House Judiciary Presses Major Leagues About Sports Video Blackouts
Watching sports is becoming too costly for many consumers.
WASHINGTON, August 13, 2025 – Fans aren’t the only ones frustrated by the cost and availability of marquee sport events on TV. House Republican leaders are now demanding answers from the major sports leagues.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Subcommittee on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust Chairman Rep. Scott Fitzgerald (R-Wis.) sent letters Monday to the heads of the NBA, NFL, NHL, and MLB, raising concerns about the rising costs and difficulty of accessing live sports under current blackout exemptions.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, and MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred have been given a deadline of Aug. 25, 2025 to respond.
“We always say everything’s on the table,” Jordan told The Athletic on Tuesday. “That includes hearings, that includes maybe legislation. We don’t know. We haven’t decided on any of that. We’re just at the first step, which is, what exactly is going on out there? How much does it really cost to the average fan?”
The Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961, signed by President John F. Kennedy, is at the center of the issue. Under this act, professional sports leagues are exempted from antitrust laws, allowing them to black out local games. Originally, the act was implemented to boost ticket sales. In the NFL’s case, Commissioner Goodell is allowed to negotiate TV deals for all 32 teams in lieu of a market-by-market approach with the individual franchises doing the bargaining.
However, lawmakers argued that these exemptions are outdated in today’s streaming-dominated landscape.
“In some major sports leagues, a fan may need to sign up for multiple streaming platforms and purchase an over-the-air antenna to watch every game at home,” Jordan and Fitzgerald said. “Even then, because every major sports league has its own blackout restrictions, there are certain games that fans cannot watch at home regardless of how much they are willing to pay or how many streaming services they purchase.”
The blackout exemptions have drawn criticism from both sides of the political spectrum. In October 2023, Rep. Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.) issued a press release demanding an investigation into sports streaming practices. Ryan's office did not reply to an email requesting comment.
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