Former NBC Sports Chair Dick Ebersol, who was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at last night's Sports Business Awards, was among several sports figures who appeared on CNBC's "Squawk Box" this morning to discuss live-streaming apps like Periscope and Meerkat. Ebersol: "To me, it’s robbery and I know to the young I probably sound like an old fossil but to me it’s theft." But Giants LB Mark Herzlich said, "It’s a free market and the free market is going to kind of work itself out in the way it does. But the more people who are able to access the content of the sports, in my opinion as an athlete, the better." NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman: "There’s a difference between fan engagement and commercial exploitation and while some people may think that’s a fine line, it’s one we’re going to have to be prepared to draw." WNBA Sky F Swin Cash said, "Leagues who do it right, they’ll be able to capitalize on that, but for some leagues, if that’s cutting into your television profit, then you have a problem" ("Squawk Box," CNBC, 5/21).
