U.S. Senator Mike Lee, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights, has called for a federal review of the National Football League’s (NFL) antitrust exemptions related to streaming services. In a letter sent to the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission, Lee asked the agencies to examine whether current NFL practices align with the Sports Broadcasting Act.
Lee wrote, “I write to seek your assistance in addressing a new trend in televised sports that may harm American sports fans.”
He added praise for efforts aimed at consumer affordability: “I applaud President Trump and his Administration for addressing affordability for American consumers. To watch every NFL game during this past season, football fans spent almost $1,000 on cable and streaming subscriptions. In practice, this requires subscribing to multiple streaming services and maintaining high-speed internet in addition to a traditional cable or satellite bundle. The resulting fragmentation has produced consumer confusion and increasing costs for viewers attempting to watch their teams.”
The Sports Broadcasting Act was passed by Congress in 1961, giving professional football teams limited antitrust immunity so they could collectively license sponsored telecasts of games to national broadcast networks. Courts have interpreted “sponsored telecasting” as broadcasts financed through advertising and available free to the public.
Lee noted that today’s distribution landscape is very different from when the law was enacted: “The modern distribution environment differs substantially from the conditions that precipitated this exemption. Instead of a small number of free broadcast networks, the NFL now licenses games simultaneously to subscription streaming platforms, premium cable networks, and technology companies operating under different business models. To the extent collectively licensed game packages are placed behind subscription paywalls, these arrangements may no longer align with the statutory concept of sponsored telecasting or the consumer-access rationale underlying the antitrust exemption.”
He continued: “Accordingly, I request that your antitrust enforcement agencies examine the Sports Broadcasting Act and its applicability to current media landscape. The Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights welcomes your expertise as we evaluate whether the statute continues to serve consumers or should be revised to reflect modern market conditions.”
Senator Lee represents Utah in Washington D.C., with offices also located in Salt Lake City, St. George, Vernal, Utah [source]. He advocates for limited government principles such as fiscal responsibility and energy independence [source], while engaging in legislative efforts on public safety, health care and economic issues [source]. His office offers constituent services related to federal matters both in Utah and Washington [source].
The full text of Senator Lee’s letter is available online.
