WASHINGTON (TNND) — Lawmakers sent a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell asking him to testify to a House panel about the football league's rights deals. The NFL is facing increased scrutiny over the cost of watching games.
House Judiciary Chair Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, asked Goodell to testify at a hearing next week. The hearing plans to dive into ways sports broadcasting has changed since the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961.
The hearing comes as the cost to watch games reaches an all-time high.
In April, The National News Desk spoke one-on-one with Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., about her "For the Fans Act," which she said would make it both easier and cheaper for fans to watch their favorite teams.
Her bill, "For the Fans Act", targets what she described as the growing “complexity and cost” of watching professional sports, including blackouts and the need for multiple streaming subscriptions.
Also in Paris, the Department of Justice launched an investigation into the use of the Sports Broadcasting Act. Since the law was written before cable or streaming existed, it does not address an exemption from antitrust laws for those services.
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The idea that they can collude when negotiating a deal with a cable company or Amazon Prime is a very fair question to ask and explore," Jordan said, according to ESPN.