When Luka Doncic’s Lakers play in the next NBA Cup, we’ll watch it — on Amazon. NFL Christmas? Likely, on Netflix and Amazon. That’s Streaming 2.0. In sports TV, broadcast was once singularly dominant. Then came cable’s dual revenue streams. Now, streaming is ascendant.

Prior to Amazon Prime Video’s first exclusive NFL telecast, all major sporting event streams were just available via “authenticated” broadcast and cable networks’ “TV Everywhere.” Streaming 1.0 was merely “added value” for pay TV subscriptions, providing the same feeds on more devices/places (phone and tablet) to more games (ESPN3) and more choices (alt-casts).

The pendulum is now swinging toward streaming. Per January’s Nielsen Gauge, streaming amassed 43% of U.S. viewing (11% YouTube) vs. 47% for all broadcast/cable — much of that live sports. ESPN’s “Flagship” and Fox DTC network access launch soon. DAZN spent $1 billion to stream the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup. FloSports is a growing niche distributor. Big tech players are now eyeing UFC and F1 rights.

But streaming’s growing significance is more profound. In pay TV, Charter’s just an intermediary for ESPN. Streamers, such as DTC video game companies, valuably own their customers. Sports is crucial for........

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