decade, as our media transformation has played out in Hemingway-esque terms—gradually and then very rapidly—a couple of truths have become self-evident. First, as we all know, live sports have become the coin of the realm. These days, middle schoolers can practically recite the rights fee that Netflix paid for its Christmas Day football doubleheader, or what Amazon forked over for its Black Friday contest.