Joe Pompliano Explains How Sports Leagues, Including the NFL, Lost an Estimated $28.3 Billion Due to Illegal Streaming

With four non-cancelable payments of $22.25 or a one-time fee of $89, you can get the NFL Sunday Ticket subscription for the season. However, that provides access to only out-of-market NFL games, and subscriptions to Peacock, Amazon, ESPN, CBS, and Fox (excluding a few) are needed for full access. The same applies to other sports as well — be it the NBA or MLB — so fans find refuge in piracy. And it is somewhat crippling the sports world, Joe Pompliano argues.

In his latest YouTube video, Pompliano dove deep into the illegal streaming of sports content, quoting it as “The single biggest threat to the sports media industry,” a statement made in the 2024 edition of Global Data’s Media Piracy and Sports report. The claim is somewhat justified, as the revenue losses sports leagues have been facing are deeply concerning.

While accurate numbers are up for debate, Pompliano noted that several researchers have estimated the cost of piracy (in the sports world) to be “as much as $28.3 billion a year.” That’s a pretty hefty sum.

For example, the National Football League generated a total revenue of $20.2 billion last year, which is significantly less than the projected loss from piracy. Even if you add the NHL’s revenue from last year ($6.8 billion) to the NFL’s, the total still doesn’t match. The NBA comes nowhere near either, having generated $11.34 billion in 2023.

This whopping loss, which is more than half of the entire sports leagues’ revenue from last year, has a big side effect — a chain reaction, even. Pompliano added that since leagues are losing money, subscription prices will rise while player salaries will either plummet or at least not grow as quickly.

Imagine how much money Dak Prescott would be making this year if the NFL’s revenue saw a significant rise. Perhaps the running backs would have gotten their share, too.

How does ‘Illegal Streaming’ work?

As Pompliano explained, an individual captures or records a sports game from a legitimate content provider and then re-broadcasts the live recording on another website.

Since microblogging platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok also offer live-streaming options, individuals have illegally streamed on those websites as well. However, those accounts and streams can be taken down.

Copyright takedown comes in clutch, which has become a lifesaver for media companies. But they’re not always quick, so it doesn’t always make a difference.

There are also ways to distribute illegal content without getting hit with copyright claims, such as making social media accounts private. Only a handful of trusted people are invited or given access to those accounts to avoid any issues. Some also share links to their sketchy websites on social media, which rarely get taken down.