House Judiciary Committee Examines NFL Television Rights Pooling Under 1961 Sports Broadcasting Act
The panel questioned witnesses about whether the league exceeded its exemption by pooling television rights across all 32 teams, with fans facing subscription costs of $575 to $780 for the 2025 season.
Washington ExaminerThe House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on Wednesday to examine the NFL’s compliance with the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961. The panel’s antitrust subcommittee reviewed whether the league exceeded its antitrust exemption by pooling television rights for all 32 teams and selling the package to cable networks and streaming services.
The committee opened its antitrust investigation in August 2025 after receiving constituent complaints about high viewing costs.
An interim staff report released on Monday described the “complicated and expensive web of television agreements and rules” that fans must navigate. To illustrate the structure, Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) read a passage about a hypothetical Green Bay Packers fan living in Dallas.
For the 2026 season the Packers are scheduled to play eight games on FOX, two on Amazon Prime Video, two on Netflix, two on NBC, one on ESPN, one on CBS, and one unscheduled game.
The report stated that the fan would need Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, NBC, and ESPN to watch the seven games on those services. For the nine FOX and CBS games, the fan would likely need those broadcast channels plus Sunday Ticket because some games would not air locally in Dallas, with broadcast maps released only the week of each game.
The report noted that fans cannot purchase access to individual teams and must buy full packages from each service.
To watch all 2025 NFL games outside CBS and Fox, subscribers needed NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube, Netflix, Peacock, Amazon Prime Video, ESPN Unlimited, and NFL+, at a combined cost of $575 to $780 for the season. OutKick President Clay Travis testified before the bipartisan panel. “Every single day, sports fans are getting gouged now for the opportunity of watching their favorite teams,” he said.
