{"id":2613111,"date":"2026-06-10T17:42:01","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T21:42:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nfl-faces-scrutiny-at-antitrust-hearing-over-rising-costs-for-watching-games\/"},"modified":"2026-06-10T17:45:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T21:45:08","slug":"nfl-faces-scrutiny-at-antitrust-hearing-over-rising-costs-for-watching-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nfl-faces-scrutiny-at-antitrust-hearing-over-rising-costs-for-watching-games\/","title":{"rendered":"NFL faces scrutiny at antitrust hearing over rising costs for watching games"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fnfl-faces-scrutiny-at-antitrust-hearing-over-rising-costs-for-watching-games%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2613111&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The House Judiciary Committee questioned the NFL on whether its bundling of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nolte-golden-globes-wont-even-stream-this-year\/\" title=\"Nolte: Golden Globes Won&#039;t Even Stream This Year\">television rights<\/a> violates a 1961 antitrust exemption under the Sports Broadcasting Act. The committee\u2019s antitrust subcommittee examined how the league pools rights for all 32 teams into packages sold across multiple cable and streaming platforms, making it difficult and expensive for fans to watch games.<\/p>\n<p>Testimony included a complaint from OutKick President clay Travis that fans are being \u201cprice gouged,\u201d and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/senators-grill-biden-state-dept-on-u-s-russia-ties\/\" title=\"Senators grill Biden State Dept. on U.S.-Russia ties\">panel highlighted<\/a> an interim staff report describing the complex mix of broadcasters and streaming services required to follow games-along with the need for subscriptions to services like Prime Video, Netflix, Peacock, Amazon Prime Video, ESPN Unlimited, and NFL+ (and perhaps sunday Ticket). The report also emphasized fans often cannot know in advance which specific games will be available via local broadcast in their area.<\/p>\n<p>The DOJ has been investigating the same issue as April. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell did not attend because of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/business-and-financial-questions-loom-over-jim-justices-west-virginia-senate-bid\/\" title=\"Uncertainty surrounds Jim Justice&#039;s WV Senate campaign due to business and financial concerns.\">ongoing litigation related<\/a> to Sunday Ticket.The committee said it will continue its examination and consider \u201call options.\u201d  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/house-judiciary-committee\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"1492\">House Judiciary Committee<\/a> scrutinized the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/nfl\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"59\">NFL<\/a> and its compliance with a 65-year-old broadcasting <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/antitrust\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"1187\">antitrust<\/a> law during a congressional hearing on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The panel\u2019s antitrust subcommittee considered whether the professional football league overstretched its antitrust exemption under the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 by pooling the television rights for all 32 teams into a package that is then sold to various cable networks and streaming services. The committee\u2019s antitrust investigation into the NFL commenced in August 2025 in response to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/voters-say-congress-cares-more-about-impressing-media-than-helping-constituents-survey\/\" title=\"Voters Say Congress Cares More About Impressing Media Than Helping Constituents: Survey\">constituents\u2019 concerns<\/a> about the high costs, according to a source familiar with the situation.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/4602649\/james-comer-seeks-todd-blanche-testimony-epstein-investigation\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>James Comer seeks Todd Blanche testimony for Epstein investigation<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/4602418\/georgia-congressmen-push-impeach-judge-eleanor-ross\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Two Georgia congressmen push for Atlanta judge to be impeached<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/4601295\/ufo-whistleblower-vance-investigate-slush-fund\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>UFO whistleblower pushes Vance to investigate alleged billions of <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >federal \u2018slush funds\u2019 tied<\/a> to classified programs<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If fans wanted to watch all of the games in the 2025 season outside the traditional broadcasters such as CBS and Fox, they would have needed to pay subscriptions to the NFL\u2019s \u201cSunday Ticket\u201d offering on YouTube, Netflix, Peacock, Amazon Prime Video, ESPN Unlimited, and NFL+. All of those services would have cost between $575 and $780 for the season, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/sports\/nfl-fans-2025-bills-come-under-focus-fcc-probes-rise-sports-streaming-services\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/sports\/nfl-fans-2025-bills-come-under-focus-fcc-probes-rise-sports-streaming-services\">according to<\/a> Fox News.