Brendan Carr sees relationship between sports and local news as FCC’s purview

On Wednesday, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced it was launching an inquiry into the ongoing fragmentation of sports broadcasting between traditional television platforms, such as over-the-air broadcast networks and cable channels, and paid streaming services, such as Prime Video and Netflix.

While such issues might not seem within the FCC’s purview, Chairman Brendan Carr explained that the relationship between sports programming and advertising revenue for news programs on local affiliates makes them a concern of the commission.

“In recent years, it’s gotten a lot more complicated,” Carr said on Thursday’s episode of The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show. “People are having to sign up for bespoke streaming services. They can’t find the game they want to watch. They’re signing up for free trials of one platform just to get a playoff game, and then they have to remember to cancel it down the road. Many of them are paying more out of pocket. That’s a problem. It’s a real frustration.

“There’s a role for the FCC here, too, because when sports are broadcast over the air on television, that helps drive advertisers to local broadcasters, and that’s what ends up funding local news and local reporting,” continued Carr. “So we’re exploring this relationship between sports and broadcast … As more and more games start to go behind paywalls, it begins to tug at some of the underpinnings of that Sports Broadcasting Act. I think people are right to start asking whether we have the right regulatory framework in place right now.”

Carr added that if network television lost a substantial number of NFL broadcasts in the presumed right renegotiations in 2029, that could pose a real problem for the industry.

“If too many of those games start to go behind a paywall, it’s a problem on many fronts. I think it’s a problem for local news and for broadcasters. I think it’s a problem for consumers who will continue to be frustrated by an inability to find the games,” Carr said. “And again, it starts to undermine some of the reasons why we have the Sports Broadcasting Act. Now look, there are some good things that come from this as well. There are more games available now, so there is some upside. But there’s also real consumer frustration. I hope the NFL ultimately finds the right balance where we still get these free over-the-air games that help grow the sport.”

Carr shared similar sentiments in a recent interview with Semafor’s Max Tani, saying, “We need healthy affiliates, healthy local TV stations” to ensure quality local journalism continues.

As for how much pull and oversight Carr and the FCC actually have here, that’s unclear. Carr has been accused of overstepping in his criticisms of late-night TV shows and trumping up potential penalties that he ultimately didn’t have the authority to enforce.