NFL Discusses Streaming Strategy with FCC Amid Regulatory Scrutiny

The NFL met with FCC officials in Washington, DC, on Friday to discuss the league's shift to streaming, according to an FCC filing. The league requested the meeting, where its top media executive, Hans Schroeder, attended and argued that allowing the NFL’s 32 teams to negotiate their own media rights deals would worsen confusion and costs for viewers.

FCC Chair Brendan Carr greeted the NFL executives at the start of the meeting before turning it over to his top advisers.

During the meeting, the NFL defended its shift to streaming, with Schroeder presenting that pro football remains the most fan-friendly sport for viewers despite the changes. His presentation noted that 87% of NFL games are primarily distributed on broadcast TV through CBS, NBC, Fox, and ABC.

Streaming-exclusive NFL games are available in the local markets of the two teams playing, according to the league.

Schroeder told the Wall Street Journal, 'Facts are stubborn things. 99 a month for Amazon Prime to watch Thursday Night Football. 99 for a basic Netflix plan to watch the double-header games on Christmas Day.

In February, the Federal Communications Commission asked the public for comment on how the shift from traditional broadcasts to streamers has impacted sports fans. The FCC claimed viewers pay as much as $1,500 a year to watch every pro football game across several streamers.

The NFL has media rights agreements with streamers owned by Disney, Paramount, Fox Corporation, NBCUniversal, NFL Network, Amazon, Google, and Netflix.

These media rights agreements are expected to generate more than $100 billion under their current contracts, according to the Federal Communications Commission. The Department of Justice launched a separate antitrust investigation into the NFL, a government official stated.

Federal officials are questioning the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961, which has allowed NFL teams to pool their media rights into massive TV packages.

The antitrust exemption under the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 may be revoked for bringing harm to consumers. Nearly all of the NFL’s 32 teams are run by billionaires. Rob Walton, a Walmart heir, owns the Denver Broncos, and the Hunt family owns the Kansas City Chiefs.

U.S. officials from the department met with operators of broadcast-television stations earlier this week to discuss aspects of the probe. The investigation focuses on potential antitrust issues within the sports-media sector, including how sports content is distributed and broadcast.

Such probes typically examine competition practices, market dominance, and consumer impacts in media and entertainment industries. Details of the meetings and specific topics discussed were not disclosed in the report. The investigation remains ongoing, with potential implications for how sports media rights are handled in the United States.

The NFL has argued that streamers are largely replacing broadcasters as consumers’ preferred way to watch content, and that teams need to meet viewers where they are.