people thought sports were going the only value proposition in live tv. That may be correct, but it doesn't translate to overpriced local tv rights necessarily being a good idea. Now that the streaming services are just not paying their rights fees, it's coming to a head. It started with sling dropping sports and some networks- that's why I went to YouTube tv, but they dropped the RSNs too. I'm with hulu now because of youtube's price hike, and I'm happy they are dropping RSNs rather than raise prices. I think the streaming services understand that it's much easier for consumers to jump ship than with traditional cable- a $5 a month price hike may send a streamer to a competitor since the switch over takes about 10 minutes whereas a cable customer with grumble but probably endure it because getting new cable service is a pain in the ass if its even possible.
I'd say that's a pretty solid assessment. Sinclair was late to realize what consumers were going to do and the other networks either foresaw it or dodged a bullet by sheer luck.