Despite the major changes to the television landscape since cord-cutting transformed the industry, sports broadcasting on the national level has remained relatively steady.
National viewers can still find most of the sports they love on the same channels they've been on for decades.
But it's viewers at the local level who are seeing the most upheaval.
Altitude Sports, which carries games for the NBA's Denver Nuggets, NHL's Colorado Avalanche and MLS' Colorado Rapids, was in negotiations with Comcast and DirecTV for a new carrier deal in 2019.
Whether it was simply a negotiating tactic or the god's honest truth, when Comcast CMCSA said that more than 95% of their customers watched less than the equivalent of one game per week, it was an eye-opener.
Negotiation tactic or not, Comcast bowed out of its deal with Altitude. Now the channel is available on DirecTV Stream, along with upstarts like fuboTV, Hulu (DIS), Philo, Sling TV, and Youtube (GOOGL).
Sports is still the biggest thing going in television, so even if some carriers decide to bow out, broadcasters know that there is an audience for their product.
The NBA's Los Angeles Clippers are looking to change the broadcast landscape by cutting out the middle man and offering a direct-to-consumer product that could revolutionize the space.
Steve Ballmer Has a New Vision
With the return of All-Star Kawhi Leonard, the Los Angeles Clippers believe they have what it takes to get to the NBA Finals.
For fans of the team who want to watch their journey, the team is launching ClipperVision, a DTC streaming platform that will stream more than 70 games live this season.
“I have wanted to create a product like ClipperVision since the day I came to the Clippers. Years of effort, hard work and development have led up to its launch,” said Clippers Chairman Steve Ballmer, former CEO of Microsoft (MSFT).
The service will come with a bunch of goodies for fans that will give them access to a library of Clippers content as well as exclusive content from "some of Clipper Nation's biggest personalities."
ClipperVision will cost $200 for the entire season. The team says that this means it costs less than $1 a day for access, with a temporary half-off sale that expires on October 20.
The announcement comes just two weeks after the team announced that it extended their local broadcast partnership with Sinclair Broadcasting's (SBGI) Bally Sports SoCal.
The Clippers have a multi-faceted approach to giving its fans access to the team.
In September, the team announced that it was returning to free, over-the-air television through a partnership with local television station KTLA 5.
The Sports Media Landscape Is Changing
In August Comcast announced that it was selling its majority stake in NBC Sports Washington, home of the NBA's Washington Wizards and NHL's Washington Capitals, to the teams' owner Ted Leonsis and his own Monumental Sports Network.
NBC Sports will continue to produce the broadcast through the next 18 months before ceding control to Monumental.
“Comcast NBCUniversal has built a strong regional sports network in NBC Sports Washington. We look forward to further enhancing and innovating on the already best-in-class experience that our fanbase enjoys of watching live sports, for years to come," said Zach Leonsis, president of media and new enterprises for Monumental.
What's the reason for the move?
In its most recent quarter, Comcast reported a 1.3% decline in year-over-year advertising revenue which the company said was due to fewer sports offerings.
However, excluding Peacock Media, which the company is still trying to build up, Media EBITDA rose nearly 4% thanks to decreases in sports costs.
As the media landscape changes, the new Clippers DTC product could become the new norm.
Meanwhile, on the national scale, the NBA is in midst of renegotiating its television rights deals as the current $24 billion agreement expires in 2025.
