I'm old, when I was young most sports were "free to air" on public broadcasters .. the entire ecosystem of Sky Sports etc. locking up viewing for pay to view customers only didn't yet exist.

Live sports streaming as it is today is very much a "robber baron" created marketplace getting rich from what was once more or less "commons" (somewhat of a simplification).

It's transformed from "broadcast costs are covered by barely sufficient income" to "profits in the tens of billions are expected".