The NFL faces increased federal scrutiny as more games shift to streaming
The NFL is facing increased scrutiny from the federal government over the league's moves to put more games on streaming services. The Justice Department is investigating the NFL for potential anticompetitive practices. A government official, who was not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation by name and spoke on condition of anonymity, said the investigation is “about affordability for consumers and creating an even playing field for providers.
” The investigation comes as the Federal Communications Commission is seeking public comment on the ongoing shift of live sports from broadcast channels to streaming services. As of Friday, over 8,000 comments have been logged. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr used an illustration of a fan watching a Green Bay Packers game when he announced the public comment period on Feb.
25. The NFL is not alone in creating packages for streamers. Its standing as the most popular league and the revenue it receives from media rights, however, put it front and center in a changing landscape.
Why is the NFL in the crosshairs? Being the most popular sports league in America can come at a cost, especially when some of the most-viewed games of the season moved from network television to streamers. The “Thursday Night Football” package moved from Fox to Amazon Prime Video in 2022, followed by a wild-card playoff game in 2023 and Christmas Day games in 2024.
The wild-card and Christmas games were on either CBS or Fox before moving to streamers. The league also began airing a game on Amazon on Black Friday in 2023. The NFL averages $400 million a year from Netflix and Amazon Prime for those four games.
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