Los Angeles – September 29, 2026 -- Sports fans chasing every game across major leagues could now pay more than $2,266 a year to subscribe to eight separate streaming platforms, according to new analysis from Lucky Rebel.
The combined monthly cost of the eight services studied climbed from $149.95 in 2021 to $188.86 in 2026, a 26% jump equal to nearly $39 more per month. The figure reflects the cost of holding all eight subscriptions simultaneously, not what a typical fan spends.
Apple TV+ posts the steepest price hike of any service
Apple TV+ recorded the largest percentage increase among the platforms analysed, with its monthly price rising from $4.99 to $12.99, a 160.3% jump. Peacock rose 120.2%, Amazon Prime Video climbed 66.7%, Netflix increased 42.9%, NBA League Pass rose 37.9%, and NFL Sunday Ticket went up 28.6%. MLB.TV was the only service to get cheaper, with its monthly equivalent cost falling 3.8%.
Cable once bundled major sports networks for about $45 a month
Around two decades ago, an expanded cable package costing roughly $45 monthly typically included ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic and Fox Sports Net alongside ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC affiliates. Today, fans may need YouTube TV, NFL Sunday Ticket, NBA League Pass, MLB.TV, Peacock, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+ and Netflix to follow the same range of leagues, since broadcasting rights are now split across multiple providers.
Nearly six in ten fans have skipped a game over cost
Consumer research cited by Lucky Rebel found that almost 60% of sports fans had skipped watching a game because access was too expensive, with about a third saying this happened repeatedly. Separately, 46% of Americans said they missed an entire game because they could not find where it was streaming, and the same share missed part of a game for the same reason. Among fans without any sports streaming subscription, 30% said illegal streams were easier than navigating multiple paid platforms.
A new calculator projects decades of future streaming spend
Lucky Rebel built a Sports Streaming Inflation Calculator that lets users select their sports, teams, subscriptions and years as a fan to estimate annual bills, compare 2021 and 2026 pricing, and project costs over 10, 20 and 30 years. The tool's methodology compares historical and current monthly-equivalent prices, using the earliest available comparable YouTube TV price and an approximately $45 monthly expanded cable package from 2006 as the historical baseline. Longer-term projections are estimates rather than guaranteed future costs.