I’m worried about Netflix’s NFL plans

It feels like forever ago since Netflix was a streaming powerhouse and nothing else. The company has since ventured into gaming, live TV, and even a restaurant — and it doesn’t seem like there are any plans to slow down. A recent report suggests Netflix plans to bid on securing an NFL package, and I’m already exhausted.

I don’t know about you, but Netflix becoming a live TV powerhouse isn’t what I expect from the service. I know I’m just a drop in the pond, and Netflix clearly sees room for growth in that area, but I can’t but think this is just a way of raising prices, yet again, and having a way to justify it. I’m not the biggest NFL fan in the world by any means, so adding games doesn’t excite me in the way it might other people. When you couple in the fact that Amazon has a similar thing going, it feels like the streamers have lost sight of what made their services worthwhile in the first place. Personally, this isn’t the direction I want things to go, and it’s becoming tiring to watch it all play out like this.

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A worrying trend for me

Sports are getting weird

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Speaking of the NFL specifically, part of its dominance in North America is thanks to its easy availability on free TV. The majority of its games are available on channels like Fox or CBS, so anybody can get access to just about all of it whether they have a cable plan or not. As is the case with companies always looking to make money, the days of simple access to the NFL seem to be disappearing.

Netflix already secured the rights to a Christmas Day game this past season, with a Beyoncé halftime show to boot, and it seems like the streamer liked what it saw with that. If this bidding war pays off, it means NFL fans need subscriptions to Prime Video, Netflix, Peacock on top of those local channels to keep up with everything. It’s a far cry from how things used to be, and I can very easily see people getting fed up with it.

Even though I’m not the biggest NFL fan, I can’t help but worry that other sports are going down the same path. We already have the NBA rights being split all over the place next year, so this seems like the future we’re building. Sports fans might like the higher quality a streaming service can offer, and if they’re already paying for all the services, it’s not a huge deal. However, non-sports fans have a lot to be wary of.

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This could lead to another price increase

Nothing new here

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Streaming prices have risen a lot over the years, and Netflix is fresh off one that makes it $25 a month to watch the service at its highest quality without ads. No matter how you slice it, that’s a high price to pay, and if Netflix secures a whole slate of NFL games each Sunday, it’s hard to imagine things staying the same.

Rising costs are an issue for anyone, but it’s especially a problem if you don’t even take advantage of why the prices are increasing. Although the NFL is wildly popular, the reality is that not everybody is interested in watching it. It’s not an issue when it’s on CBS as that’s a channel you get regardless with cable at no extra cost, but it’s another problem entirely if it’s baked into your Netflix subscription. A way around this is to offer a sports package of sorts through Netflix, but no streamer has stepped up to offer something like that yet. I don’t envision a world any time soon where that happens, so I have to buckle up and brace for that inevitable price hike.

I don’t know what the limit is for Netflix to finally start losing subscribers as it’s still far and wide the most popular service. Part of the reason might be the shift to the ad-supported tier. This knocks the price way down, and it seems like it’s paying off for Netflix. As of November 2024, 70 million subscribers were using Netflix this way, so it’s like Netflix is well aware the service is too expensive, so this is the way of countering that. With live TV and sports games becoming the norm on streaming services, it’s almost like subscribers are being priced out on purpose with the sheer purpose of forcing them to watch ads again, just like cable.

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It’s exhausting to keep track of everything

I feel like I have to take notes

Back in the day, it used to be simple because all you needed to do was purchase a single cable package to have access to everything. No matter what, your sports, movies, and shows would all be through one service, and it was nice. Netflix being introduced into the mix wasn’t a big deal either, as it was easy enough to track what was on Netflix and what wasn’t.

As Disney+, Hulu, Max, etc. all came out, it became harder to track what’s where. To make matters worse, shows that were thought to be exclusive to a service even moved around. For example, HBO originals like Westworld and Lovecraft Country went off to find new homes on platforms like Tubi. This type of movement makes it feel like you have to read an article each month to find out where your favorite show is now.

It’s going to be very complicated once more sports packages appear on streamers. I have a feeling it’s going to get real annoying with the NBA next season as Amazon, ESPN, NBA TV, and Peacock all fight for a piece of the pie. Then again, that’s the world we’ve built for ourselves. At a certain point, it might start to feel like cable was the better deal, but I feel like it’ll be too late to go back. I’m so used to not having to use a cable box in every room that I’ll fight for streaming over cable as long as I can, even if it’s a worse viewing experience for everybody involved.

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