If you’ve ever tried to watch your National Football League (NFL) team play and ended up Googling “where to watch my city’s NFL game today,” you’re not alone. Between nationally televised games on streaming services and fans outside of their “home team” markets not having access to local broadcasts, it’s not uncommon for football fans to juggle multiple streaming platforms and subscription services to cheer for their team. You also need an old-school antenna to watch some games exclusively available on broadcast television.
Media rights to NFL games are spread across several broadcast networks — CBS, Fox, and NBC. ESPN’s NFL Network also has rights to certain games. Fans must have an Amazon Prime subscription to watch Thursday night games. If you want to watch the NFL on Christmas, you’ll need Netflix. Oh, and you’ll need a Peacock subscription to watch some exclusive playoff games. Fans who pay around $275 for a YouTubeTV “NFL Sunday Ticket” subscription can watch almost every Sunday game.
This fragmentation of media rights deals has forced fans to assemble an arsenal of apps, logins, and credit card charges simply to watch their favorite team. This subscription-stacking has piqued the attention of the Department of Justice (DOJ), which has opened an investigation into whether the NFL’s media strategy constitutes anticompetitive behavior. The Justice Department is scrutinizing whether the way the league bundles, prices, and restricts how fans can watch games forces them to pay more than they should and prevents TV providers from competing in the marketplace.
Anticompetitive Tactics and Consumer Rights
Antitrust laws regulate (and prohibit) anticompetitive practices. These laws don’t punish big companies for being successful. But they do block them from using their dominance in ways that:
- Limit consumer choice
- Drive up prices artificially
- Block competitors from entering the market
- Force consumers into paying for products they don’t want
The DOJ is asking whether the NFL’s current media strategy does any of the above. Does the league’s exclusive dealmaking with streamers make it impossible for competitors to offer cheaper alternatives? Does the fragmentation of games across platforms force fans to pay multiple subscription fees just to follow one team?
In a statement to ABC News, the NFL defended its media distribution model, saying it has “the most fan and broadcaster-friendly in the entire sports and entertainment industry.”
A 1961 Law Dictates How You Watch Football in 2026
Under normal antitrust rules, competitors can’t team up and jointly sell their products. That would be price‑fixing or collusion. But the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 lets sports leagues do this without violating antitrust laws. It creates an exemption for the major professional sports leagues — football, baseball, basketball, and hockey — offering a legal loophole that allows them to pool their media rights and sell them as a package.
This is why the NFL can negotiate one giant deal on behalf of all 32 teams instead of each team selling its own games.
In 1961, this was great for consumers: It kept teams financially stable and ensured games stayed on free broadcast TV. The Act also originally restricted NFL games on Friday nights and Saturdays to promote attendance at high school and college football games.
“This Game Is Blacked Out in Your Area”
Fast forward to today. Games now live on multiple networks and platforms, with varying restrictions and blackouts. In this context, a “blackout” is not a technical issue — it’s a contractual restriction.
A blackout is when a broadcaster or streaming service can’t show a game in a specific region, usually because the local broadcaster has exclusive rights, or the league wants to push fans toward a particular channel or subscription. This is why fans paying for national packages like NFL Sunday Ticket or ESPN+ still can’t access every game.
To watch every game last season, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) estimated fans would need to spend nearly $1,000 across cable and streaming subscriptions. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) also released a letter asking the public how they are watching sports in a world increasingly built around streaming services.
How Do Other Pro Leagues Handle Media Rights?
Like the NFL, other U.S. professional sports leagues negotiate national rights. But the way they structure access differs.
National Basketball Association (NBA)
The NBA sells national packages to ESPN and TNT, but local games remain with regional sports networks like FanDuel or Bally Sports, depending on the team’s market. Basketball fans can buy NBA League Pass (comparable to NFL Sunday Ticket), which offers out‑of‑market games. But blackout rules still apply.
The NBA’s blackout restrictions are notoriously complicated. Many areas nowhere near an NBA team have multiple teams blacked out. For example, in Hawaii, the Lakers, Clippers, and Kings are all blacked out, but not the Warriors. Some teams, like the Indiana Pacers, have disproportionately large blackout areas.
National Hockey League (NHL)
The NHL uses a hybrid model: national rights go to ESPN and TNT, while local broadcasts remain with regional networks. The league has also faced a class-action antitrust lawsuit over blackout rules, resulting in a 2016 settlement that forced it to offer more flexible streaming options.
Major League Baseball (MLB)
MLB has the most complicated relationship with antitrust law. It enjoys a unique, century‑old exemption that courts have repeatedly criticized but never overturned. MLB’s 1922 antitrust exemption (Federal Club v. National League) is one of the most criticized quirks in American sports law. It still shapes how MLB controls broadcasting, team locations, and market territories today.
What Does This Mean for Football Fans?
How we watch our favorite professional sports is evolving, and government officials must ask whether the old rules still make sense. This investigation into the NFL’s media distribution model is ultimately about fairness and affordability: Are consumers paying more because the market demands it, or because the league designed it that way? Stay tuned.
Related Resources
- Buying Plans and Subscriptions (FindLaw’s Learn About the Law)
- Do Online Betting Platforms Fuel Gambling Addictions? (FindLaw’s Legally Weird)
- Court Says Google Illegally Maintains Monopoly over Internet Searches (FindLaw’s Courtside)
