JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
If you have kids and they play sports, maybe you've been tempted to reach for that video camera in your pocket, which also makes phone calls, and maybe grab a little footage. About a year ago, a U.S. senator was warned about that.
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CHRIS MURPHY: I was just told this last weekend that if I livestream my child's hockey game, my kid's team will be penalized and lose a place in the standings. Why is that?
SUMMERS: According to Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat, this is because a private equity company had bought up a bunch of ice rinks, installed video cameras, and all of them charged subscription fees to access their footage and prohibited folks from filming their kids playing hockey. A new report from The Lever examines how restrictive streaming practices have become widespread in youth hockey and increasingly in many youth sports held at corporate-owned facilities. Luke Goldstein's article is headlined, "Wall Street Is Paywalling Your Kids' Sports," and Luke Goldstein is here in the studio with me now. Hi.
LUKE GOLDSTEIN: Hey. Thanks for having me.
SUMMERS: Thanks for being here. So Luke, I just want to start by asking you this - what Senator Chris Murphy had to say. Is his description of this phenomenon accurate? How do these recording and streaming services work?
GOLDSTEIN: Yeah. So what I kind of found from my reporting is that this is not just happening in youth hockey. This is really across the board for youth sports in general, which has become a booming industry. It generates about $40 billion...
SUMMERS: Yeah.
GOLDSTEIN: ...In revenue each year, according to an Aspen Institute study from earlier this year. And, you know, those kind of eye-popping numbers have attracted the interest of Wall Street firms and, in particular, private equity. And, you know, they've been buying up and, you know, rolling up a lot of these youth sports, you know, facilities, the leagues, tournaments. And, you know, that's leading to some pretty significant changes across the board. You know, one of the most dramatic changes is what's happened with the streaming services now. You're not allowed, at numerous, you know, rinks and other kinds of sports facilities, to record your own kids'...
SUMMERS: OK.
GOLDSTEIN: ...Games, and you're offered this package that you can pay. And sometimes that will cost more than the streaming costs for professional sports like ESPN.
SUMMERS: Luke, your article focuses largely on this one company that's called Black Bear Sports Group. And we reached out to them for comment, and a spokesperson told us, and I'm quoting here, "parents are always welcome to record videos." They said that the only restrictions were on livestreaming or broadcasting, citing safety and consent concerns. Does that square with what you heard in your reporting?
GOLDSTEIN: So before publishing the story, I had reached out to Black Bear Sports Group. And they had sent me, you know, a series of written responses, and prior to the publication of this article, did not dispute that parents were not allowed to record...
SUMMERS: OK.
GOLDSTEIN: ...And livestream and broadcast. After the publication of this article, they've put out a statement that the only policy is against live streaming the games, you know, online on social media or other platforms. If you go to thelevernews.com and read the updated version of the story, I've actually obtained a contract between Black Bear's streaming service, Black Bear TV, and one of its affiliated rinks. And you'll see in the contract terms, in plain language, that it is not just banning the livestreaming of games. It actually has language that prohibits recording devices. And it says...
SUMMERS: Which could mean...
GOLDSTEIN: ...Very clear...
SUMMERS: ...Like, your cell phone, then, I'm guessing.
GOLDSTEIN: It actually does say your phone as well. It says iPad. It has a long list of all kinds of equipment. But there is a clear stipulation in these contracts that the terms have to be enforced by rink owners.
SUMMERS: In the statement that we got from Black Bear, they also said that their player participation rate of growth - it's more than double the national average. They point out that they have saved dozens of struggling ice rinks. And they also maintain that they're not owned by a private equity firm. What do you make of those remarks based on what you've learned?
GOLDSTEIN: My understanding is Black Bear Sports Group is a subsidiary of Blackstreet Capital, which is a private equity firm. And I think you can see, also, some parallels, you know, between the practices by both entities. Blackstreet is well-known for buying up small-, medium-sized companies that, you know, are distressed and have difficulties. They, you know, try to kind of make them a little bit leaner and then, you know, sell them off eventually. It's a very expensive business now to run an ice rink. Many of them have struggled and are on the verge of bankruptcy or closing up. So I think there's a much kind of longer story to tell of how Black Bear became the self-described largest ice hockey rink owner in the country.
It's not just Black Bear. This is really a sea change that you're seeing across youth sports in general. Overall, what you're seeing here, because the costs of participating in youth sports across the board have gone up so dramatically, it is starting to cater to, frankly, just a wealthier customer base that's willing to pay top dollar for, you know, a higher-quality streaming, you know, service that's being offered.
SUMMERS: Luke Goldstein is an investigative journalist with The Lever news. Luke, thanks for your reporting.
GOLDSTEIN: Thanks. Thanks for having me. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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