A national survey by Fox News of 1,001 registered voters found that 72% of sports fans and 60% of non-fans believe major sporting events should remain available on free broadcast television rather than behind paywalls on streaming services.[1]

Just 27% of sports fans and 38% of non-fans said sports leagues should be permitted to move games to paid streaming platforms.[1]

Nearly six in 10 sports fans reported skipping at least some games in the past year due to expense, with about one-third saying this occurred many times. In addition, 47% of fans skipped games because they were difficult to locate or access, while 46% said they rarely or never encountered such barriers.[1]

Seventy-three percent of registered voters identified as sports fans.[1]

The poll was conducted March 20-23, 2026, under the direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), using interviews on landlines (104), cellphones (641), and online self-completion after text invitation (256). The margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points for the full sample, ±3.5 points among sports fans, and ±6 points among non-fans.[1]

This sentiment reflects ongoing shifts in sports broadcasting rights. Amazon Prime Video has held exclusive U.S. rights to NFL Thursday Night Football since the 2023 season.[2] Peacock aired an exclusive NFL Wild Card playoff game on January 13, 2024.[3] Netflix secured rights to stream NFL Christmas Day games exclusively in 2024, 2025, and 2026.[4]

Sources

1. Fox News, "Fox News Poll: Sports fans, voters oppose paywalls for major events", March 24, 2026, https://www.foxnews.com/media/fox-news-poll-sports-streaming
2. NFL.com, "Amazon Prime Video announces 11-Year Partnership with NFL to Stream 'Thursday Night Football'", June 23, 2022, https://www.nfl.com/press-release/2022/06/23/amazon-prime-video-announces-11-year-partnership-with-nfl-to-stream-thursday-night-football
3. NBCUniversal, "Peacock To Be First Streaming Service To Exclusively Stream Live NFL Playoff Game", December 18, 2023, https://www.nbcuniversal.com/pressrelease/peacock-be-first-streaming-service-exclusively-stream-live-nfl-playoff-game-january-13
4. NFL.com, "Netflix to exclusively stream NFL's Christmas Day games in 2024, 2025 and 2026", May 16, 2024, https://www.nfl.com/news/netflix-to-exclusively-stream-nfl-s-christmas-day-games-in-2024-2025-and-2026