Welcome to The A Block, Awful Announcing’s daily newsletter where you’ll always find the latest sports media news, commentary, and analysis.

Did someone share this newsletter with you? Sign up for free to make sure you never miss it.

🎤 QUICK START ✍️

🏀 ESPN already addressed one of our top five ways to improve NBA Finals coverage by bringing back player intros for the first time since 2013. Someone out there is listening!

⚽ Alexi Lalas has some thoughts on diversity in American soccer that don’t make a lot of sense however you try to comprehend it.

📺 WBD executive David Zaslav is getting a hefty pay cut after shareholders expressed their discontent with his massive salary in spite of the company facing stiff headwinds.

🚨LEADING OFF 🚨

The cost of being a sports fan

$4,785.

That’s the cost that sportswriter Joon Lee arrives at when it comes to being a Boston sports fan in an excellent deep dive for the New York Times on the rising prices fans have to pay to follow their favorite teams. By his calculation, it’s a 262% increase from where it would have been 20 years ago.

Fans have seen price increases everywhere - tickets, parking, merchandise, concessions, but especially television and streaming. What once was readily available in a cable or satellite bundle now takes a variety of subscriptions and streaming services to follow along. The cost is prohibitive, the complication of finding games is exhausting.

The NFL is the most readily accessible of the major sports leagues, but in their pursuit of collecting as much revenue as they can, it’s not enough to have the broadcast networks and maybe ESPN anymore. Games next year will take place on ABC, NBC, CBS, ESPN, Amazon, Netflix, Peacock, ESPN+, and NFL Network. And that’s not to mention the exorbitant cost of NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV.

But the seminal point that Lee makes is that this didn’t happen by accident. It’s just the state of play in 2025.

“This mess isn’t a glitch. It’s the system. The blackouts and paywalls aren’t bugs. They’re features. The leagues and their investors count on fan loyalty. That your devotion runs too deep to quit.”

So how did we get here? The dissolution of the bundle and the fragmentation of entertainment has in one sense been great for consumers. You have more freedom and flexibility and content than ever before. Stick with cable, cut the cord, find your favorite streamer. Think of all the new shows, movies, and archives now readily available at the click of the remote.

But it’s also led to rising costs as each individual company and platform has to get their own subscribers. And in this new environment, sports is the last beacon of light for a bygone era. It can’t be binged, or DVRed. It has to be watched live - not just for the fear of spoilers, but for the community it brings. That demand simply can’t be replicated anywhere else. Knowing this, streaming companies have used sports as carrots to draw subscribers to various platforms.

There’s a reason why Ohio State has to play a game on Peacock and Big Ten Network each year. Or why the Yankees play games on 87 different platforms. Or why Netflix, after years of ignoring live sports, decided to broadcast the NFL on Christmas Day.

Streamers draw subs and the sports leagues get massive paydays to go behind paywalls. And who does the buck stop with? Not cable news viewers, not game show aficionados, not people who love Law & Order or Big Bang Theory reruns. It’s sports fans. Sports fans are the only ones keeping the entire house of cards from completely collapsing. And unfortunately, the reality is it will be that way for the foreseeable future.

📣 SOCIAL EXPERIMENT 🌟

What does ESPN talk about the morning of Game 5 of a deadlocked NBA Finals? Dak Prescott’s legacy of course! At least they have fulfilled their contractual obligations to the Dallas Cowboys for the month of June. We hope.

All the credit in the world to this Fox IndyCar cameraman who was extremely dedicated to chasing down Devlin Defrancesco. Unfortunately it ended in a wreck that brought out the caution flag in the garage area.

Our long national nightmare is over. Joey Chestnut will return to the 4th of July Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest. God Bless America, indeed.

🔦 IN THE SPOTLIGHT ☀️

Stephen A. Smith was defensive after being caught playing solitaire during the NBA Finals. But it’s symbolic of his greater disinterest with the game of basketball in pursuit of his “9,000 jobs” that does a disservice to everyone.

🎤 MEDIA MOMENTS ✍️

• Pat McAfee reflected on his time with FanDuel when talking about the odds during the NBA Finals, feeling the relief that comes with not having to tout picks.

• Speaking of sports betting, author Jonathan D. Cohen is out with a new book that frames it as a potential public health crisis.

• Terry Bradshaw is just like us. Even he has to succumb to advanced TSA searches at the airport sometimes.

• Tony Reali is spending a week with The Dan Le Batard Show as their “positivity correspondent.”

🔥THE CLOSER🔥

Blowing with the wind

“If that is the way the winds are blowing, let no one say that I don't also blow.” - Mayor Diamond Joe Quimby

When it comes to organizations that stand for principles, dignity, ethics, and morals, FIFA ranks near the bottom of the list. Soccer’s world governing body has cozied up with regimes that have questionable human rights records and been plagued by decades of corruption.

The newly bloated FIFA Club World Cup has come to American shores this year as a prelude to next year’s men’s World Cup. And the tournament has been met with mostly apathy and derision from fans as a naked cash grab. After failing to gain any real interest from broadcasters, DAZN paid $1 billion for CWC rights… then received a $1 billion investment from Saudi Arabia… who is hosting the 2034 World Cup. The only thing missing from the arrangement is Walter White’s car wash.

FIFA has tried to offset their questionable image with anti-racism and anti-discrimination messages… except they are noticeably absent from the Club World Cup. It comes on the heels of the NFL also quietly sunsetting some of their anti-racism messaging as soon as Donald Trump made his way back to the White House with his crusade against DEI initiatives.

As pictured above, FIFA president Gianni Infantino has cozied up to Trump just as he has Vladimir Putin, Mohammed Bin Salman, and other world leaders who have FIFA in their sphere of influence. Is Infantino doing the bidding of these world leaders or is it the other way around? Maybe it’s just a good old-fashioned mutual back scratch.

Tensions are high with boycotts already being suggested ahead of next year’s World Cup. Human rights groups are also expressing opposition given the current activity of the federal government. If FIFA is willing to acquiesce on the messaging front and remain silent, it could be a signal that they are willing to do whatever necessary to please Trump and his political interests. And if that’s the case now, next year could be a very long summer.