NEWNow you can listen to Pak Gazette articles!
Sports fans hoping to follow their favorite team all season may face steep prices as the cost of streaming services rises, but attending those games in person could be even less profitable.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported last month, Citing data collected from the Consumer Price Index program, tickets to sporting events have increased 123% since 2000. In addition to the increase in ticket costs over the past 25 years, fans will pay for concessions and transportation and, although not required, merchandise.
Kansas City Chiefs fans do the Tomahawk Chop in the first quarter of an NFL game between the Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs on October 16, 2022 at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. (Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Rising ticket costs are also affected by the secondary market, which may include a number of additional fares. Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., thinks something needs to be done.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON PakGazette.Com
“The Senate Commerce Committee has jurisdiction over professional amateur sports and these types of transactions that you’re talking about with Ticketmaster and the like,” he said during a recent appearance on OutKick’s “Don’t @ Me with Dan Dakich” when asked about the rising cost of ticket prices.
“So I have legislation. We have to get rid of this; people don’t really know where all the fees come from.” [from] and have greater transparency.
“Kid Rock was at a hearing earlier this year where this issue was brought up because yes, consumers are being scammed. I mean, you want a marketplace where people can get access to tickets, but a lot of actors are taking advantage of people who want to see their crew and there are a lot of hidden fees being added on the secondary market and people don’t know what they are.”
Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Missouri, during the Republican National Convention (RNC) at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 16, 2024. (Al Drago/Getty)
NFL FANS’ 2025 BILLS COME IN FOCUS AS FCC INVESTIGATES SURGE OF SPORTS STREAMING SERVICES
Kid Rock, whose real name is Robert James Ritchie, spoke at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing in January to argue that gouging ticket prices are forcing fans to turn to expensive resale markets and that the legislation falls short.
“If you ask anyone today about purchasing a ticket to a popular sporting event or concert, they will tell you that it is a complete fiasco,” he said during an appearance on “America Reports.”
Kid Rock, whose real name is Robert Ritchie, arrives to testify during a Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Subcommittee hearing on January 28, 2026. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE Pak Gazette APP
Meanwhile, the FCC announced last month that it would seek public comment on live sports’ ongoing shift from broadcast channels to streaming services. The move comes as the NFL, NBA, MLB and other major sports have moved many games from cable and streaming television to streaming services.
