Watching live television broadcasts of major sporting events has been an essential part of life for millions of Americans for decades. Now, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has launched an investigation into current broadcasting technologies and practices that make viewing your favorite sports teams more challenging.
As detailed in a Public Notice issued in late February, the FCC Media Bureau is seeking public comment on current and emerging trends in live sports broadcast programming. Specifically, the Bureau is seeking input on how recent broadcast changes affected viewers’ ability to watch nationally televised live sports.
The Bureau is also interested in comments on the impact of broadcasting rights agreements on access in the current landscape, including how these agreements might conflict with broadcasters’ public interest obligations, such as consumer access to public safety and other emergency information.
The FCC’s Public Notice requesting comment on sports broadcasting practices is available at https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-26-188A1.pdf. Readers can file comments until March 27th through the Commission’s Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS) at https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs (reference MB Docket No. 26-45).