Lawmakers question increasing NFL broadcast costs for fans
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, addresses a congressional hearing investigating the NFL’s broadcast practices and rising costs for fans. Jordan discusses the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 and antitrust concerns, as fans face exorbitant prices to access all games on multiple platforms. It emphasizes the need for affordable access to NFL content for all voters, not just those who can afford expensive packages.
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It’s no secret that it’s much harder to find a primetime NFL game thanks to the advent of streaming services.
Amazon Prime Video, Peacock, and Netflix have all gotten exclusive rights to specific games, and that may just be the tip of the iceberg. The new way to watch sports, which is also more expensive than ever, was recently questioned during a hearing on the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961.
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Andrew Whitworth watches from the set of TNF on Prime before an NFL game between the Denver Broncos and the New Orleans Saints at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, on October 17, 2024. (Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
Andrew Whitworth is one of the faces of Amazon Prime Video’s NFL coverage, and while he believes in not “putting[ting] the genie back in the bottle,” also understands fans’ frustrations.
“I get it. I get that fans are trying to figure out the landscape of how they want to see this or that or whatever,” Whitworth told Pak Gazette Digital of the new “road we’ve been down.”
However, Whitworth also believes that watching sports is not much different from finding your favorite movies or television shows that are distributed on certain services.
“It’s always the hardest thing when I think, ‘Oh, I heard I should watch this show.’ And I’m like, ‘Well, where is that?’ And then it’s that journey that you take to find out what service has that TV show that you want to watch, that someone told you about or whatever,” Whitworth said. “I think that’s just the way things are right now. I don’t think I have a great answer for what a fan or anyone should do other than that’s the world we live in…
Matthew Stafford of the Los Angeles Rams speaks with Andrew Whitworth on the Amazon Prime Thursday Night Football postshow set after the NFL game between the New Orleans Saints and the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California on December 21, 2023. (Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
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“I think sports goes hand in hand with entertainment, and right now a lot of that is going to these specific places to watch these specific things. I think that’s kind of the world we’re in right now. I think everything is starting to work itself out. And I’m sure, like with anything else in the world, we’ll find ways to simplify it and make it easier. But right now it seems like everyone is settling down and where they fit in the industry. Then I think, over time, we will. We’re starting to see that the process becomes simpler.”
If one were to strictly stream every NFL game during the 2025 season on Sunday Ticket, Netflix, Peacock, Amazon Prime Video, ESPN Unlimited and NFL+, it would have cost a minimum of $575, and for others (previous Sunday Ticket watchers) almost $800.
Sports leagues have capitalized on the shift to streaming, with the NFL getting $1 billion a year to stream “Thursday Night Football” on Amazon as an example. The Sports Broadcasting Act exemption passed in 1961 applies only to television broadcasts.
Andrew Whitworth speaks on the set of the Amazon Prime postgame show Thursday Night Football following the NFL game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the New Orleans Saints at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana on October 19, 2023. (Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
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Courts have ruled in the past that it does not apply to other media, including cable, satellite and streaming. The Sports Broadcasting Act includes a rule allowing blackouts of home games, which still applies to out-of-market packages sold by leagues.
