NFL Cites Ongoing Litigation in Declining to Send Goodell to June 10 Broadcast Deals Hearing; Defends Streaming Expansion

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will not appear at a House Judiciary Committee hearing scheduled for June 10 on the league’s broadcast and streaming agreements. Ted Ullyot, the NFL’s general counsel, informed committee chairman Rep. ” The Justice Department opened an investigation this spring into whether the NFL’s broadcast contracts violate antitrust rules.

Jordan and other lawmakers have questioned whether the league’s streaming arrangements comply with the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961, which grants a limited antitrust exemption that courts have ruled applies only to over-the-air networks. Ullyot wrote that 87 percent of the league’s games will be available over the air this season and that every game in each team’s home market will air on broadcast television.

He added that the modest increase in streaming rights has been accompanied by a slight reduction in cable carriage.

“The NFL’s decision to license a few more games to widely adopted streaming services is simply a reflection that those platforms now offer more reach than the current pay TV ecosystem and that broadcast television remains the foundation of our media distribution,” Ullyot stated.

The league also delivered a separate letter to Jordan signed by 21 members of Congress. ” A spokeswoman for Jordan did not respond to a request for comment.