Senate Commerce Committee Delivers Reality Check to Sports Leagues on Sports Streaming
Today the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a hearing on the current status of the sports streaming market. The witnesses were representatives from the NBA, MLB, and the NHL, and John Bergmayer who is the Legal Director for Sports Fans Coalition ally Public Knowledge.
Senator Cruz kicked off the hearing with how American sports are a national unifier that has brought primetime entertainment for generations, but now streaming apps/services are ruining the market. Cruz discussed how teams/leagues are given premium benefits by the government that other entertainment organizations do not receive such as publicly financed stadiums, non profit status, and antitrust exemptions. Cruz particularly pointed to the 1961 Sports Broadcasting Act as to whether it is effective in overseeing the current telemarketing and broadcasting ecosystem, and fulfilling its intended purpose of meeting fans demands.
“The Sports Broadcasting Act (SBA) grants professional leagues antitrust immunity as it relates to national broadcast deals on behalf of their team. This structure allows leagues to negotiate from centralized offices in a synchronized manner without violating antitrust laws.”
When Cruz asked the three witnesses representing the professional leagues how the SBA actually benefits fans, their responses mostly showed benefits for leagues – not fans. The three witnesses all said more people can watch their designated leagues games now due to streaming services being accessible, but failed to mention how expensive the costs of having those services are or how streaming services depend on broadband accessibility.
The hearing brought to attention the multitude of moneygrabbing practices the leagues perpetuate in order to make a massive profit off of streaming rights like having many streaming services broadcast the games. Fans are sick of this tactic because of how confusing and expensive it has gotten for sports which used to be free to all sports fans through over-the-air broadcast. People want to watch their favorite teams without having to buy half a dozen subscriptions.
The point of watching sports is to enjoy the game and not add unnecessary stress and financial hardship just to watch the game on TV. Generational fans now have to suffer through these frustrations and are asking policymakers to fix the growing costs, the frequency of broadcasting blackouts, and the confusion of where to enjoy watching their favorite teams.
Bergmayer brought up a great point in the hearing recommending that policymakers should tell the leagues that “in exchange for the public support you get and the unique market power characteristics teams have, work to ensure the local games in the markets they have are available free-of-charge in some way or by ads like they were for decades.”
The hearing also brought to light relationships these leagues have with foreign entities that are committing human rights violations. Senator Blackburn grilled NBA President of Global Content & Media Distribution Bill Koenig about the league's prominent connections to authoritarian regimes like China and Rwanda.
Blackburn asked “Can you commit to me that in every deal the NBA makes around the globe that the league is upholding human rights and that the league is upholding freedom of speech, and they are upholding American ideals of freedom? Can you make that commitment?”
Koenig responded “I can certainly confirm one of the NBA’s most important values is freedom of speech.”
For an organization that was just accused of aiding regimes which violate human rights, just talking about freedom of speech does not sit well for SFC especially following NBA’s partnership with Rwanda’s dictator. The NBA over the past couple of years partnered with Rwanda’s dictator, Paul Kagame, to create global growth for the league through discussions of hosting games or arena construction in the country. Kagame has been accused of stifling free speech through arrests and killings. SFC has been a strong proponent of stopping partnerships like this in a mission to end sportswashing in America. Sports Fans Coalition calls on fans and policymakers to investigate further into these leagues and hold them accountable through limiting antitrust exemptions and other policies benefiting their organizations rather than the American people.