Key facts
- Representative Jamie Raskin suggested the DOJ's investigation into the NFL's media rights practices is intended to benefit Fox Corp.
- Raskin cited reports of Fox owner Rupert Murdoch lobbying President Donald Trump regarding NFL streaming deals.
- A House Judiciary subcommittee hearing addressed the shift of live sports to streaming services.
- The NFL maintains that most of its games are available on free, over-the-air television.
- A 1961 law provides sports leagues with an antitrust exemption for negotiating television rights.
Representative Jamie Raskin has suggested that the Justice Department's investigation into the National Football League's broadcast rights practices may be intended to help Fox Corp. secure a more favorable deal. Raskin, a Democrat, stated at a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing that the probe, like the hearing itself, appears designed to assist Fox in obtaining better broadcast terms. He cited reports indicating that Fox chairman emeritus Rupert Murdoch had personally lobbied then-President Donald Trump at a White House dinner regarding the NFL's streaming deals. The Justice Department launched its investigation into whether the NFL has engaged in anticompetitive tactics in broadcast rights. The probe follows reports of Murdoch's February dinner with Trump, where concerns were allegedly raised about streamers acquiring rights to more games at the expense of traditional broadcast networks like Fox. The NFL, which declined to attend the hearing, stated that more than 87% of its games are aired on free broadcast TV and 100% of local market games are broadcast on local over-the-air TV. The league also noted that games are strategically picked weekly to put the most compelling game into each broadcast market. Major broadcast station owners, including Fox and Sinclair, have urged the FCC to address the trend of Big Tech companies acquiring the rights to sporting events, saying it could weaken local TV news. A 1961 law exempts major sports leagues from antitrust laws and allows them to pool their individual teams' television rights and sell those rights as a package.