Senator Baldwin Talks Sports Streaming Costs in Eau Claire

Senator Tammy Baldwin held a roundtable discussion with sports bar owners in Eau Claire on Friday on the cost of sports streaming services.

As streaming services continue to expand into the sports world, the cost of watching their teams play has skyrocketed for individual fans. That cost has also increased exponentially for local sports bars, who need to pay for all of those streaming services on multiple screens. Following the roundtable discussion, Senator Baldwin shared her thoughts on those sports bar owners needing to pay hundreds of dollars extra per month to ensure their customers keep coming back for games.

“This morning we heard from a group of folks who are really very closely connected to this issue because they’re owners of sports venues, sports bars,” she said. “Their customers come in to enjoy camaraderie, the unity that cheering for your favorite team brings. But it’s costing them an arm and a leg also to be able to have their screens showing the games that their customers want to see and expect to see when they come in.”

The legislation introduced by Senator Baldwin, called the “For the Fans Act,” aims to reduce those costs for sports bars and individual fans. She says the goal of the proposed legislation is to ensure that Wisconsin residents won’t need to pay for multiple costly subscriptions and television packages just to watch all of their favorite teams’ games.

“Does two simple things,” she said. “Stops the blackouts, if you subscribe to a streaming service so that you can watch your favorite team play, they can’t black the games out. And it also says, and this is so important for those of us in Wisconsin who love our Packers and our Brewers and our Bucks, in the home state fans should be able to watch the games live for free.”

Senator Baldwin also noted that for fans who want to watch every Packers, Brewers, and Bucks game, it could now cost up to $1,500 per year for the required cable, satellite, and streaming subscriptions.