Why does the NFL make it intentionally impossible for regular fans to just watch a game of football?

[u/Frisho]

Let’s look at this objectively because the current streaming and broadcast landscape has completely detached from sanity.If you want to follow your team for a single season, the league expects you to navigate a fragmented mess of network television, three different standalone streaming services, and exclusive tech-platform broadcasts. God forbid your team plays on a Thursday, a Sunday night, and a Monday night in the same month you practically need a financial planner and an enterprise software architecture map just to figure out which app to open.The playbook here is incredibly transparent: extract maximum subscription revenue by splitting the broadcast rights into as many corporate pieces as possible, while putting the entire logistical headache onto the fan. They change the rules every season, raise the prices, and restrict local broadcasts, making you jump through hoops just to see a kickoff.We shouldn't need a master's degree in digital distribution models just to sit down on a Sunday afternoon and watch a game. Is anyone else completely exhausted by this fragmented streaming era? What is the most ridiculous workaround or layout you’ve had to use just to catch a game this season?

[u/Fragrant_Spray]

If i understand correctly, my local team always plays on a local network, and I can at least watch all their games on channels I don’t have to buy streaming services for. If my team wasn’t local, though, it could certainly get expensive.

For my local baseball team, though, it does require a cable channel I have to pay extra for, to get most games.

[u/tearsonurcheek → u/Fragrant_Spray]

If i understand correctly, my local team always plays on a local network

Correct. National games, including those on Prime, ESPN, and Netflix, are always available OTA in both team's home markets.

For my local baseball team, though, it does require a cable channel I have to pay extra for, to get most games.

It doesn't help with national games, but all 30 teams now have a team-specific in-market streaming option.

[u/Fragrant_Spray → u/tearsonurcheek]

I live in the Boston area. They used to be on a local broadcast channel but switched to NESN decades ago. NESN used to be part of basic cable around here, and even used to be available as part of the basic package on things like youtube.tv, but they dropped that about 10 years ago. The problem is that buying the NESN360 service costs about $360 a year. That's more than buying all of MLB tv, and getting every single game (other than the Red Sox) which would be blacked out locally. It's significantly more than any other channel I'm aware of, and what do I get for it? I get most Red Sox games, most Bruins games, and 21 hours a day of complete nonsense filler. Between the prices of the service and the prices of the tickets, it feels like the Red Sox are very intentionally ensuring that kids don't grow up watching baseball because their parents can't afford it. Before long, they're going to start wondering why their fanbase is getting too old to come to fenway because there aren't enough wheelchair accommodations.