Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D‑Wis., has introduced legislation she says would end professional sports blackouts on league‑owned streaming services and guarantee free options for local fans to watch their home teams.
The proposed For the Fans Act would apply to major professional baseball, basketball, football, hockey and soccer leagues, with exceptions for minor league teams and leagues with fewer than eight teams.
Under the bill, league‑owned streaming platforms such as MLB.TV or NBA League Pass would be required to provide access to all games within their respective leagues for subscribers, including those in local media markets or games airing exclusively on third‑party streaming services.
It would also require leagues to offer a single free viewing option — such as ad‑supported streaming or local over‑the‑air broadcast — for all games involving teams based in a fan’s home state. The Federal Communications Commission could designate additional locations eligible for free access.
This also comes as congress is reviewing the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961; the Packers say changes to that law would negatively impact them and other small market NFL teams.
Baldwin’s office cited rising costs for sports viewers as driving the bill.
In Wisconsin, watching all Packers, Brewers and Bucks games could cost more than $1,500 annually, according to Baldwin.
The bill also addresses cases where in‑state fans receive out‑of‑state coverage due to media market assignments, impacting more than 400,000 Green Bay Packers fans across 13 Wisconsin counties.
The measure follows recent playoff games, including the Packers’ January matchup against the Bears, being broadcast solely on Amazon Prime for most Wisconsin media markets.
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