NFL faces Justice Department probe after fans express frustration with streaming pivot: report

The Justice Department reportedly opened an probe into the NFL connected Thursday implicit whether the league utilized anticompetitive tactics against fans.

The Wall Street Journal archetypal reported the investigation.

Fox News Digital reached retired to the Justice Department and the NFL for comment.

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NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell speaks during a property league aft Super Bowl LX astatine Moscone Center successful San Francisco, Calif., connected Feb. 9, 2026. (Matthew Huang/Icon Sportswire)

The reported probe comes arsenic Trump medication officials and lawmakers person warned astir revisiting the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961. The instrumentality allows the NFL to negociate league-wide TV deals without violating U.S. antitrust rules, provided it meets definite conditions, including protecting lawsuit access.

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, the seat of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee connected Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights, addressed the contented successful a missive to the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission. He requested a reappraisal of the league’s antitrust exemption status.

Meanwhile, surging streaming prices and sky-high summons costs person combined to permission the mean American NFL instrumentality boxed retired of watching their beloved crippled altogether oregon making it intolerable to find.

A Fox News canvass successful March indicated that 72% of sports fans deliberation large sporting events should enactment escaped connected broadcast TV, amid reports that the NFL is considering allowing teams to merchantability the rights to preseason games to streaming services.

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FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said connected "Fox & Friends" past period that officials are reviewing thousands of comments connected whether a important stock of sports should stay escaped connected broadcast television.

The Amazon Prime Video Thursday Night Football logo appears connected a tv camera during the 2nd fractional of the crippled betwixt the Kansas City Chiefs and the Las Vegas Raiders astatine GEHA Field astatine Arrowhead Stadium successful Kansas City, Mo., connected Nov. 29, 2024. (Aaron M. Sprecher/Getty Images)

Carr said the FCC is looking into whether sports leagues should proceed to payment from a peculiar antitrust exemption, and that nationalist comments solicited connected the substance mostly enactment keeping games much accessible.

"We really got thousands and thousands of comments. It was a large fig for the FCC... The immense bulk truthful far, based connected an archetypal assessment, enactment keeping a important information of these sports games connected free, over-the-air broadcast TV," Carr said.

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"So, we'll beryllium looking astatine it. There could beryllium actions astatine different portions of the government, and Congress arsenic well, if these sports leagues proceed to propulsion this issue."

Carr made his feelings clear, stating helium thinks the acquisition of uncovering a crippled to ticker has go frustrating and costly.

"You efficaciously person to person a machine subject grade to decipher this," helium said, adding that, historically, broadcast TV and sports leagues person had a mutually beneficial narration that allowed leagues to turn portion supporting section news.

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"We're astatine a tipping constituent wherever these leagues tin propulsion it truthful far, putting games down paywalls, that they undermine their quality to assertion that antitrust exemption."

NFL fans themselves person besides spoken retired astir the league’s streaming strategy.

OutKick’s Davey Hudson took to the streets of Nashville and New York City past period to speech to aggrieved shot fans.

"I deliberation it’s frustrating erstwhile you conscionable privation to ticker a game, and you person to fig retired what app it’s on. And past you're paying for aggregate apps each the time," 1 instrumentality said.

Another instrumentality was blunt, calling the existent strategy of watching games "f---ing stupid."

"Well, it’s f---ing stupid, you person to get 5 antithetic platforms to ticker each of the games that you privation to, and inactive you person to wage connected top. It’s ridiculous astatine this point," the instrumentality said.

One instrumentality called it a "pain successful the a--" to support way of wherever and erstwhile the games are being streamed.

A antithetic instrumentality called it a "money grab," citing Netflix arsenic the latest streaming work the NFL brought successful to commencement broadcasting its games.

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NFL fans who privation entree to each crippled request to acquisition YouTube TV for "NFL Sunday Ticket," successful summation to the costly subscriptions for each the streaming services the NFL broadcasts on. Those streaming services are Amazon Prime, Peacock and Netflix. The operation of those respective services is implicit $1,500 a year, and that doesn’t see the fees that travel with basal cablegram packages oregon high-speed Wi-Fi that is needed to accommodate the platforms.

Fox News’ Ryan Canfield contributed to this report.

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