NFL Antitrust Exemption Draws Interest On Hill

[dfergie]

Sports Broadcasting Act could come under scrutiny in Congress


By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable

The Sports Broadcasting Act, the 1961 antitrust exemption that allowed the NFL to continue to negotiate collectively for TV rights, could come under scrutiny in this Congress, though such a review is not yet teed up.
That was the view from the Hill, or at least from staffers of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, at a Thursday policy session at the NCTA convention in Washington.

Source & More: BroadcastingCable.com

 

[Ramy]

If this happens then baseball would be next.

 

[meStevo]

Ivy Johnson, minority staffer on the Senate Commerce Committee, said that the implied bargain when the act was passed was the NFL's continuing commitment to offer games on free, over-the-air TV.

Are there fewer games on non-pay TV? Also the definition of over the air has changed a bit since 1961.

Given this....

She said that a review is not currently planned, but that "we continued to monitor the situation."

...I think it's probably more forum fodder than something that will be acted on. The NFL is making more games accessible to people by having their NFLN games, the same number are still be played on broadcast TV, no? If anything their efforts to make sure NFLN is on the lowest tiers of pay services helps enforce the 'implied terms' of this antitrust exemption.