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Senate Commerce Hearing Examines Sports Streaming Fragmentation, Local Blackouts
Summary
League executives, a consumer advocate and senators debated whether streaming fragmentation and exclusive deals are making it harder and costlier for fans to watch games and whether leagues’ special legal and public subsidies should carry access obligations.
At a hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, executives from Major League Baseball, the NBA and the NHL, together with a public-interest lawyer, defended recent media deals while acknowledging disruptions that have made some games harder or more expensive for fans to find.
The committee focused on how streaming, regional sports network (RSN) disruptions and exclusive platform agreements affect fans’ access. Witnesses described a rapidly changing distribution system but differed on how to address local blackouts, subscription fragmentation and the public-interest obligations that accompany taxpayer support and limited antitrust exceptions.
Kenny Gersh, executive vice president of media and business development for Major League Baseball, told senators MLB distributes games nationally, locally and out of market and has been expanding direct-to-consumer options so…
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