Sports Fans should not need a growing list of subscriptions to watch their favorite teams.
That was the central message from Clay Travis, founder of OutKick and co-host of The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show, during a conversation with NAB President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt at NAB Show New York. You can hear more from this conversation in the most recent episode of AirTime, the NAB podcast.
As more live sports move behind streaming paywalls, fans face higher costs and growing frustration. Travis called on policymakers to protect the free, widespread access that broadcast television provides.
From NFL games to college basketball and international soccer, fans increasingly need multiple streaming subscriptions to follow the sports they love. Travis warned that the trend could continue unless broadcasters push back: “Eventually they will put everything behind a paywall if they can.”
The issue has drawn bipartisan attention in Congress. Travis has urged lawmakers to examine whether streaming-exclusive NFL games undermine the intent of the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961. NAB supports clarifying that the law’s antitrust exemption applies only to free over-the-air broadcasting. For example, during the recent passage of college sports legislation, Sens. Maria Cantwell and Jerry Moran reaffirmed that the exemption applies only to broadcast television.
Keeping major sporting events on free broadcast television benefits more than sports fans. It supports the local stations that deliver trusted news, severe weather coverage and emergency information.
Travis also warned that limiting access to live sports could have lasting consequences for the leagues themselves.
Young fans often develop their lifelong connection to a team between the ages of eight and 11. If games are difficult to find or require subscriptions their families cannot afford, those children may never develop the same connection to the sport.
That makes free, over-the-air television essential not only for today’s fans but for the future of sports.
Travis urged broadcasters to fight for more marquee sporting events on free television.
“We need to have the ability for so many people to have access for free on broadcast television,” he said.
The stakes extend beyond any single game or league. The future of sports should not depend on how many subscriptions a household can afford.
Join NAB’s Game On campaign. Visit nab.org/gameon to tell policymakers that live sports belong on free, local broadcast television.
