FCC Chair Brendan Carr said that if the NFL “puts too many games behind a paywall, it could risk losing its antitrust exemptions,” according to Rohan Goswami of SEMAFOR. Carr said there is “a point at which you sort of tip the scale, and they’ve just put too many games behind a paywall, and then that whole exemption collapses.” The NFL’s move to shift live sports from broadcast channels to streaming services has “become a flashpoint in Washington,” where critics fear that “moving sports rights behind paywalls is driving up costs for consumers.” There is a “fair amount at stake if the NFL loses its antitrust exemption, especially if individual teams start to sell their TV rights separately.” Carr: “If the NFL teams were able to collectively negotiate … should the broadcasters, perhaps, be able to collectively negotiate as well?” The league has argued that “streaming platforms are starting to replace broadcast networks” and that it “needs to meet its customers where they are” (SEMAFOR, 3/26).
FCC chair warns NFL’s paywall push could jeopardize antitrust exemption
