The Department of Justice is looking into the National Football League, concerned that its plans to expand its streaming presence may violate anticompetitive practices.
Pro sports leagues are protected from antitrust action under the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961. However, that exemption was crafted long before there was any such thing as Internet streaming, the New York Post reports.
But this month, FCC Chair Brendan Carr told the paper that the NFL could use its exemption even if it places too many games behind paywalls, even as some fans are paying $1,500 a year to subscribe to all the services needed to watch every NFL game online.
It isn’t exactly clear just how deep the probe into antitrust violations will go, and the FCC has not made any statements on the matter.
The investigation announcement comes on the heels of a letter from Utah Republican Senator Mike Lee, who chairs the Senate Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights. Lee asked whether the NFL’s streaming plans violated the Sports Broadcasting Act.
“To watch every NFL game during the past season, football fans spent almost $1,000 on cable and streaming subscriptions,” the senator wrote in his letter.
The NFL is denying claims that it is violating anticompetitiveness rules and noted recently that 87 percent of its games are still shown on free broadcast services, NBC News reported.
“The NFL has the most accessible, fan-friendly distribution model across all of sports and entertainment,” the NFL added.
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