As been mentioned in this thread, I believe it's a combination of costs, TV availability, and people lifestyles.
Going to the game is so damn costly. Not just for the ticket itself, but all the extra costs. Dining before the game, concessions at the venue, it can easily be over $100 per individual. The sport leagues need the youth to invest into their product, but the youth are fugal enough with their money that they're not gonna want to spend that much money on a regular basis. They rather used the money saved to travel or do more unique experiences. So it's much cheaper for them to watch on TV. Although, I imagine ticket prices are pretty cheap in places like Arizona and Florida, and yet those arenas aren't selling hockey games, so people aren't considering the value is there still to go.
TV rating are dropping also, so that means the youth aren't watching the games for 'free' either. That's because they may not even have cable, or subscribe to the package available. And if they're not hardcore fans, and don't (or can't) want to spend hundreds of dollars a year to subscribe to the leagues/broadcaster streaming service, they're not going to pay for the service, and watch it - legally at least.
I think the biggest reason, that aligns with the previous two paragraphs, is that if you aren't watching it in person, or at home, then you're doing something else. I have no basis to work off of, so this could be complete BS, but this generation may be more social or transient than previous ones. When people have free time, more are spending it outside of their houses, and rather with their friends, SO's, recreational facility, social setting, or work itself. People may be busier these days, and don't make time for watching sports anymore. Again, talking out my ass, but I think millennials would rather be playing the game than watching it. Intramurals is the primary method for one to get their sports fix.
The TV landscape has changed that people don't really watch shows at the time they're broadcasted anymore (unless it's a show with a huge following like Game of Thrones), and use PVR or streaming services to watch it at a more convenient manner. For sports this is a problem since the money comes from live viewership. If the way people consume entertainment is in a manner of their own timeline now, then how can sports compete? How can it be a Game of Thrones? I'm not sure it can - outside of the biggest games for the respective leagues. People watch the Super Bowl live, as well as World Series, and NBA Finals. Why? Because just like GOT, it's drama that people have to see and react to instantly. It dominates the social media channels. It's an event. But regular season games are generic, and don't feel like an event.
So essentially, the luster of sports has waned, and people don't feel it's worth their time to fit it into their schedule to watch it live, unless it has an event/high drama element applied to it. The youth have so many options of activities available for them that watching sports doesn't have as high as a priority as it did in the past.
I don't know if it's something you can fix when it comes to TV. All the stats and cool gimmicks isn't really going to draw the causal fan into become an invested fan. Broadcasting is a bubble that has already started to burst. Leagues are gonna have to make the in-game experience more enticing to ensure sellouts in order to maximize revenue.
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