NAB Calls For Regulatory Review As Sports Rights Shift To Streaming.

The National Association of Broadcasters says the time has come to examine the relationship between government rules and laws and the ability of fans to access their favorite teams and sporting events. The push comes as more games are moving to subscription-only services, like last week’s opening Major League Baseball game. While Yankees radio flagship WFAN-AM/FM New York (660/101.9) and Giants flagship KNBR-AM/FM San Francisco (680/104.5) carried the play-by-play, anyone looking for it on TV would have needed a Netflix subscription to watch.

“From the viewer’s standpoint, there is no question that a model that once served both sports leagues and viewers is now underserving the average fan,” the NAB says. In comments filed with the Federal Communications Commission, the trade group says that the streaming giants have been able to strike deals with the big leagues to wall-off games and disrupt the decades-old “symbiotic relationship” between sports and broadcasting.

The issue primarily impacts television stations, not radio at the moment. But the NAB sees the local ownership rules for both as potential hindrances. “The FCC’s antiquated ownership restrictions that apply only to broadcasters seriously exacerbate their struggle to compete effectively for sports rights,” it tells the FCC.

The NAB argues the radio ownership caps, as well as the rules limiting TV ownership are hurting local stations. “Artificial restrictions on broadcasters’ scale inhibit their ability to compete with subscription platforms for popular sports programming,” it says.

A Fox News survey finds 72% of sports fans think play-by-play should remain on free TV. It is no surprise to NAB, which says what was once a straightforward way to watch sports has become “a maddening” experience for consumers. It blames the migration of sports rights to streaming as introducing new barriers to access while driving up costs.

NAB says broadcasters helped transform leagues into mass-market attractions, but it warns the shift toward streaming is now straining that relationship while also weakening the broader broadcast ecosystem. Because live sports remain one of the few types of programming that consistently draw large real-time audiences, the loss of those rights threatens a key revenue stream for local stations — and, by extension, their ability to fund news and public service programming. “Keeping sports on broadcast television matters,” NAB says.

The sports leagues haven’t weighed in. But the Consumer Technology Association says the streaming platforms should be credited for giving fans more access to their favorite teams. It doesn’t see a need for the FCC to regulate. “The Commission lacks legal authority to pursue additional regulations in this area and should not interfere with today’s dynamic, highly competitive and ever-evolving sports video marketplace,” CTA adds.

The FCC’s role is not clear, but Chair Brendan Carr thinks the flood of rights deals with the streamers warrants a review of the 1961 Sports Broadcasting Act that gives the leagues an antitrust exemption. In an interview with Fox News, Carr said while he supports sports leagues getting fair market value for their product, he thinks some are at a “tipping point” where they could lose the antitrust exemption.

The FCC has received thousands of comments in its sports proceeding (MB Docket No. 26-45) so far. Carr says a “significant portion” supports keeping sports on free broadcast TV. The reply comment window is open through April 13. Congress has also been looking into the issues, including the rules that dictate sports play-by-play blackouts.