Rowing has a small but dedicated fanbase. These fans are often caught up in the sport’s obsessive nature and find that the only thing more entertaining than rowing is watching it. Then there are the family and friends who tune in to support their loved ones, despite sometimes a hazy understanding of what is actually happening! However, fans, friends, and families alike are increasingly finding livestreams of events locked behind a paywall. Even for those willing to fork out, the quality is often poor.
Increasing numbers of events are struggling to run, with a lack of devoted volunteers and funding. So is it fair to blame race organisers for trying to increase revenue through a paywall, or is restricting access to and the visibility of rowing more damaging to the sport?
The Henley Royal Regatta approach
There is no more famed regatta in the rowing world than Henley Royal Regatta (HRR). Boasting a record 768 entries from 19 nations in 2025 and drawing in 300,000 visitors every year over 6 days, it undoubtedly brings in the highest income of any regatta.
Every Henley race is uploaded to Youtube and free to watch, which has yielded great benefits for the regatta.
- This ease of access has attracted global audiences, expanding rowing’s reach and increasing international exposure, driving up international entries yearly.
- More viewers means that the event is more attractive to sponsors as brands benefit from a global audience, encouraging them to invest more.
- Use of Youtube reinforces Henley’s reputation as the premier inclusive rowing event and helps the rowing fanbase by allowing them to revisit iconic moments, enhancing the event’s legacy.
- Sharing each race allows for more engagement within the rowing community. People can share and comment on races.
In spite of the positives, it would be foolish to say that every regatta could follow the same outline as HRR, which has some of the priciest entry fees of up to £40 per seat and enjoys the flow of cash from being a huge event with 150+ years of history.
The Intercollegiate Rowing Association’s (IRA) perspective
The IRA National Championship is the largest collegiate men’s regatta of the calendar and is the pinnacle of the season for many teams. While Henley pursues free streaming, the IRAs uses a platform called Overnght, which uses paid subscription to access streaming for the event.
This has received mixed reviews with American and international customers, with frustration around quality and cost. It is not only the IRAs using Overnght; US Rowing has also made it the mainstay of all of their events.
While the paid subscription creates a barrier to accessibility across the US, it does allow regattas to be run to a higher standard, thanks to greater funding. Thus, the paid subscription is a double-edged sword.
Moreover, putting racing behind a paywall can cause the IRA Championship to be seen as a premium product at the top end of the sport, which can often help to draw in more sponsors.
Of course, reducing access to the sport and promoting a “premium” image can perpetuate the image of rowing as elitist and highly exclusive, something governing bodies across the globe have sought to change.
The future of rowing streaming
The rowing community is divided on the issue of streaming. Most want free access to boost audiences and make rowing easier to engage with, while those at the top often argue that, without paid subscription to view rowing, the regattas will become impossible to run to competition standard and the athletes will lose out on events.
Although the paid subscription model has the allure of much-needed revenue for events, it kills the value of inclusivity in the sport, which the rowing community is desperately trying to push for. Instead, as a community, we should push regattas to fundraise for money or look for alternative methods to make the event affordable by cutting costs rather than limiting rowing to the outside world, contributing to it remaining niche rather than becoming more mainstream in global sport.
