Sports bring communities together, and local broadcast television makes that possible. Free, over-the-air television ensures fans across the country can share in the biggest moments.
Dive Deeper:
Congress enacted the Sports Broadcasting Act (SBA) of 1961 to promote broad public access to live sports while allowing leagues to pool broadcast rights. For decades, that system worked because fans could watch the biggest games for free on local broadcast television.
Today, the sports viewing marketplace is becoming more complicated and expensive for consumers. Fans need multiple streaming subscriptions to follow a single team or league. Analysts estimate it costs approximately $800 to follow the NFL and nearly $900 to follow the NBA across the current mix of broadcast, cable and streaming platforms.
As more marquee games move to exclusive streaming services like Prime and Netflix, consumers face higher costs and greater confusion about where games are available. Rural Americans, seniors and lower-income households can face additional barriers due to broadband limitations and subscription costs.
Viewers continue to prefer live sports on broadcast television. Ninety percent of sports enthusiasts say it is important for local teams' games to be available on broadcast TV, and 75% watch sports on broadcast television at least twice per week.
Broadcast television also continues to deliver the largest audiences in sports. Eighty-seven of the top 100 telecasts of 2025 aired on broadcast television, with sports accounting for more than 90% of those broadcasts. Super Bowl LIX on FOX averaged 127.7 million viewers, making it the most-watched program in U.S. history. The NBA All-Star Game returned to broadcast television in 2025 and delivered its largest audience in 15 years.
Sports on local broadcast television remain widely accessible and continue to create shared local and national experiences for viewers across the country. During a May 2025 Senate Commerce Committee hearing, lawmakers from both parties raised concerns about games moving away from free broadcast television and onto expensive streaming platforms.
The bottom line:
Free, local broadcast television remains the simplest, most reliable and most accessible way for Americans to watch live sports.
Congress should review whether the Sports Broadcasting Act's original public interest bargain still exists in today's marketplace and ensure that fans remain at the center of the sports viewing experience.
