Regional sports networks, which show the vast majority of N.B.A., M.L.B. and N.H.L. games in the United States, take this to the extreme. Most barely bother to offer compelling daytime programming. The networks know they are indispensable because of the three hours each night they show your favorite team’s game — why run up costs during the other 21 hours of the day?

The Coronavirus Outbreak Sports and the Virus Updated Sept. 18, 2020 Here’s what’s happening as the world of sports slowly comes back to life: One of Louisiana’s most successful high school football coaches retired, concerned that his blood cancer made him vulnerable to Covid-19. At least 30 high school and club coaches have died of the coronavirus. With football returning, Big Ten cities are bracing for more outbreaks. Although the games will be played without spectators in the stadiums, some officials are concerned they will lead to more off-campus gatherings that could spread the virus. Fans can debate whether this season’s baseball records really count. But M.L.B.’s official historian insists the achievements are as real as any other.



Even at ESPN, FS1, NBCSN and other networks that try — with varying degrees of success — to persuade viewers to watch programming that isn’t live action, people generally understand the reality.

“The majority of the costs, the majority of the ratings, and the majority of the revenue is always going to be from the games,” Brian Windhorst, an ESPN analyst who appears on a number of the company’s shows, told me two years ago. “If we could put games on 24/7, there wouldn’t even be us.”

Then came the sobering kicker. “We’re just filling times between the games,” he said.

So what happens when the sports are all filler and reruns?