The Justice Department is investigating whether or not the National Football League is forcing viewers to pay an excessive amount of in subscription charges, in accordance with an individual conversant in the matter.
The full scope of the investigation, run by the division’s Antitrust Division, was not instantly clear.
Complaints about the NFL’s allegedly anticompetitive techniques have been raised in a letter from Utah Sen. Mike Lee, a Republican, to the Justice Department final month, during which he mentioned that soccer followers have been made to spend “almost $1,000 on cable and streaming subscriptions” to observe video games this previous season.
Lee added that followers additionally needed to subscribe to a number of streaming companies in addition to “high-speed internet in addition to a traditional cable or satellite bundle.”
“Much has changed in sports broadcasting since 1961, raising new questions about the NFL’s antitrust exemption. I’m glad the DOJ is tackling this important issue, as I urged them to do last month, and I look forward to hearing the results,” Lee mentioned in an announcement in the present day.
The investigation was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
The NFL mentioned in an announcement that the league’s “media distribution model is the most fan and broadcaster-friendly in the entire sports and entertainment industry.”
“With over 87% of our games on free, broadcast television, including 100% of games in the markets of the competing teams, the NFL has for decades put our fans front and center in how we distribute our content. The 2025 season was our most viewed since 1989 and reflects the strength of the NFL distribution model and its wide availability to all fans,” the league added.