NFL Faces Pressure at House Hearing over Rising Cost of Televised Games
The committee said the league’s streaming and paywall model leaves fans paying up to $780 a season for access to all games.
- During a Wednesday hearing, the House Judiciary Committee scrutinized the NFL regarding its media deals, questioning if the league overstretched its 65-year antitrust exemption under the Sports Broadcasting Act.
- An interim staff report released Monday by the House Judiciary Committee blasted the NFL's media strategy, describing a "complicated and expensive web of television agreements" that forces fans to navigate multiple platforms.
- Consumers faced costs between $575 and $780 last season to watch all games, while committee data shows the average game reaches only 39 percent of U.S. households, contradicting NFL claims of broad accessibility.
- While the NFL defends its model as "fan- and broadcaster-friendly," OutKick President Clay Travis accused the league of price gouging, noting taxpayers paid $850 million for stadiums while games remain locked behind paywalls.
- Lawmakers continue evaluating options for updating the Sports Broadcasting Act, while the Justice Department simultaneously investigates whether the league is abusing its antitrust protections.
11 Articles
11 Articles
NFL faces scrutiny at antitrust hearing over rising costs for watching games
The House Judiciary Committee scrutinized the NFL and its compliance with a 65-year-old broadcasting antitrust law during a congressional hearing on Wednesday. The panel’s antitrust subcommittee considered whether the professional football league overstretched its antitrust exemption under the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 by pooling the television rights for all 32 teams into a package that is then sold to various cable networks and streaming…
NFL faces pressure at House hearing over rising cost of televised games
Lawmakers in both parties on Wednesday blasted the NFL over the rising costs for watching televised games, arguing their constituents are being hurt as a result of the league’s new streaming deals. Republicans and Democrats alike during a House Judiciary Committee hearing argued the changing landscape has created an anticompetitive economic environment that is harming…
House Lawmakers Target NFL's Antitrust Exemption
House lawmakers on Wednesday seized on the migration of NFL games from free TV to subscription platforms, in a hearing lopsided in criticism that frustrated fans are shelling out more to see their favorite teams. A hearing to examine the Sports Broadcasting Act — and more specifically an antitrust exemption the NFL has enjoyed for […]
Congress brings key figures to Hill over federal exemption allowing NFL to reap billions in TV deals
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, perhaps the most central figure in deals that are resulting to football fans having to spend hundreds more a season to watch games on TV, declined to testify.
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