NFL broadcasting schedule put in crosshairs at Senate heaering

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, had pointed words for the NFL at the start of the Senate Commerce Committee’s “Field of Streams” hearing on Tuesday.

Cruz suggested the NFL has come close to breaking the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961, which was established to keep the professional league from infringing on the schedules of high school and college football games.

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The NFL is technically barred from broadcasting games on Friday night through Saturday, starting from the second weekend in September through the second weekend of December, according to Pro Football Talk.

Cruz called it a concern that the league has been able to broadcast games on Black Friday over the last two years.

“One growing concern is that the NFL has used its special exemption in the SBA to the frustration of college and high school football schedules,” he said. “For example, the SBA explicitly excludes antitrust protection for the NFL if broadcasting a game on a Friday night or a Saturday between mid-September to mid-December. That’s to protect the interests of high school and college football, and ultimately, their fans, who are no doubt also followers of the NFL.

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“The NFL has tiptoed up to this rule, now putting a game on streaming on Black Friday afternoon, which used to be a slot reserved for prominent college football rivalries, including in some years, when I was a kid, Texas versus Texas A&M. There are millions of sports fans who like being able to follow high school, college, and professional football without having to choose among them. And it’s partly why Congress wrote the SBA in the manner it did.”

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell declined to attend the hearing, Puck reported in April. He was at the White House on Monday to help announce that the 2027 NFL Draft will take place in Washington, D.C.

Fox News Digital asked the NFL for comment.

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MLB executive vice president of media and business development Kenny Gersh, NBA president of global content and media distribution William Koenig and NHL executive vice president of media and international strategy David Proper were among the witnesses at the hearing.

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