NFL fans’ 2025 bills come under focus as FCC probes the rise of sports streaming services

Fox News ^ | February 26, 2026 | Ryan Morik

[WhiteHatBobby0701]

It is becoming costly to watch the NFL, and the FCC is trying to ease the pain.

The FCC on Wednesday announced it would seek public comment on the ongoing shift of live sports from broadcast channels to streaming services. The move comes as the NFL, NBA, MLB and other major sports have moved many games from broadcast and cable television to streaming services.

The sports leagues have cashed in on the pivot to streaming, with the NFL landing $1 billion a year to air Thursday Night Football on Amazon as an example. The Sports Broadcasting Act exemption passed in 1961 applies only to broadcast television.

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TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: antisiphoning; fcc; media

[WhiteHatBobby0701]

There are Ofcom and other governmental authorities protecting sporting rights in other countries (UK, Australia). HBO sued the FCC in 1975 regarding a similar Ofcom list (as used in the UK), and the Supreme Court ruled the FCC was inappropriate in an "anti-siphoning list" the way the UK and Australia have.

Tennis has moved solely to pay. Boxing has moved solely to streaming (DAZN of the UK primarily). Cycling's grand evens are premium. NASCAR has team complaints about the premium races, and INDYCAR took the anger of the premium races from 2022-24 to new heights with a Fox network deal for all 17 weekends.

The Obamas control Netflix, and have given them exclusive game in MLB and the 2027 and 2031 FIFA Women's World Cup tournaments, sponsored by the Saudi government.

Question is: Is it time to review "Home Box Office, Inc. vs Federal Communications Commission" of 1977? Is antisiphoning a more serious concern now because of the effect where now you effectively have something similar to "if you want to buy these short stories for literature, you must buy an adult X-rated magazine"?

Media experts trace boxing's decline to premium pay television. Premium pay is taking over everything because there are no rules, and they can impose whatever pornographic programming they want. It's a way to get you to buy their smut.

[Steve_Seattle1]

I first saw this a few years ago when the Tour de France bicycle race moved from NBC to (mostly) Peacock. The trend has accelerated and now involves most major sports, especially football and baseball. To get a lot of NFL games you need to have Amazon Prime or some other streaming service. You turn on ESPN and see them playing c*rnhole, some form of tag, or golf with a kind of baseball bat rather than regular golf clubs.

[T.B. Yoits]

Streaming makes the taxpayers' arguments that public money shouldn't be going to professional sports, whether land, stadiums, roads, etc.

It's not in the public interest to subsidize sports unavailable over-the-air for "free".

[linedrive]

I guess my age is giving me away on this one - fantasy football ruined my pleasure of the NFL almost 30 years ago; the last 10 years has removed my interest altogether. Baseball is my favorite - only listen on radio as I will not pay to watch, whether in the stands or on TV - I tried last year and it cost my wife and I $250+ to not see great effort baseball.
The pay for watching (which has been active for a while) and all the gambling ads connected to engaging the consumer to watch has driven me away. That bookends the entitled opinions and virtue signaling that has taken place in sport the last 10 years as well.

[moviefan8]

Fox aquired 1/3 of Penske Entertainment, who owns Indycar, on July 31, 2025.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucemartin/2025/07/31/fox-sports-acquires-one-third-interest-in-penske-entertainment-including-indycar/

[WhiteHatBobby0701]

The point of elitism is to cut audience of events to a minute few. Sponsors aren’t happy. Fox NASCAR’s Mike Joy made a serious point on a segment of Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour podcast. Based on his analysis of sponsorship issues in motor racing as a whole (he worked at General Motors in the early 1980’s in Pontiac’s publicity department), team sponsors and advertisers are being shortchanged by the push to premium pay where instead of interacting with players and fans together at events (i. e. players being on a local broadcaster’s afternoon newscast for evening games or on the evening newscast after a 1 PM game), they have to resort to business-to-business (B2B) deals because they can no longer interact with players and fans. That is related to premium pay and the lack of advertising opportunities with premium pay television.

https://youtu.be/NrhUvmZgLyw?si=KHGYhPPfd4xnmwFN&t=1668

My take is that we need to review HBO v. FCC from 1977.

https://www.foxnews.com/media/fcc-boss-wants-make-life-less-frustrating-sports-fans-says-streaming-shift-real-pain-consumers

Suppose you’re a local merchant. Would you sponsor a team if their games were on premium services your fan base would not subscribe?

