Proud as a Peacock?

If there is one thing that is the new normal in the sports world and entertainment in general, its that there are a plethora of streaming options available to us consumers.  And with those options, comes the ability to pick and choose what you want to consume.  However, there are certain things that are personally deal breakers for people to which I would throw a quote from one of my favorite wrestlers, the Million Dollar Man Ted Dibiase, “Everybody, has a price.”  Essentially even though the streaming services can get costly especially combined with preexisting cable and/or satellite TV commitments, there is certain content that we need to consume.  For me, I am absolutely hooked on to Disney+ due to the Marvel Universe being centralized in one spot and additonally ESPN+ because of their contracts with Serie A, the Bundelsiga, MLS, UFC, and plenty of other live sporting events. However this past week, I had to ask myself when is it enough?

To provide some background, if you couldn’t tell I am huge fan of the beautiful game, soccer.  I mean its really futbol, but since I’m an American (shrugs shoulders).  I have been actively following the English Premier League (EPL) for years and as an Arsenal supporter, I’ve been thoroughly impressed with NBC’s coverage of the league and the team. Even if my beloved Gunners were not on NBCSN, I was able to get the match on the NBC Sports App. All of a sudden things have changed. With the recent launch of Peacock, NBC has decided to move a majority of the EPL matches to the streaming platform. The outrage in this move is that last weekend, 8 of the 10 EPL matches were exclusively on Peacock. Fortunately Arsenal was on cable, but last Sunday’s marquee matchup of Chelsea against Manchester City was only on Peacock. This is extremely unfair to the average soccer fan. If you are the EPL, I guess you’re happy that you received an exorbitant amount of money for the rights to broadcast games, but if you’re looking to truly expand the sport in the US, this is a slap in the face.

NBC isn’t the only network pulling such shenanigans. CBS pulled a similar stunt with the UEFA Champions League. How is it possible that the European equivalent of the Super Bowl, the Champions League Final was not on television live. Fortunately, I was able to find the game in Spanish because those rights are still broadcast on television. I fear this behavior will not be the exception and most likely will be the new norm. In both these cases as much as I love my soccer, I am not willing to pay the price. In fact by not showcasing premier games, I am put off by the whole thing. These networks are businesses and have every right to attempt to be profitable. However, we consumers have every right to balk at such an offensive gesture, especially when it now seems that NBC Sports purchased the EPL rights as a ploy to help with launch of Peacock and increase its subscription rate. All I know, its a damn shame!

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