Brendan Carr questions Sports Broadcasting Act antitrust exemption for streaming

The Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 has been getting a lot of attention lately in the sports business world. This legislation allows professional sports leagues to bundle their media rights and sell them to broadcasters without violating antitrust laws. It’s why you see the NFL making deals with CBS, NBC, Fox, and others for broadcast rights.

But there are some concerns about how leagues are handling these rights as the landscape of sports broadcasting changes. FCC chairman Brendan Carr has opened an inquiry into how live sports rights are being divided between broadcast, cable, and streaming services. Some people are wondering if the Sports Broadcasting Act still applies when leagues are selling rights to streaming platforms.

Senator Mike Lee has even called on the DOJ and FTC to take a closer look at the legislation. He questions whether the Act still makes sense in today’s world of streaming services and paywalls. And Brendan Carr himself recently weighed in on this issue, suggesting that the Act might only apply to games shown on broadcast TV, not on streaming platforms.

While the FCC’s ability to make changes is limited, it’s clear that federal officials are paying attention to the fragmentation in live sports broadcasting. If this trend continues, it could have serious implications for how sports leagues handle their media rights in the future. It’s definitely a topic worth keeping an eye on in the coming months.