Latest news with #SportsBroadcastingActof1961
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Week 16 schedule contains odd glitch for the Saturday games
Earlier this week, Fox announced that it will televise a Week 16 Saturday doubleheader featuring the Packers at the Bears and the Eagles at the Commanders. The official schedule contains an odd glitch regarding those games. The version of the 2025 schedule currently shows that those games will happen on Friday, December 19. Advertisement Also, the official website schedule for each of the four teams contains a TBD as to the time AND the date of the Week 16 games. (For confirmation — and acknowledging the possibility they might change it before you click on it — here are the Eagles, Commanders, Packers, and Bears.) Again, there are other indications that the games are indeed set for Saturday, December 20. But if the use of "Friday, December 19" on the main schedule is a typo, it's a bizarre one. It wasn't the result of a misplaced finger; someone specifically picked Friday, December 19 as the date for those two games. While there's no reason to think the games will be played on Friday, it makes us wonder whether at some point the plan was to play the games (which supposedly will begin at 4:30 p.m. ET and 8:00 p.m. ET) on Friday. It meshes with the notion that, in time, the league will take even greater advantage of the fringes of the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961, which allows the NFL to televise games on Friday night and Saturday before the second weekend in September and after the second weekend in December. Advertisement Is it crazy to think that, as of last week, those games were going to be played on Friday night and that, after Senator Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) said in a committee hearing regarding the pivot from broadcasting to streaming that the NFL has "tiptoed up to the rule," the NFL decided to move the games from Friday to Saturday, which is the far more traditional spot for late-season non-Sunday games? Whatever the explanation, it's one of the very weird things we noticed when scouring over the schedule. And it could be a sign that, sooner than later, late-season Fridays will become the newest spot in the pizza into which the cheese is stuffed.
NBC Sports
15-05-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Week 16 schedule contains odd glitch for the Saturday games
Earlier this week, Fox announced that it will televise a Week 16 Saturday doubleheader featuring the Packers at the Bears and the Eagles at the Commanders. The official schedule contains an odd glitch regarding those games. The version of the 2025 schedule currently shows that those games will happen on Friday, December 19. Also, the official website schedule for each of the four teams contains a TBD as to the time AND the date of the Week 16 games. (For confirmation — and acknowledging the possibility they might change it before you click on it — here are the Eagles, Commanders, Packers, and Bears.) Again, there are other indications that the games are indeed set for Saturday, December 20. But if the use of 'Friday, December 19" on the main schedule is a typo, it's a bizarre one. It wasn't the result of a misplaced finger; someone specifically picked Friday, December 19 as the date for those two games. While there's no reason to think the games will be played on Friday, it makes us wonder whether at some point the plan was to play the games (which supposedly will begin at 4:30 p.m. ET and 8:00 p.m. ET) on Friday. It meshes with the notion that, in time, the league will take even greater advantage of the fringes of the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961, which allows the NFL to televise games on Friday night and Saturday before the second weekend in September and after the second weekend in December. Is it crazy to think that, as of last week, those games were going to be played on Friday night and that, after Senator Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) said in a committee hearing regarding the pivot from broadcasting to streaming that the NFL has 'tiptoed up to the rule,' the NFL decided to move the games from Friday to Saturday, which is the far more traditional spot for late-season non-Sunday games? Whatever the explanation, it's one of the very weird things we noticed when scouring over the schedule. And it could be a sign that, sooner than later, late-season Fridays will become the newest spot in the pizza into which the cheese is stuffed.
