It's not easy being a Miami Heat fan these days, and we are not just talking about the product that was on the court to end the 2024-25 season. The Heat have had the bulk of their games relegated to the FanDuel Sports Network, which isn't exactly fan-friendly on its own, but this year, the Heat will also have games on Peacock, ESPN, and Amazon Prime.
And according to Adam Silver, if you are concerned about trying to pay to watch all these games, he almost seems to think you shouldn't even try to bother.
Adam Silver says to watch games on YouTube
As part of his pre-season press conference, Silver was asked about the rising cost of streaming platforms and how watching games this year will be tough since they will be located on multiple platforms.
Silver's response: "There's a huge amount of our content that people can essentially consume for free. I mean this is very much a highlights-based sport. So Instagram, TikTok, Twitter you name it.
Any service, the New York Times for that matter to the extent that your content is not behind a paid firewall. There's an enormous amount of content out there. YouTube, another example that is advertising based that consumers can consume."
YouTube and Instagram, that's how Adam Silver wants you to consume the Miami Heat this season.
Got it.
For better or for worse, the Heat are going to almost exclusively be on the FanDuel Sports Network, which requires being with Xfinity or DirecTV TV (as well as a couple of other options. Otherwise, prepare to shell out $20 a month to watch the Heat.
Hooray.
But wait, there's more.
Let's pretend the Heat get off to a good start and enter their Nov. 14 game against the New York Knicks with a chance to prove whether or not they are for real in 2025-26.
Better have Prime Video for that one.
Want to see the Heat take on Minnesota or Philadelphia?
Hope you have Peacock.
For a league that has seen ratings dip and had an entire subplot about whether or not it is a growing league, to actively advocate for fans to only watch highlights is insane and does nothing to promote real discussion about the league.