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Originally Posted by Hockey Fan #751
I think it's confirmation bias more than anything. Professional sports have actually never been more popular than it has in the last five years or so.
Look at the amazing TV deals, sponsorship deals, etc. Every game is televised. Arenas are more full than they've ever been. In the 80s and 90s a lot of NHL first-round series were played to half full arenas. In the 80s and 90s you got maybe 20 games per season televised? 30 if lucky?
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Comparing pro sports now to pro sports in the 80s isn't really relevant when speaking about a decline though. What's relevant is comparing sports now to where they were 3-5 years ago, and we're seeing signals of a decline in most of them. This could end up just being a blip as the industry adjusts to streaming, etc., but we'll see. Look at the what Rogers offered for the rights to the NHL in Canada and how quickly they got buyer's remorse. The NFL signed it's last TV deal in 2011 for $27B when it was at the peak of its popularity. Do you think they'll get that from the networks in five years when that deal is up? As others have mentioned, social media and streaming services might pick up the slack we'll have to wait and see.