Pro Sports Feel Piracy Pressure

While many of us turn on our TVs when we want to see our Seattle Seahawks play poorly (or at least I do), many more turn on their computers. Thanks to the easy to use PC-tuner cards, anyone with $50 and a will can upload a stream to a peer-to-peer network with ease – and it’s causing a stir amongst big wigs for just about every major sports league.

Some outlets, such as Major League Baseball aren’t very concerned with the problem. The Chief Executive of MLB.com, Robert A. Bowman says, “it’s embryonic, it’s not widespread, and we have a distinct advantage in that we have a better product,” referring to the package that they offer for streaming a season of games online for $79.95.

Other leagues haven’t been as fortunate, though. The National Football League has been having some issues with the problem, thanks to a long-standing feud between the NFL Network and cable companies. Because of said feud, millions of fans missed out on seeing the Dallas Cowboys’ last game in their current home stadium, while millions more saw it all online for free.

Image Credit: TVant.com