WASHINGTON — The House Judiciary Committee has intensified scrutiny of professional sports leagues' shift toward streaming platforms, holding a hearing last month on whether the 1961 Sports Broadcasting Act's antitrust exemption remains appropriate as games increasingly move behind subscription paywalls.
The Subcommittee on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust convened the hearing June 10, examining whether the National Football League and other leagues should retain the limited antitrust protection that allows them to negotiate television deals collectively. The panel heard testimony from four witnesses, including Federal Communications Commission member Anna Gomez, National Association of Broadcasters CEO Curtis LeGeyt, Fox Sports contributor Clay Travis and a Houston restaurant owner.
The hearing followed a Committee interim staff report, released the same day, titled "The Sports Broadcasting Act: A Special-Interest Antitrust Exemption Gone Awry." The report found that some NFL fans must pay more than 600 dollars per season to watch all of their favorite team's games, and that the league's own data show the average NFL game reaches only about 39 percent of U.S. households, despite the league's claim that 87 percent of games receive "primary distribution" on broadcast television.
Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican, had asked NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in a letter to testify, citing changes in the media landscape since Congress granted the antitrust exemption in 1961. Goodell did not testify at the June 10 hearing; a congressional source said he was expected to appear alongside Travis and at least one other witness.
The NFL has said more than 87 percent of its games air on free, broadcast television, including all games in markets of competing teams. The league's 2026 schedule includes games distributed across broadcast networks, cable and multiple streaming services, including Netflix, Amazon's Prime Video and YouTube, which also holds exclusive rights to sell NFL Sunday Ticket.
LeGeyt told lawmakers the Committee should clarify that the 1961 law applies only to league-wide negotiations involving broadcast television distribution, rather than seeking to eliminate the exemption altogether. Representative Scott Fitzgerald, a Wisconsin Republican, criticized the NFL's recent media deals that route high-profile games to streaming services.
Separately, the U.S. Department of Justice opened an investigation in April into the NFL's use of the Sports Broadcasting Act, and Senator Mike Lee, a Utah Republican, has asked the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission to examine whether the league's distribution practices still fit within the law's antitrust protection.
No legislation emerged from the June 10 hearing, though lawmakers from both parties indicated further review of the law is likely. The NBA and MLB have also pursued streaming-specific media deals following the NFL's approach, according to committee testimony.
