Watching your hometown teams has quietly turned into a major annual expense. One Cincinnati fan, a friend of sports video creator Frank Michael Smith, currently pays more than $1,600 a year to follow the city's four major franchises on TV. If he keeps his subscriptions another year, that bill could climb past $2,000.
Smith, who has built a following by telling relatable sports stories, cites this example to explain his editorial instincts. He applies what he calls the 'group chat test' — asking whether a story is something you would naturally forward to friends. The rising cost of scattered streaming and cable packages fits that bar because it is a shared pain many fans recognise.
The anecdote is not just about one budget. It reflects a structural shift in how live sports are consumed, with viewing spread across multiple paid services. For ordinary fans, staying connected to their teams now carries a hefty price tag, and stories like Jack's make that burden visible.