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As subscription streaming services pull more and more games from free TV and basic cable, many fans are crying foul.
A new national Pakinomist survey of registered voters shows that majorities of both sports fans (72%) and non-fans (60%) believe major sporting events should be required to stay on free-to-air television, not behind streaming paywalls. Only 27% of fans and 38% of non-fans say leagues should be allowed to switch games to paid streaming services.
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For those who like to catch their favorite team from their favorite couch, the price is becoming a serious penalty. Nearly 6 in 10 sports fans say they’ve skipped watching a game at least a few times in the past year because it was too expensive, including about a third who say this has happened “many times.”
Almost half of fans say they have skipped watching games on TV because it was too difficult to find or access them. (Steven King/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
And even when fans are willing to pay, figuring out how to watch can feel like a blocked shot. Almost half of fans (47%) say they have skipped games because it was too difficult to find or access them. Then again, roughly the same proportion (46%) say that they have rarely or never been sidelined. When it comes to TV viewing, they have really played.
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Almost three-quarters of registered voters consider themselves sports fans (73%).
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Completed 20.-23. March 2026, led by Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Pakinomist survey includes interviews with a sample of 1,001 registered voters randomly selected from a national voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (104) and mobile phones (641) or completed the survey online after receiving a text message (256). Results based on the full sample have a margin of sampling error of ±3 percentage points. Sampling error for results among subgroups is higher. Results among sports fans have a margin of sampling error of ±3.5 points and non-sports fans ±6 points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and order may affect results. Weighting is generally applied to age, race, education, and precinct variables to ensure that the demographics are representative of the registered voter population. Sources for weight measure development include the most recent American Community Survey, Pakinomist Voter Analysis, and voter file data.
