8,000 public comments flood FCC after formal notice DA 26-188 — sports rights dispute spreads to Olympics, NBA, and MLB, with major implications for Korea
▲ Fox News 'Fox & Friends Weekend' live broadcast. Host Griff Jenkins (left) and FCC Chairman Brendan Carr (right). Caption: "FCC WARNS NFL OVER STREAMING PUSH"
As the global sports broadcasting rights market restructures around Big Tech streaming, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has drawn a line. Chairman Brendan Carr, speaking live on Fox News, issued a public warning to the NFL: if the league's tilt toward streaming continues unchecked, the antitrust exemption guaranteed under the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 (SBA) may no longer be tenable.
For the first time, the Sports Broadcasting Act — which has long granted pro leagues like the NFL an antitrust exception allowing them to pool and collectively sell broadcast rights — has been openly put under scrutiny in the midst of the streaming transition.
The SBA was originally designed to permit leagues to bundle team-level rights exclusively in the context of free over-the-air broadcasting. Now, with paid streaming as the dominant delivery model, Congress, the FCC, and the courts are simultaneously re-examining whether this special privilege remains justifiable.
The vast majority of the 8,000 public comments submitted to the FCC demanded that major games remain available on free over-the-air television. A Fox News poll (March 20–23, 2026) found that 72% of sports fans held the same view.
Fan outrage over the erosion of access to 'national sports' — once freely available on broadcast TV and now disappearing behind streaming paywalls — has pushed the FCC to launch a comprehensive review of the sports broadcasting rights framework.
The ripple effects extend beyond the NFL to the Olympics, NBA, and MLB — and the same structural pressures are reaching Korea's broadcasting and streaming market. With JTBC having secured exclusive Korean rights to the Olympics and the FIFA World Cup, the debate over 'universal viewing rights' — whether broad coverage is sufficient, or whether free over-the-air access must be guaranteed — makes this a highly relevant issue for Korea.
BACKGROUND: How Streaming Growth Created the Crisis
This conflict did not emerge overnight. It is the direct result of explosive global streaming growth reshaping the sports broadcasting ecosystem. By 2024, the combined global subscriber base of major streaming platforms — Netflix, Amazon, Disney+, and others — had surpassed one billion. As advertising revenue models matured, platforms launched an aggressive race to secure premium content for subscriber retention, and live sports rights became their ultimate weapon.
Sports are 'real-time mandatory content' with virtually no DVR viewing — advertising rates run three to five times higher than standard dramas or variety programming. This drove Netflix to make its official entry into sports by exclusively broadcasting the 2025 NFL Christmas doubleheader. Amazon already holds exclusive streaming rights to NFL Thursday Night Football, generating hundreds of millions in annual ad revenue. NFL media rights, which amounted to just $8.5 million in the 1960 AFL-ABC deal, now exceed $10 billion per year. Broadcast networks simply cannot match the astronomical rights fees poured in by Big Tech, and the result is a hardening structural pattern in which marquee games gradually disappear behind paid streaming walls. Fans now face annual costs exceeding $1,500 to piece together access across ten or more services — and that is the direct pressure that has moved the FCC.
This collision is not uniquely American. Olympic rights disputes, the streaming exclusification of NBA and MLB — the same structure is spreading globally, and Korea's broadcasting and streaming industry is not immune. As the streaming market grows, rights disputes intensify. The FCC's move is the signal flare marking that inflection point.
FCC Public Notice (DA 26-188): A Full Review of the Sports Broadcasting Market
On February 25, 2026, the FCC's Media Bureau formally initiated a public comment proceeding on sports broadcasting practices and market trends through MB Docket No. 26-45. The initial comment deadline was March 27, with a reply comment deadline of April 13. The notice states explicitly: 'For decades, Americans could easily find their favorite games on free over-the-air television just by turning on their TV — today, that is no longer easy.'
The notice points to the historic sy
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고삼석 상임의장 · Chairman Samseog Ko
고삼석(Ko Samseog)은 K-EnterTech Forum 상임의장입니다. 동국대학교 첨단융합대학 석좌교수이자 국가인공지능전략위원회 분과위원으로, 30년 이상의 방송통신 정책 및 산업 경험을 바탕으로 K-콘텐츠와 글로벌 엔터테인먼트 기술의 융합을 선도하고 있습니다. 前 방송통신위원회 상임위원을 역임했으며, ZDNet Korea에 정기 칼럼을 연재 중입니다.
Samseog Ko is the founding Chairman (상임의장) of K-EnterTech Forum. He is a Distinguished Professor at Dongguk University and a member of Korea's National AI Strategy Committee. Former Commissioner of the Korea Communications Commission (KCC).
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