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The bipartisan House panel questioned four witnesses, including <em>OutKick<\/em> President Clay Travis, who accused the NFL of price gouging its massive audience in his <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/clayandbuck\/status\/2064733634486050818\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/x.com\/clayandbuck\/status\/2064733634486050818\">opening statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cEvery single day, sports fans are getting gouged now for the opportunity of watching their favorite teams,\u201d Travis said in part. \u201cFans now pay far more money every year for something that, by law in 1961, you all guaranteed for them should be free.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In an <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/judiciary.house.gov\/sites\/evo-subsites\/republicans-judiciary.house.gov\/files\/evo-media-document\/nfl-sba-report-final.pdf\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/judiciary.house.gov\/sites\/evo-subsites\/republicans-judiciary.house.gov\/files\/evo-media-document\/nfl-sba-report-final.pdf\">interim staff report<\/a> released on Monday, the House Judiciary Committee highlighted the \u201ccomplicated and expensive web of television agreements and rules\u201d that consumers must navigate to watch broadcast NFL games.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To illustrate this point, Judiciary Committee Chairman <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/jim-jordan\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"95\">Jim Jordan<\/a> (R-OH) read a passage from the report about a hypothetical Green Bay Packers fan who lives in Dallas.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFor the 2026 season, the Packers are scheduled to play eight games on FOX, two games on Amazon Prime Video, two games on Netflix, two games on NBC, one game on ESPN, one game on CBS, and one unscheduled game that is left to be determined by the NFL,\u201d the report states. \u201cThe fan will need access to Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, NBC, and ESPN to see the seven games scheduled for those services. For the nine games scheduled for FOX and CBS, the fan will likely need FOX and CBS because some of the games will be on broadcast television in Dallas. The fan will also likely need Sunday Ticket just to watch some subset of the nine FOX and CBS games because some of the FOX and CBS games will likely not be on broadcast television in Dallas, Texas.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe fan will not know which games will and will not be on broadcast until the NFL and relevant networks release the broadcasts maps the week of the games,\u201d the report continues.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A direct consequence of this confusing structure is the soaring prices that fans must pay to watch the football games. There is no option for fans to pay to watch individual teams. Instead, they must pay the full package for a given streaming service.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Separately, the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/department-of-justice\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"438\">Justice Department<\/a> has been investigating the NFL over the same matter since April.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4523002\/doj-opens-antitrust-investigation-into-nfl-subscription-fee-concerns\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4523002\/doj-opens-antitrust-investigation-into-nfl-subscription-fee-concerns\/\">DOJ OPENS ANTITRUST INVESTIGATION INTO NFL OVER SUBSCRIPTION FEE CONCERNS<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Notably, NFL Commissioner <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/roger-goodell\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"4593\">Roger Goodell<\/a> was absent from Wednesday\u2019s hearing after he declined to testify about his organization\u2019s broadcasting deals due to ongoing litigation regarding Sunday Ticket. It remains to be seen what the House Judiciary Committee does next in the investigation following the hearing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe committee will continue its investigation and evaluate all options,\u201d a source familiar with the matter told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. \u201cEverything is on the table.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>House panel questions NFL over TV-right antitrust exemption<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2159,"featured_media":2613112,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AP26021692937785.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[5509,81164,7215,41312,36703],"class_list":["post-2613111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-antitrust","tag-antitrust-hearing","tag-nfl","tag-rising-costs","tag-sports-media"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AP26021692937785.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2613111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2159"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2613111"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2613111\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2613115,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2613111\/revisions\/2613115"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2613112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2613111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2613111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2613111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}