U.S. regulators are “increasingly scrutinizing the distribution of streaming rights” for MLB games as part of a “broader federal inquiry about how professional sports leagues provide their games to online platforms, potentially driving up costs for consumers,” according to Griffis & Sisco of BLOOMBERG NEWS. FCC Chair Brendan Carr said that he has so far mostly spoken about issues with broadcasts of the NFL, but he is “sympathetic to complaints from baseball fans that America’s favorite pastime is too difficult to watch on TV.” Carr: “You could make the argument that there’s other sports leagues out there that are potentially pushing the limits of the Sports Broadcasting Act even further than what the NFL has.” The Justice Department is currently probing the NFL over potential antitrust violations in how the league licenses the rights to its games. A source noted that the Justice Department is “also planning to examine the streaming rights of the other leagues covered under the Sports Broadcasting Act, including MLB” (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 4/16).
MLB streaming rights face growing scrutiny from U.S. regulators
