DOJ Antitrust Probe Examines NFL TV and Streaming Deals, Including Games on Paid Platforms, Under Sports Broadcasting Act Exemption
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The Justice Department has opened a probe into the NFL’s media-rights practices, focusing on whether collectively licensed games placed on paid streaming and subscription platforms are driving up consumer costs and improperly using the Sports Broadcasting Act exemption. The league says it has not received formal notice and stresses that over 87% of games remain on broadcast TV, while critics and lawmakers — pointing to long-term deals with partners like CBS, NBC, ABC/ESPN/ESPN+, Fox, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, NFL Network and YouTube TV and potential renegotiations tied to the Paramount sale — question whether paywalling game packages aligns with the law’s consumer-access rationale.