NFL pushes back on criticism of streaming games

The NFL is defending its expanded lineup of games on streaming platforms amid criticism from President Donald Trump and scrutiny from the U.S. Justice Department.

While discussing this week’s schedule release with reporters, NFL executive vice president of media distribution Hans Schroeder on Friday suggested the league has no intention of pulling back from its partnerships with streaming services.

“We love our model,” he said. “We think we have the most fan-friendly model there is of any sport or entertainment as far as distribution.”

The NFL airs 87% of its games on free broadcast networks CBS, NBC, FOX and ABC, according to league officials. But Schroeder argued that the league is actually meeting consumers where they are in an era of cord-cutting by adding games on platforms such as Netflix.

“We think broadcast [networks] have been an incredible home,” he said. “And, now, we also know fans are increasingly spending their time on other platforms as well. They tune into broadcast for the NFL and that’s where we want to be. But we also want to be on these platforms with a limited amount of our games where we know our NFL fans are already as well.

“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.”

Trump criticized the NFL earlier this week for its expansion to streaming platforms, telling news program “Full Measure” that “you’ve got people that love football. They’re great people. They don’t make enough money to go and pay this. It’s tough.” Asked whether the government would intervene, Trump said, “I don’t know, but I don’t like it.”

The Justice Department reportedly has begun reviewing the NFL’s broadcast distribution decisions for potential anticompetitive tactics related to the Sports Broadcasting Act (SBA) of 1961. The SBA grants the NFL limited antitrust protections and allows the league to negotiate TV rights packages.

But as the league diversifies the platforms on which games are airing — there will again be games this season on Netflix and Amazon Prime — subscribing to additional services is increasing the cost of watching NFL games. The NFL has also received criticism from the National Association of Broadcasters, which urged the Justice Department to look into the league’s broadcast deals. Relatedly, FOX chairman emeritus Rupert Murdoch has raised the issue of streaming with the president, according to the Wall Street Journal.

But the NFL continues to push back.

“We’re committed to being on broadcast television in ways that other content is not and continue to be in the hopes of reaching our fans,” NFL executive vice president of communications and public affairs and policy Jeff Miller said Friday. “… So, if the NAB or FOX or others are questioning the merits of that, I’m not sure I really understand where that comes from. But we’ll continue to do what’s best for our fans and that means continue to stay on broadcast television.”