WASHINGTON D.C. — Tuesday morning, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation held a hearing regarding the difficulty that sports fans face when it comes to accessing live game broadcasts, particularly in their local markets.
The committee, which is chaired by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), gathered testimony from representatives of MLB, the NBA, and the NHL about how each league plans to keep games accessible for fans as the industry moves from broadcast-centric to streaming-centric models. At the center of it all is the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961, which grants leagues antitrust exemptions that include the ability to pool teams’ media rights together to sell to national broadcasters.
Much of the hearing itself consisted of predictable grandstanding (particularly about efforts to defund PBS and NPR), but there were certainly some relevant and eye-opening comments made by certain Senators.
Particularly, in Cruz’s opening statement, he suggested that “it’s important to regularly revisit and consider whether our laws, like the Sports Broadcasting Act, are fulfilling their intended goals.” He also floated extending the antitrust exemptions under the Sports Broadcasting Act to college sports, whose broadcasting rights do not currently have antitrust protection.
After the hearing concluded, Cruz spoke candidly with a gaggle of reporters about his concerns regarding sports broadcasting, and what Congress’s role might be in altering its future.
“This is a growing problem,” the Senator said. “Fans are understandably upset. It’s really hard to watch your home team, figure out what app, what network, how we watch it. It’s fractured right now. It’s expensive right now. And as the hearing laid out, major league sports enjoy significant benefits from federal legislation. And with those benefits comes an obligation for fans to be able to watch and enjoy and cheer on their teams.
“This hearing was meant to be informational, it was meant to be a fact-finding exercise,” Cruz continued. “Many of the questions we asked, we’re actively seeking the answer. As for the specific remedy, I don’t know right now. There’s multiple legislative avenues that can address this. And the answers given at this hearing now will inform our consideration of what the best approach is. My objective is to make it easier for fans to watch and cheer for the teams they love.”
When asked if he thought Congress should get involved legislatively, Cruz believed there’s potentially a role.
“I think there’s considerable interest on the part of fans and considerable interest on the part of members of the committee to examine ways we can expand access to watching sports. It shouldn’t be insanely complicated or insanely expensive to cheer on your hometown team.”
And when prompted about the NFL’s absence, despite an invitation from the committee, Cruz expressed that the issues discussed at today’s hearing apply to them just as much as the leagues who were present.
“We invited the NFL, they declined to come. I wish they had come. I think the issues that were discussed apply to them just like they apply to the leagues that were here,” Cruz said.
Asked if he met with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell while he was at the White House for yesterday’s 2027 NFL Draft announcement, Sen. Ted Cruz said he did not.
