The global value of sports media rights hit £44 billion in 2024. At the same time, the number of illegal sports streams in Britain has doubled in the past three years, reaching 3.6 billion, according to the Campaign for Fairer Gambling.
But playing by the book is also costing consumers. Monthly subscriptions to all the sports and streaming platforms – coupled with the cost of a TV licence – add up to over £130 each month. Polling in January found 58% of people think illegal streaming is acceptable – as did 66% of sports professionals polled in the Sport Industry Report 2026.
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This tension means people will try to find another way, Thompson adds. “There’s a contradiction between what the streaming businesses want and what users want. I think there’s a maximum or optimum number of subscriptions people are willing to buy into,” says Thompson.
“They’ve paid what they’re willing to for TV subscriptions but they’re still not able to access all of the content they might want to see.”
Rights holders are willing to fork out to crack down on piracy. The Daily Mail reported fees of over £500,000 a year paid to investigation agency FACT by some firms. A recent crackdown by police has targeted piracy in 17 areas of the UK.
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TV rights have transformed football viewing. The Premier League’s rights are worth £9.2bn around the globe, turning the division into a financial behemoth.
In 2025, streamer DAZN and the French football governing body were embroiled in a dispute after DAZN withheld money in frustration at anti-piracy efforts.
“Margins and profits have become more difficult, more sought after by these businesses as they’re reaching saturation within the marketplace, so every penny counts in the way that it perhaps didn’t a few years ago,” says Thompson.
“Their headroom for growth is more limited.
“And, as commercial businesses, what they need to be showing is growth.”
Monthly costs of streamers
Netflix no ads: £12.99/month (standard with ads £5.99/month) – up 18% in a year
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Sky Sports: cheapest NowTV bundle will cost £27.99/month
TNT Sports: £30.99/month with Discovery+
Amazon Prime: £8.99/month
Paramount+ ad free: £7.99/month
NowTV: £9.99/month for TV shows
Disney+: £9.99/month no ads
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Apple TV+: £9.99/month
Total per month at full price: £118.92
BBC licence fee (including access to iPlayer): £174.50/yr (£14.54/month)
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