The NFL is becoming quite expensive to watch. Fans think so. Even the President thinks so. The NFL, apparently, does not.
After President Donald Trump publicly called out the league for moving games to streaming platforms, NFL executive vice president of media distribution Hans Schroeder pushed back on Friday. He is convinced the league is doing right by its fans.
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“We love our model,” Schroeder said. “We think we have the most fan-friendly model there is of any sport or entertainment as far as distribution.”
According to league officials, 87% of games still air on free broadcast networks — CBS, NBC, FOX, and ABC. Schroeder framed the streaming partnerships not as a move away from fans, but rather as a move toward them.
“We also know fans are increasingly spending their time on other platforms as well,” he said.
“When we’re going onto Netflix, we’re going onto a platform that is already massively adopted and a huge number of viewers on that platform already, including a huge number of NFL fans.”
The argument is essentially this: fans are already on Netflix. So why not bring the NFL to them?
Trump doesn’t see it that way. Earlier this week, the president accused the NFL of “price gouging” its most loyal supporters. He told the news program “Full Measure” that fans who can’t afford multiple streaming subscriptions are getting squeezed out.
“You’ve got people that love football. They’re great people. They don’t make enough money to go and pay this,” Trump said. “They could be killing the golden goose.”
Trump summed up his frustration bluntly. “You have people that live for Sunday,” he said. “They can’t think about anything else, and then all of a sudden they’re going to have to pay a thousand dollars a game. It’s crazy. I’m not happy about it.”
The president has a point that resonates with a lot of people. Thursday Night Football, for instance, streams exclusively on Amazon Prime, which runs $14.99 a month.
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Fans who want full access to the NFL now have to stitch together multiple subscriptions across Netflix, Amazon, Peacock, and YouTube. That adds up fast.
The criticism isn’t coming from Trump alone. The National Association of Broadcasters has urged the Department of Justice to investigate the league’s broadcast deals.
The DOJ is now reportedly reviewing the NFL’s distribution strategy for potential antitrust violations under the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961. That law gives the NFL limited antitrust protections in exchange for keeping games accessible to the public.
FOX chairman emeritus Rupert Murdoch has also reportedly raised the streaming issue directly with the president. Traditional broadcasters clearly feel the heat as the NFL chips away at their exclusive hold on the sport.
