Skip to main content

The NFL has met with the FCC as the league faces scrutiny from regulators

The National Football League has met with the Federal Communications Commission as the league faces scrutiny from federal regulators.

League officials requested the meeting, which took place last Friday in Washington. The FCC recently sought public comments on the ongoing shift of live sports from broadcast channels to streaming services. As of Wednesday, nearly 8,700 comments have been logged.

The NFL’s letter about the meeting and its PowerPoint presentation to the FCC were posted to the FCC’s public comment section on sports broadcasting on Wednesday.

The NFL is not alone in creating packages for streamers. Its standing as the most popular league and the revenue it receives from media rights, however, put it front and center in a changing landscape.

The NFL reiterated the benefits of its distribution strategy, including the fact that more than 87% of all games last season were on broadcast television. All games in a team’s home market air on a broadcast network.

“This distribution model is good for our fans, for local television broadcasters, for our 32 clubs in small and large markets alike, and for the competitiveness of the game itself. The success of our fan- and broadcast-friendly strategy is evident as the 2025 season was the most viewed since 1989 and one of the most competitive in League history,” Brendon Plack, the NFL’s senior vice president of public policy and government affairs, wrote in a filing recapping the meeting.

Plack was among the officials who represented the NFL at the meeting, a group that also included Hans Schroeder, the executive vice president of media distribution.

The FCC officials included Greg Watson, chief of staff for Chairman Brendan Carr. Carr had used an illustration of a fan watching a Green Bay Packers game when he announced the public comment period on Feb. 25.

Games aired last season on CBS, NBC/Peacock, ABC/ESPN/ESPN+, Fox, NFL Network, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix and YouTube TV.

The league is expected to move at least three more games to streaming as part of a five-game package next season. That would include games on Thanksgiving Eve, a second on Black Friday and Christmas Eve. The Week 1 game between San Francisco and the Los Angeles Rams in Australia on Sept. 10 would also be offered via streaming. The Week 1 games from Brazil the past two seasons were also streamed.

A five-game package could bring the league at least $250 million.

The league averages nearly $11 billion in revenue per season from its media deals. That could increase since the sale of Paramount to Skydance Media allows the league to renegotiate its deal with CBS.

Besides the FCC scrutiny, the Justice Department is investigating the NFL for potential anticompetitive practices.

Congress and other federal agencies have also discussed changes to the Sports Broadcasting Act. Passed by Congress in 1961, it grants professional sports leagues limited antitrust immunity, allowing them to pool their media rights and negotiate as a single entity while protecting them from antitrust lawsuits.

The act applies only to broadcast networks. Courts have ruled in the past that it does not apply to other media, including cable, satellite and streaming. There has been bipartisan sentiment in favor of updating the law.

___

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Ryan Fox wins first career major at 2026 Open Championship

CNN
(CNN) — Ryan Fox took home the Claret Jug after draining a birdie putt on the 18th hole to win the 2026 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale on Sunday.The 39-year-old Fox beat out American Cameron Young to win his first career major title, becoming only the third New Zealander to win a men’s major golf championship.Fox came into the final hole tied with Young, after the 29-year-old finished the round at 6-under 64 a few hours before.The Kiwi powered his drive into the middle of the fairway and then set up the biggest putt of his golf career so far with an approach shot that landed about 12 feet from the pin.As the putt fell into the hole, the crowd in Southport, England, gave Fox a rousing ovation as he raised both arms in the air to celebrate the achievement.The putt capped off four birdies in the last six holes for Fox.Fox was at a loss for words while speaking to the NBC Sports broadcast after the win.“I don’t really know what to think at the moment. I’ve got a lot of people to thank. First of all, my family. My wife and kids are in Florida at the moment. I spoke to my kids last night and they said, bring back a trophy. I think that’s a pretty cool one to bring back for them,” Fox said. “My family back in New Zealand and all my supporters back there. I know it’s been a long night for them, but I’m glad it was worthwhile.”Fox finished with a 2-under 68 after trailing Sam Burns, who held a two-stroke lead coming into Sunday’s final round.Fox also becomes the third-oldest major winner in the last 10 years, trailing only Phil Mickelson at the 2021 PGA Championship and Tiger Woods at the 2019 Masters.“Just an unbelievable week. The golf course was fantastic. The English weather was fantastic. You guys out there were fantastic. The support was amazing. This is pretty cool. I’m sorry if I’ve forgotten anyone, but thank you very much,” Fox added.It is another disappointment for Young, who is still looking for his first career major title despite winning The Players earlier this year. Young finished one shot back of the win at the 2022 Open Championship at St. Andrews and held the lead heading into the final round at the Masters back in April.It is also another let down for Burns, another golfer looking for his maiden major win.The Louisiana State University alum came into the round ahead by two strokes but quickly lost it and went birdie-free for the final 12 holes.“(Fox) is a well-earned champion and hats off to him,” Burns said. “He did what he needed to do down the stretch and ultimately just came up a couple short today.”Defending champion Scottie Scheffler stayed within striking range throughout the round, but wound up with a 3-under 67 on Sunday to finish tied for fourth with Tommy Fleetwood.After a drama-filled tournament, Bryson DeChambeau finished tied for 14th while Rory McIlroy, who has been critical of the LIV Golfer all tournament long, ended tied for 40th.Fox’s journey to first major winFox’s road to his first career major title wasn’t the easiest. It came with many bumps and U-turns.While speaking to CNN’s Don Riddell ahead of the Desert Classic in Dubai in early 2025, Fox opened up about his mental health issues, including being an older rookie after spending years on the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour of Australia.“I think being a rookie at 37 years old on the PGA Tour was, I probably wasn’t quite prepared for what that was again,” Fox told CNN.“I knew all the golf courses, knew how to travel work, knew where to stay, and everything was new on the PGA Tour, and that was probably a shock to the system more than anything.”Fox comes from a lineage of athletes within his family tree, including his father, Grant Fox, who was a main kicker for the New Zealand national rugby team and his grandfather, Merv Wallace, a former New Zealand cricketer who later coached the national team.Fox spoke out on the “pressure” a golfer faces, mentioning the 2024 death of former PGA Tour golfer Grayson Murray, whose parents later confirmed it was death by suicide.“It can be a stressful life. It’s all performance-based. There’s a lot of pressure on – Looking after your mental health is really, really important, and having people to talk to and all of that is part of that,” Fox said.“It’s a shame it got to that point with Grayson that, you know, we’ve had to have those, those pretty tough conversations now, but it will help – hopefully it helps someone else in a similar situation going forward because we certainly don’t want to see it again.”CNN’s Kyle Tatelbaum and Don Riddell contributed to this reporting This write has been updated with additional reporting The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
Read Next Story

Related News

Ryan Fox wins first career major at 2026 Open Championship

DC sports fans have a chance to showcase their favorite memorabilia

Knicks take 1-0 lead into game 2 against the Spurs