Overview
- The Justice Department expanded its review of league media deals to Major League Baseball after opening a formal investigation into how the NFL licenses rights under the 1961 law.
- FCC chair Brendan Carr said the focus reaches beyond football as the agency studies whether the Sports Broadcasting Act covers games sold on paid streaming platforms.
- MLB games now appear across Netflix, Peacock, ESPN, Fox, TBS, Apple TV+, and MLB Network, a sprawl regulators cite as evidence of fragmentation that can raise costs and make games harder to find.
- The NFL has defended its setup, saying more than 87% of games are on free broadcast TV and that the 2025 season drew the league’s biggest audience since 1989.
- Rights talks are active, with reports saying YouTube is finalizing a five-game NFL package and CNBC reporting that broadcasters oppose the league’s push to double fees.