The age-old saying "streaming is the future of television" has become almost cliché by now. Some sports fans love the idea of cutting the cord, while others grumble that it's just turning into cable all over again—now you need multiple subscriptions just to catch your favorite games. For die-hard sports enthusiasts, this frustration is mounting fast.
Major leagues have already jumped headfirst into streaming. The NBA has signed deals to air regular-season games and even portions of the playoffs on Prime. MLB now streams Sunday Night Baseball on Peacock. NASCAR has dipped its toes in, streaming practice and qualifying sessions while keeping races on traditional TV. The NHL has bounced between ESPN+ and Peacock. Even college football has joined the party, with certain conferences streaming select games. The Mountain West Conference (MWC) is no stranger to this trend, having streamed many of its football and basketball games on its own conference network for years.
Then there's the NFL, which has been quietly working its streaming magic. It started with preseason games, then moved to Thursday night matchups. More recently, the league has streamed Christmas Day games, occasional Friday night specials, and is now set to make playoff games exclusive to streaming platforms. But the real bombshell dropped recently—one that hardcore fans saw coming but still carries massive implications.
In a conversation with Andrew Marchand last month, Amazon's Jay Marine revealed that Prime Video will secure the rights to the Super Bowl within the next decade—and it will be an exclusive streaming deal for that season. Investing billions in the biggest television event in the country is bound to turn heads, especially among those who control other major sports contracts.
This brings us back to the Mountain West Conference. As mentioned, the MWC already streams football, basketball, and other Olympic sports. The days of a dedicated TV network (RIP, The Mountain) are long gone. With the NFL and other leagues paving the way, could the MWC soon become a streaming-only conference? For fans who love the convenience of watching anywhere, it might be a game-changer. For those who miss flipping channels, it's another reminder that the future of sports is—quite literally—at your fingertips.