Amazon’s games effectively fund The Washington BLEEP.

It is the push to these premium services that has encouraged and embraced the idea that pornography should be allowed on television, and likewise obscenities.

[matt04]

Excellent point. Personally, I’m not opposed to some taxpayer subsidies when it comes to building stadiums. However, it can’t just solely benefit the owners on event days. As you said, on the same page, if the taxpayers are gonna be partially on the hook for stadium, then, being able to watch whatever sport is regularly played in that stadium over the air or on basic cable should be a given.

[DIRTYSECRET]

Too many here have given up on the NFL but the country will not. Getting bigger. Wait for the next tv deal which will come early. Fact is this is Rome. 18 games is too much but do you think the owners care? All those torn ACL’s. There will always be next man up.

[FlingWingFlyer]

I quit watching the MFL back in the mid-80s. I’m not going to start watching it again so I can pay for what used to be free my entire life.

[KarlInOhio]

The Washington BLEEP.

Did you get that from when G. Gordon Liddy had his radio show?

[DIRTYSECRET]

People-the article is pointing out how complicated and expensive it’s getting to watch football. The good news(for now) is that they have to broadcast your favorite local home team for free so don’t vacation on Thursday nights. Christmas on Netflicks-they’re doing us a favor. Holidays are for the family.

As long as the stadiums and the property they’re located on requires a SMIGEN of taxpayer assistance you can count on your local team being broadcast for free. The thing is the democrats will fight harder for it than republicans. It’s no wonder people tend to despise us for standing up for corporations.

[Fledermaus]

The NFL Network re-airs the streamed game that night around 11 pm central and again at 2 pm the next day.

They can argue that point.

[shelterguy]

“””” if the taxpayers are gonna be partially on the hook for stadium, then, being able to watch whatever sport is regularly played in that stadium over the air or on basic cable should be a given.”””

I live in Hennepin County ( Minneapolistan) The Minnesota Twins wanted a new stadium so they put it out for a statewide vote several times. It always failed. The taxpayers didn’t want to pay for it.

So the Hennepin county commissioners decided to approve one without voter input. They added taxes only to Hennepin County residents to pay for it.

Now I can’t even watch them play because it is on a pay channel.

[DIRTYSECRET]

Here’s an idea-libertarian. Destroy all stadiums or end their leases. Make them build their own on their own private property. TV is where the money is at so all they need is plenty of cameras. No renting out of university stadiums as they’re taxpayer funded too. Get rid of the anti-trust exemption so that all those on practice squads can start their own league where the prices and salaries are lower.

Spring training(baseball) has all the teams in Florida and Az. Imagine a league where college conferences go against each other on Saturdays knocking out the NCAA. All the games could be played on various fields across the country or they could be confined to Fla/Az. The NFL’s doing it in select countries. Something tells me all this money going around suggests we’re being played as always. College QB’s getting millions to play for PUBLIC universities? Come on!

[xp38]

I’m very glad I no longer care about any spectator sports enough to pay for it on tv in whatever form. The Olympics died for me in 2012 and 2014. Last SB I watched was pre covid. I won’t rule out watching completely if it’s say some social gathering but those instances now are very rare. Back some 30 years ago I watched it all and I have lots of memories but that’s it.

[ro_dreaming]

Any team that gets public money (or tax abatements, or refunds), should be banned from showing any game ONLY on streaming, it should be on the same public airwaves that gave them all that money.

[brooklin]

Let them shift to all the pay channels. They will lose viewership.

[WhiteHatBobby0701]

Sponsors are fed up with premium pay. Ask INDYCAR teams.

[kvanbrunt2]

I don’t have or want cable TV so i subscribe to the Phillies last year via MLB.tv this year it is Phillies.TV. At $25 a month it is a lot less than comcast or verizon monthly TV. With LG tv i have about 40 movie channels and lots of other content for free. Antennae pulls in about 75 channels. Watching todays preseason game now.

[PAR35]

Easy solution. Folks could stop gambling, turn off the games, and go to Church on Sunday.

If I want to watch professional football players, there are plenty of games available on Saturdays from the Big 10 (because they wear shoes, that’s as high as the league schools can count) and the SEC (where they don’t wear shoes but don’t try to count). And there are always a few games from the teams on the Atlantic coast of California and the Texas prairies.