Once upon a time, television went to sleep at night. At midnight, stations signed off with The Star-Spangled Banner—sometimes followed by America the Beautiful—before fading to static or a test pattern. The screen stayed that way until morning, when the anthem played again to kick off the day, usually followed by the farm report or Saturday morning cartoons.
Fast forward to today: the television never turns off. Sports, news, sitcoms, streaming apps, even the NFL’s RedZone channel roll around the clock. And with this month’s announcement that ESPN is acquiring the NFL Network, RedZone, and other NFL media assets—while the league takes a 10% stake in ESPN— it’s worth asking: how did we get here, and what’s it cost us along the way?
THE BROADCAST ERA — FREE, IF YOU COULD TUNE IT IN
In western Oklahoma and across the country, the golden age of broadcast television defined generations. Households tuned in to ABC, NBC, or CBS, with maybe a local independent station if the antenna reached far enough. Programming was limited, but shared. If you missed Bonanza or The Ed Sullivan Show, you had to wait until next week.
And it didn’t cost a dime beyond buying the set. Your “monthly bill” was nothing more than the patience to twist the rabbit ears until the picture cleared.
Back then, kids weren’t just viewers— they were part of the technology. “Remote control” meant your dad hollering from his recliner to get up and change the channel. And if the picture went fuzzy, the job fell to whichever kid drew the short straw: “Hold that antenna right there! Don’t move!” Families in western Oklahoma still swap stories of children standing on tiptoe during an OU Sooner game on Wide World of Sports, arms outstretched, trying to keep the picture clear as clouds rolled across the sky.
THE CABLE BOOM — $30 FELT OUTRAGEOUS
By the late 1970s and ’80s, cable cracked open the door to a new world. Suddenly there was 24-hour news on CNN, music videos on MTV, and wall-towall sports on ESPN. The idea that TV could run all day, every day, seemed revolutionary.
Cable didn’t just multiply the channels; it changed America’s fandom. WGN out of Chicago was a superstation carried coast to coast, and suddenly the Chicago Cubs became “America’s Team” of summer afternoons. Every game was televised, drawing fans far beyond the Midwest. And when the Cubs weren’t playing, WGN gave kids a steady diet of The Bozo Show, making a red-haired clown in Chicago part of the childhood memories of kids from Oklahoma to Oregon.
In 1982, a full “everything” cable package could be had for $30–35 a month. Many households grumbled about paying for television at all when they’d had it free for decades. Today that price barely buys you a single streaming subscription.
SATELLITE DISHES AND THE AGE OF CHOICE — PAYING FOR THE EXTRAS
By the 1990s, dishes sprouted in yards and rooftops across the plains. DirecTV and Dish Network promised hundreds of channels, beamed from space. For sports fans, it meant access to every game. NFL Sunday Ticket was a revelation—no longer were fans stuck with whatever CBS or FOX offered locally.
The price of all that choice crept higher. Basic satellite packages ran $40–50/month, with HBO or Showtime bumping it to $60–70. NFL Sunday Ticket added another $100–200 per season, and many households bit the bullet to see every down.
It was more choice, more access, but still part of the same one-screen household experience.
THE STREAMING REVOLUTION — LITTLE BILLS THAT ADD UP
Then came the internet. Netflix began as DVDs by mail but soon became the disruptor. Suddenly, “channels” mattered less than apps. Families cut the cord, scattering to phones, tablets, and laptops.
Netflix launched streaming at $7.99/month. But as Disney+, Hulu, Prime Video, Apple TV+, and more entered the market, the savings vanished. Today, most families juggle $80–120/ month across apps—often paying more than they did for cable.
ENTER THE NFL AND ESPN DEAL — THE $29.99 SPORTS BUNDLE
And now, the cycle continues. ESPN’s acquisition of NFL Network and RedZone marks another step in the re-bundling of TV. For $29.99 a month, ESPN’s new streaming service promises football fans nearly everything in one place: Monday Night Football, highlights, analysis, and now the very channels that once lived outside of ESPN’s control.
It’s a move that mirrors the past. The networks once consolidated entertainment under three umbrellas. Cable did the same with bundled packages. Now, streaming is circling back toward the bundle—only this time, it’s digital.
THE PRICE OF KEEPING UP
In the 1970s, keeping up with what everyone was talking about was free. You just tuned in the “Big Three” networks and PBS with a set of rabbit ears.
By the 1980s, you needed cable to catch MTV videos, ESPN highlights, and CNN’s breaking news. The full package cost about $30 a month. By the 1990s, keeping up with HBO’s The Sopranos or Showtime’s Dexter pushed bills into the $60–70 range, with sports fans paying extra for NFL Sunday Ticket. Fast-forward to today. To really keep up at the water cooler—the shows, the games, the cultural moments—you’d need a lineup that looks like this:
• YouTube TV (for live networks & sports): $72.99
• Netflix: $22.99
• Disney+: $13.99
• Hulu (no ads): $17.99
• Max (HBO): $16.99
• Apple TV+: $9.99
• Paramount+: $11.99
• Peacock: $11.99
• Amazon Prime Video: $14.99
• ESPN’s new NFL bundle: $29.99 Grand total: $224.91/month — nearly $2,700 a year.
That’s the new price of keeping up. Forty years ago, a family balked at paying $30 for every channel on cable. Today, one show here, one game there, and suddenly the bill looks like a car payment.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Television has gone from rabbit ears to RedZone, from standing by the set to hold the antenna steady to endless on-demand options. The NFL–ESPN merger doesn’t just represent a business deal—it’s a reminder that the way we watch is always shifting, and so is the bill.
Maybe the future is interactive sports broadcasts, where fans can toggle camera angles or live-bet on plays. Maybe it’s AI curating your nightly lineup. But one thing’s certain: just as our parents once balked at $30 cable, we’ll look back one day and laugh at what we thought was expensive in 2025.
Television hasn’t stopped evolving—it just keeps finding new ways to keep us watching.
