Sports fans hate blackouts and are increasingly frustrated by the sheer number of streaming services they have to subscribe to in order to watch their favorite teams. The U.S. House of Representatives could be on the war path to end those blackout restrictions and simplify the viewer experience altogether.<\/p>\n
House Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) sent letters to each of the four major North American sports league commissioners on Monday \u201crequesting briefings on sports broadcasting markets and \u2018blackout\u2019 exemptions,\u201d according to a press release from the committee<\/a>.<\/p>\n CBS Detroit\u2019s Rachel Hopmayer reported the news on X<\/a>.<\/p>\n News: House Judiciary Committee is requesting voluntary briefings from NFL, NHL, NBA and MLB by August 25 re: tv blackout exemptions<\/p>\n Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) wrote to all four commissioners that broadcast distribution has outpaced Sports Broadcasting Act\u2019s antitrust framework pic.twitter.com\/luZHCnsVF3<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Rachel Hopmayer (@rachelhopmayer) August 11, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n In his letters, Jordan claims the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 does not apply in an era where television is no longer the dominant force in watching sports. The law was designed to protect smaller teams in major sports leagues like the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB from being victimized by major television networks. It allowed the leagues to commit antitrust violations by pooling every franchise\u2019s broadcast rights and negotiating league-wide deals with networks. In turn, franchises were permitted to \u201cblackout\u201d home games in their own markets in order to encourage fans to buy tickets and attend in person.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile the SBA may have made sense in an era when network broadcasters had significant market power and major sports leagues were seen as at a disadvantage, because of massive changes in the video-competition marketplace, it no longer does,\u201d Jordan\u2019s letter concludes<\/a>.<\/p>\n The House committee\u2019s request comes roughly two months after the Senate Commerce Committee grilled representatives of each league on the nuances and inconveniences of streaming live sports<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cFans are understandably upset that it\u2019s really hard to watch your home team, figure out what app or what network, how to watch it,\u201d Committee chair Ted Cruz (R-TX) said then. \u201cIt\u2019s fractured right now. It\u2019s expensive right now.\u201d<\/p>\n According to a study published in July (s\/t Sports Business Journal<\/a>), nine in 10 sports fans are streaming live sports instead of watching on television. ESPN+, which streams every out-of-market NHL game with a subscription, was the second most used platform (39 percent) behind Amazon (65 percent). However, ESPN+ does participate in blackouts for games considered in-market.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re trying to watch a game that includes an in-market team \u2013 even if the game is nationally televised \u2013 the game may be blacked out for streaming on ESPN+ (or other applicable third-party services),\u201d according to the service\u2019s policy.<\/a><\/p>\n