The Baltimore Ravens took on the Houston Texans on Christmas Day 2024. The game was streamed live on Netflix.
The Baltimore Ravens took on the Houston Texans on Christmas Day 2024. The game was streamed live on Netflix. (Still frame via TV broadcast, courtesy National Football League/Netflix)
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The DOJ has opened an antitrust investigation into the NFL’s media rights deals with broadcasters and streaming platforms.
Regulators are examining whether the league’s distribution practices have increased costs and limited access for consumers.
The probe comes as the NFL explores more exclusive streaming deals and potential changes to its rights agreements.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has opened an investigation into the National Football League’s (NFL) media rights agreements with broadcasters and streaming services, a move that amounts to an escalation of regulatory scrutiny over how the league distributes its games across different television platforms.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the DOJ’s probe is primarily focused on whether the NFL has engaged in anticompetitive practices that harm consumers, particularly as the cost and complexity of watching live games has increased. The scope of the investigation has not been publicly detailed, and both the DOJ and the NFL have declined to comment.
The inquiry comes as the NFL is reportedly interested in triggering a clause in its current media rights agreement that allows it to raise the cost of providing nationally-televised games on broadcast networks. The league has expressed an interest in signing more deals with streaming services that make games exclusive to their platforms, based on the likelihood that streamers will shell out more money for those premium events compared to broadcast networks.
The NFL has also expressed concern that rights deals signed with competing sports leagues like Major League Baseball (MLB) and the National Basketball Association (NBA) have seen more money flowing to those organizations in a way that cheapens the value of its own TV packages.
At the center of the DOJ’s probe is the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961, which grants professional sports leagues limited antitrust protection, allowing teams to collectively negotiate national media rights deals.
When the law was enacted, most NFL games were available on free, over-the-air broadcast television. That has changed in recent years: The league offers its Thursday evening games on Prime Video and Twitch through a deal with tech firm Amazon, and has one-off deals with Google-owned YouTube, Comcast’s Peacock, Disney’s ESPN Plus and Netflix to stream a few other games on an exclusive basis.
NFL executives maintain that most of its games are still available on three of the “Big Four” broadcast networks — CBS, Fox and NBC — with most games offered through ESPN also simulcast on ABC in recent years. Games that are exclusive to streaming platforms are still offered on broadcast TV for free in the markets of the two teams playing, though nearby markets that are usually within the home territory of a team are often excluded from this.
Regulatory interest has extended beyond the DOJ. In February, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) sought public comment on the consumer impact of sports distribution, including local blackout rules. The move was widely interpreted as a potential precursor to broader policy changes affecting sports rights and access.
Still, the business dynamics underpinning NFL rights deals continue to evolve. The league’s current agreements with major media partners run through the early 2030s, with opt-out provisions that could allow renegotiation as early as the 2029-2030 season. Some industry executives expect any future deals to command even higher rights fees, further increasing pressure on distributors and consumers alike.
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