WASHINGTON—As more sports and live event programming move to streaming, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) is launching an effort to ensure the continued availability of live sports on free, local television.
In launching the effort, the NAB pointed out that on Thanksgiving Day, more than 100 million Americans tuned into their local stations to cheer on their favorite teams. But as more events are locked behind paywalls, NFL Christmas games will be streamed nationally on Netflix.
"Fans are fed up. What used to be simple, turning on the TV to watch the game with family, is now a maze of expensive streaming subscriptions and login screens," said NAB president and CEO Curtis LeGeyt. "Games that once aired on local broadcast stations are increasingly gobbled up by Big Tech platforms, hidden behind paywalls that come with steep monthly bills. That is not progress, it is a problem. Broadcasters need the ability to compete and keep sports accessible to everyone."
To promote the importance of sports on broadcast TV, the NAB has created Game On. The new site for fans documents how local stations deliver live sports coverage that is universally accessible without a subscription, internet connection or login.
The NAB also highlighted a national survey of likely voters shows strong bipartisan support: 83% of respondents prefer games on broadcast TV compared to just 17% who favor streaming. It also stressed that fans from around the country appreciate the ability to access games on local TV, with sports accounted for 182 of the top 200 shows of 2024, or a whopping 91% of the total.
“Broadcasters bring the games fans love to the masses,” said LeGeyt. “But if we are going to be able to deliver this public service in the future, we must be able to compete on a level playing field with Big Tech behemoths.”
