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The Hill
4 days ago
- Business
- The Hill
House panel dives into sports broadcasting markets, 'blackout' exemptions
A group of House Republicans is seeking testimony from the heads of major sports leagues on sports broadcasting markets and "blackout" exemptions, citing concerns about antitrust violations. In an announcement on Monday, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Subcommittee on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust Chairman Scott Fitzgerald (R-Wis.) said they had written to the commissioners of the NHL, MLB and NFL over "blacked out" games and media rights negotiations, asking for their testimony. "The current state of the sports broadcasting market has changed considerably since the 1960s. The majority of sports viewership now occurs outside of traditional network broadcasting," the lawmakers wrote. "As a result, most of the distribution agreements that a sports league enters into are subject to antitrust challenges, while a narrow subset are not, creating legal uncertainty, distorting the market, and "effectively expanding the blind spot for potential antitrust violations." The committee noted that Congress passed the Sports Broadcasting Act (SBA) in 1961 to allow professional sports leagues to coordinate their broadcasting decisions in an effort to help protect smaller teams and the leagues as a whole. Sports leagues are allowed a "blackout exemption" to prevent games from being broadcast "within the home territory of a member club of the league on a day when such club is playing a game at home," according to the current SBA. As more broadcast networks shift resources into streaming and away from linear television, sports media rights remain the single largest driver of audience share and ad revenue for major media companies. Many traditional broadcast outlets have meanwhile seen major streamers like Netflix, Amazon and Apple disrupt the market with multi-billion-dollar deals with pro sports leagues to broadcast games.
The Sun
15-07-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Malaysia leaps 11 spots to 23rd in IMD world competitiveness list for 2025, best since 2020
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has jumped 11 places to 23rd in the IMD World Competitiveness Ranking 2025, marking its best performance since 2020. Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz said the leap is attributed to significant improvements in economic performance, government efficiency and business efficiency, primarily driven by productivity reforms and trade diversification. 'Our efforts have paid off. We are determined to maintain this momentum through the RKB (Regulatory Reform) initiatives and strategic policy execution,' he said during the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry's (Miti) second-quarter report card today. Tengku Zafrul said one standout case is the Kulim Fast Lane/Fast Track project, a bureaucratic reform initiative using artificial intelligence (AI) and a centralised database to expedite business permits. As a result, immediate leases were issued just one hour after compliance clearance and project approvals were reduced from 24 months to 10 months. This fast-tracking helped raise total investment in the project from RM50.1 billion in 2020 to RM192 billion in 2024, representing a 74% increase. 'This is what we mean by results from reforms,' said Tengku Zafrul. 'Reduced bureaucracy is not just about speed, it drives real growth, jobs and investor confidence.' Under Miti's Good Regulatory Practises Framework, 807 regulatory reform projects have been registered to date, with RM374 million in cost savings recorded from completed initiatives as of June 2025. The ministry is targeting up to RM1.5 billion in cost savings by the end of the year. Miti also announced that, effective May 6, only the ministry will issue Non-Preferential Certificates of Origin for exports to the United States, streamlining export documentation. In a move to safeguard national security and uphold responsible trade, all exports, transit and transshipment of high-performance AI chips now require Strategic Trade Permits, as of Monday, under the Strategic Trade Act 2010. Further, the report showed Malaysia has signed 18 free trade agreements (FTA) covering 28 countries, with the most recent being the Malaysia-EFTA Economic Partnership Agreement on June 23. Miti noted that many exporters are unaware of FTA benefits. 'We are scaling up outreach and have allocated RM50 million in market development grants (MDG), with a RM22.7 billion export target for 2025–2026,' Tengku Zafrul said. Between January and June alone, MDG recipients recorded RM2.88 billion in reported export sales, with RM2.09 billion potentially realised. Malaysia's digital economy saw RM310.7 billion in approved investments between 2021 and Q1 2025, generating 92,058 jobs, largely in data centres, which Miti estimates have a 6.6x economic multiplier effect. 'For every ringgit spent on data centres, the economy gains RM6.60. This is the kind of return that fuels national resilience,' Tengku Zafrul noted. Miti-led missions to countries including the US, the UK, Singapore and India have generated RM25.6 billion in potential investments and RM30.08 billion in potential exports in the first half of 2025. Green investments under the Green Investment Strategy reached RM22.9 billion in Q1 2025, with 1,492 approved projects in renewable energy, green mobility, and circular economy sectors. Foreign investments made up 53.7% of the total. From 2021 to Q1 2025, Malaysia approved 3,494 manufacturing projects, with 3,095 implemented, achieving an 86.4% realisation rate. Employment in the sector rose by 50,000 in Q1 2025 alone. Median wages grew by 5.4% year-on-year to RM2,745, while GDP value-added from manufacturing increased RM3.8 billion to RM95.7 billion. Miti's NIMP 2030 initiative to advance economic complexity is also progressing. Five local IC design firms have been established, and RM52 billion in semiconductor-related investments have been secured. The Smart Tech-Up programme now supports up to 80 smart factories by 2025. Investments in chemical and related sectors soared by 105.1% year-on-year in Q1 2025, reaching RM479.26 billion, up from RM233.68 billion. Foreign direct investment alone surged by 174.4%. On the domestic automotive side, Miti report noted that Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd (Perodua) is on track to launch its first electric vehicle by end-2025. Meanwhile, the MARiiCAS e-bike rebate programme, under Budget 2025, has approved 11,724 applications worth RM28.14 million to support low-carbon mobility. Down south, the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone accounted for 90.4% of Johor's total approved investments in Q1 2025, totalling RM30.14 billion, with a majority in the services sector. Miti has also ramped up efforts to build supply chain resilience through cross-ministerial cooperation and the upcoming Supply Chain Intelligent Management System, set to go live in December. 'In a time of geopolitical tension and resource shocks, we must digitise, diversify and cooperate to safeguard economic security,' Tengku Zafrul emphasised.