NBC Sports
14-05-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
NFL likely will peel more and more games away for "one-off" deals
For years, the NFL had a handful of broadcast partners that exclusively televised all games. A new trend has begun, and it likely will continue. And expand. It's the exclusive 'one-off' arrangement, with a game being taken away from a traditional partner (usually, CBS or Fox) and dropped into a different window. It started a decade ago, with Yahoo! streaming a Sunday game between the Bills and Jaguars from London in 2015. Two years later, a Ravens-Jaguars game in London was streamed by Yahoo! The dynamic returned in a big way last year, when non-partner Netflix (to the chagrin of existing partner Amazon) got the two Christmas games that were played on Wednesday, December 25. This year, the Friday night game in Brazil has landed with YouTube, which distributes Sunday Ticket but has no broadcast deal. Julia Alexander of Puck recently noted that she's watching this trend, based on one undeniable truth: "[T]he NFL can do what it wants, and usually does.' Indeed it can, and indeed it does. When it comes to NFL broadcast rights, the customer is never right. Given the limited supply, the league can dictate terms — and indiscriminately yank games away from long standing partners and hand them to a company with which the league has little or no history. The league will keep doing it. Especially if/when (when) the regular-season expands to 18 games. And when (not if) the league pulls the plug on the existing broadcast deals four years earlier, putting everything up for bid after 2029. Through it all, the league will find more ways to carve out standalone games, the broadcasting equivalent of coming up with more ways to cram cheese into a pizza. That Week 1 Friday night game, for example, which works only when the first Friday of the season coincides with the first Friday in September, will become — we believe — a 3:00 p.m. ET Friday kickoff in the years when Week 1 coincides with the second Friday in September. There's also the first Saturday of September, which like the first Friday night is fair game under the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961. Given that Friday nights become fair game again as of the second Friday in December, games could land there, too. Whenever the league can televise one game and one game alone, millions gather. Frankly, it's amazing that Tuesday night and Wednesday night have not already become a regular staple for NFL scheduling. It's just a matter of time for further stuffing of the stuffed crust. Especially since it allows the NFL to do business with anyone who wants to broadcast NFL games, while still keeping all of them tiptoeing on football-shaped eggshells.
USA Today
13-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
What is the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961? Why NFL games will air during CFP first round
With rookie minicamps wrapped up and the full 2025 NFL schedule set to be released on Wednesday, the upcoming NFL season is quickly approaching, and the anticipation for it is once again spiking. Part of that hype and anticipation for the schedule has to do with a tradition that takes place this time of the year: the NFL's network partners — Fox, CBS, NBC, ESPN and Amazon Prime — leaking some of the marquee games that will be carried on their airwaves or streaming platform. Of the leaks, which include international games, that have already happened, perhaps the most talked about one is the NFL on Fox divisional doubleheader on Dec. 20. The games featured are four high-profile teams: The Philadelphia Eagles vs. Washington Commanders and Green Bay Packers vs. Chicago Bears. December 20, huh? Yes, the first thought that might come to mind for the avid college football fan is correct, as that is the first weekend of the upcoming College Football Playoff schedule. Why is that allowed, when college football and the NFL generally don't intersect? Here's what you need to know about the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 and whether there is a violation of its boundaries with the Fox's NFL doubleheader and the start of the College Football Playoff: Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 explained In short, when Congress passed the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 — which is also known as the Act of September 30, 1961 — it gave the NFL antitrust exemption from bargaining for or selling their broadcasting rights, as long as the NFL doesn't play a game on the second Friday in September through the second Saturday in December. While other professional leagues are included in the act, it is mainly for the NFL. Why mainly the NFL? Well, the Department of Justice found the NFL's method of negotiating television broadcasting rights violated antitrust laws in the Sherman Act. The reason why the NFL is not allowed to have a game on the second Friday in September through the second Saturday in December is because that is the traditional timeline for high school and college football season. When the NFL played its first international game in Sao Paulo, Brazil, last year between the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers on Sept. 6, 2024, the NFL did not violate the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961. The reason for that is, Sept. 6 fell on the first Friday in September and not the second. This is the same reason why the NFL is playing another game in Brazil this year, where the Los Angeles Chargers are the home team. Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 boundaries According to Section 3 of the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961, the NFL is prohibited from playing a game(s) on the second Friday in September to the second Saturday in December because of how the college football season schedule is structured. In other words, Section 3 of the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 blocks the NFL from playing a game on a Friday night after 6 p.m. from Week 3 of the college football season through the Army-Navy game in Week 16. Here's the exact wording from Section 3 of the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961, per "The First sentence of section 1 of this Act shall not apply to any joint agreement described in section 1 of this Actwhich permits the telecasting of all or a substantial part of any professional football game on any Friday after six o'clock postmeridian or on any Saturday during the period beginning on the second Friday in September and ending on the second Saturday in December in any year from any telecasting station located within seventy-five miles of the game site of any intercollegiate or interscholastic football contest scheduled to be played on such a date if— (1) such intercollegiate football contest is between institutions of higher learning both of which confer degrees upon students following completion of sufficient credit hours to equal a four-year course, or(2) in the case of an interscholastic football contest, such contest is between secondary schools, both of which are accredited or certified under the laws of the State or States in which they are situated and offer courses continuing through the twelfth grade of the standard school curriculum, or the equivalent, and(3) such intercollegiate or interscholastic football contest and such game site were announced through publication in a newspaper of general circulation prior to August 1 of such year as being regularly scheduled for such day and place." All told, since the College Football Playoff doesn't start until the third week in December − as first-round games are to take place Friday, Dec. 19 and Saturday, Dec. 20 this year − the NFL is not restricted from playing its doubleheader on Fox between the Commanders-Eagles and Bears-Packers on Dec. 20. College Football Playoff schedule 2025-26 College Football Playoff 2025-26 start date: Friday, Dec. 19, 2025 Friday, Dec. 19, 2025 College Football Playoff 2025-26 end date: Monday, Jan. 19, 2026 Here's a look at the schedule for the 2025-26 College Football Playoff from the first round through national championship: First Round Friday, Dec. 19: One game (on-campus site) One game (on-campus site) Saturday, Dec. 20: Three games (on-campus sites) Quarterfinals Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025: Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic (AT&T Stadium — Arlington, Texas) at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic (AT&T Stadium — Arlington, Texas) at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026: Capital One Orange Bowl (Hard Rock Stadium — Miami Gardens, Fla.) at Noon ET on ESPN; Rose Bowl Game (Rose Bowl — Pasadena, Cali.) at 4 p.m. ET on ESPN; Allstate Sugar Bowl (Caesars Superdome — New Orleans) at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN Semifinals Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026: Vrbo Fiesta Bowl (State Farm Stadium — Glendale, Arizona) at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN Vrbo Fiesta Bowl (State Farm Stadium — Glendale, Arizona) at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN Friday, Jan. 9, 2026: Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (Mercedes-Benz Stadium — Atlanta) at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN 2026 CFP National Championship Monday, Jan. 19, 2026: Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Gardens, Fla.) at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
NBC Sports
09-05-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Report: YouTube is "heavy favorite" to stream Week 1 Friday night game from Brazil — for free
This year's Week 1 Friday night game from Brazil will, like last year, be available via streaming. Unlike last year, it will reportedly stream at no charge. Previously, the candidates were YouTube, Warner Brothers Discovery, and Amazon Prime. Now, Andrew Marchand of reports that YouTube is the 'heavy favorite' to secure the rights to the game. Marchand adds that the game is expected to be available globally on the massive platform, at no charge. The Friday night game will feature the Chargers as the home team. The visiting team will be announced on Tuesday, and possibly leaked before that. Google/YouTube currently holds the rights to the NFL's Sunday Ticket package, a premium product that was found last year by a California federal court jury to be an antitrust violation. The verdict, which had its multi-billion-dollar damages component thrown out by the trial judge, has not prompted the NFL to make any changes to pricing that was determined to be improperly inflated in order to protect the Sunday afternoon packages currently held by CBS and Fox. The price to be paid by YouTube isn't known. Last year's Friday night game, streamed by Peacock, reportedly came with a price tag of $105 million. The NFL is able to televise a Week 1 Friday night game only when the first weekend of the regular season lands on the first Friday in September. Next year, when Week 1 coincides with the second Friday in September, the NFL could (if it chooses) shift a Week 1 Friday game to 3:00 p.m. ET, like it currently does on Black Friday. The Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 hinges the NFL's broadcast antitrust exemption on the avoidance of televising games on Saturdays and after 6:00 p.m. ET on Fridays from the second weekend in September through the second weekend in December.