The Hill
10-04-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Republicans question Ivy League schools over potential price fixing collusion
Republicans sent letters to eight Ivy League institutions over concerns of collusion to raise tuition prices. The letter was sent by House and Senate Republicans to Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, Princeton University, University of Pennsylvania and Yale University. The Republicans are concerned about alleged collusion and potential violations of antitrust laws to keep college prices up. 'We are particularly concerned that Ivy League member institutions appear to collectively raise tuition prices while engaging in price discrimination by offering selective financial aid packages to maximize profit,' the letter reads. The GOP lawmakers point to examples such as forcing students to stay on campus first year and get a meal plan, a lawsuit accusing the College Board of working with institutions to reduce financial aid availability for students and the Council of Ivy League Presidents holding meetings about admission practices. The letter requests the schools produce documents since 2019 pertaining to communications with other higher education institutions and other college organizations such as College Board by April 22. The letter was sent by House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio); Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa); Rep. Scott Fitzgerald (R-Wis.), chair of the House Subcommittee on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust Scott Fitzgerald (R-Wis.); and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights. 'The House and Senate Committees are concerned that the Ivy League member institutions' coordinated practices and alleged collusion violate the Sherman Act and that the institutions continue to benefit from their prior collusion, despite no longer having an antitrust exemption,' the group wrote.
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lawmakers debate measure requiring state employees to return to in-office working
MADISON - Republican lawmakers want state employees who have worked remotely since the coronavirus pandemic to return to taxpayer-funded offices full-time following an audit that showed the vast majority of workstations in more than a dozen state agencies were not being used. The Republican-controlled Senate Committee on Licensing, Regulatory Reform, State and Federal Affairs held a public hearing Tuesday on a bill that would require all state employees to work full-time in state office starting July 1, unless there is a telework agreement in place or their job was a telework position before the pandemic. The committee may vote remotely on whether to advance the bill on Thursday due to anticipated inclement weather, a move Democratic committee member Sen. Chris Larson of Milwaukee implied was ironic. The bill was introduced by Rep. Amanda Nedweski, R-Pleasant Prairie, and Sen. Corey Tomczyk, R-Mosinee, who said getting such employees back to work is necessary to fill offices that taxpayers pay for, check in on employee efficiency and to build relationships between team members once again. But Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has already said he will veto such proposals. In December, Evers said he would not sign the upcoming state budget if Republicans include a requirement mandating state employees working remotely return to the office. "I think it's important for us to say, 'We want to get the best people working for the state of Wisconsin possible,' and sometimes that will mean that they will work from home, part-time, full-time," Evers said in an interview on WISN-TV's "Upfront" Sunday morning. "We can work that out. It's working fine." Work-from-home agreements were implemented to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 back in 2020, but that's no longer a risk, Nedweski said during Tuesday's testimony. "Simply asking employees to return to the work routine they enjoyed prior to the pandemic is not only fair, it is representative of what the public is demanding," she said. "And that is accountability." Tomczyk said he drew upon his experience in managing people to write the bill and knowing that people can't just work on their own all the time. "Everyone needs accountability in some way. It's what motivates us, it's how we prove our work. We are all accountable to the taxpayer," he said. "This bill is about good management and development of human beings in a work setting. Nothing, and I mean nothing, can replace the face-to-face experience when coaching or developing or creating something with humans." Democrats on the committee questioned why employees should be back in the office five days a week and raised concerns about the recruitment and retention of employees in Madison and across the state who choose to work for state agencies because of the flexibility. "I think one of the things that we learned was remote work can work," Larson said. Last year, an analysis released by the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau found most state agencies and University of Wisconsin institutions allowed employees to work from home up to five days a week and one-third or less of workstations in state offices were being used during auditors' visits. Based on six visits to 15 agencies and University of Wisconsin System offices between July and August 2023, the highest percentage of workstations being used was 34.5% at the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance. The audit was released in December 2023. The lowest percentage was at the state Department of Public Instruction, where just 5.3% of workstations were used. Most agency officials told auditors telework increased the efficiency of their operations, but many had not assessed the effects of remote work in writing. Auditors wrote in the December report on their findings that the "precise extent to which employees worked in the office was not known." Through a review of the state and UW's human resources systems, auditors found that 3,439 agency employees used their key cards at four buildings on an average of 1.3 days per week and 186 UW System Administration employees used their key cards at two buildings an average of 1.5 days week. The key card data indicate some employees may not have worked in the office as frequently as expected, based on their agreements. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos in November suggested he wants to have state employees working in the office "at least three to four days a week." During the hearing, lawmakers also discussed the idea of potentially auditing the levels of productivity of workers while working remotely vs in the office. "I'm not against the idea of saying we should do an analysis to see what's working and what's not working," Larson said. He added he has concerns about abruptly uprooting employees and putting them back in the office again. "I don't know, tackling one problem can often create more problems," he said. The Wisconsin proposal is similar to an order by President Donald Trump in January, requiring all federal employees to return to in-person work on a full-time basis. Nedweski said that the bill wasn't based on that "federal trend," which was issued after the Wisconsin audit, and was in fact one of the reasons that she decided to run for office. "It is about being responsive and accountable to the taxpayer and using that dollar to its maximum efficiency," she said. Laura Schulte and Molly Beck can be reached at leschulte@ and This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin Republicans seek to return state employees to in-person work
USA Today
11-02-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
Lawmakers debate measure requiring state employees to return to in-office working
Lawmakers debate measure requiring state employees to return to in-office working MADISON - Republican lawmakers want state employees who have worked remotely since the coronavirus pandemic to return to taxpayer-funded offices full-time following an audit that showed the vast majority of workstations in more than a dozen state agencies were not being used. The Republican-controlled Senate Committee on Licensing, Regulatory Reform, State and Federal Affairs held a public hearing Tuesday on a bill that would require all state employees to work full-time in state office starting July 1, unless there is a telework agreement in place or their job was a telework position before the pandemic. The committee may vote remotely on whether to advance the bill on Thursday due to anticipated inclement weather, a move Democratic committee member Sen. Chris Larson of Milwaukee implied was ironic. The bill was introduced by Rep. Amanda Nedweski, R-Pleasant Prairie, and Sen. Corey Tomczyk, R-Mosinee, who said getting such employees back to work is necessary to fill offices that taxpayers pay for, check in on employee efficiency and to build relationships between team members once again. But Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has already said he will veto such proposals. In December, Evers said he would not sign the upcoming state budget if Republicans include a requirement mandating state employees working remotely return to the office. "I think it's important for us to say, 'We want to get the best people working for the state of Wisconsin possible,' and sometimes that will mean that they will work from home, part-time, full-time," Evers said in an interview on WISN-TV's "Upfront" Sunday morning. "We can work that out. It's working fine." Work-from-home agreements were implemented to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 back in 2020, but that's no longer a risk, Nedweski said during Tuesday's testimony. "Simply asking employees to return to the work routine they enjoyed prior to the pandemic is not only fair, it is representative of what the public is demanding," she said. "And that is accountability." Tomczyk said he drew upon his experience in managing people to write the bill and knowing that people can't just work on their own all the time. "Everyone needs accountability in some way. It's what motivates us, it's how we prove our work. We are all accountable to the taxpayer," he said. "This bill is about good management and development of human beings in a work setting. Nothing, and I mean nothing, can replace the face-to-face experience when coaching or developing or creating something with humans." Democrats on the committee questioned why employees should be back in the office five days a week and raised concerns about the recruitment and retention of employees in Madison and across the state who choose to work for state agencies because of the flexibility. "I think one of the things that we learned was remote work can work," Larson said. Last year, an analysis released by the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau found most state agencies and University of Wisconsin institutions allowed employees to work from home up to five days a week and one-third or less of workstations in state offices were being used during auditors' visits. Based on six visits to 15 agencies and University of Wisconsin System offices between July and August 2023, the highest percentage of workstations being used was 34.5% at the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance. The audit was released in December 2023. The lowest percentage was at the state Department of Public Instruction, where just 5.3% of workstations were used. Most agency officials told auditors telework increased the efficiency of their operations, but many had not assessed the effects of remote work in writing. Auditors wrote in the December report on their findings that the "precise extent to which employees worked in the office was not known." Through a review of the state and UW's human resources systems, auditors found that 3,439 agency employees used their key cards at four buildings on an average of 1.3 days per week and 186 UW System Administration employees used their key cards at two buildings an average of 1.5 days week. The key card data indicate some employees may not have worked in the office as frequently as expected, based on their agreements. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos in November suggested he wants to have state employees working in the office "at least three to four days a week." During the hearing, lawmakers also discussed the idea of potentially auditing the levels of productivity of workers while working remotely vs in the office. "I'm not against the idea of saying we should do an analysis to see what's working and what's not working," Larson said. He added he has concerns about abruptly uprooting employees and putting them back in the office again. "I don't know, tackling one problem can often create more problems," he said. The Wisconsin proposal is similar to an order by President Donald Trump in January, requiring all federal employees to return to in-person work on a full-time basis. Nedweski said that the bill wasn't based on that "federal trend," which was issued after the Wisconsin audit, and was in fact one of the reasons that she decided to run for office. "It is about being responsive and accountable to the taxpayer and using that dollar to its maximum efficiency," she said. Laura Schulte and Molly Beck can be reached at leschulte@ and
