A $2.13 trillion streaming platform has made its intentions clear about its next biggest goal. They want to air the Super Bowl. Jeff Bezos’ Amazon already owns broadcast rights to the NFL’s regular-season and playoff games. But sharing its long-term plan to earn the rights for the Super Bowl right now wouldn’t be very wise. With the league facing pressure from antitrust exemption and potential changes in SBA law, the timing could potentially hurt both sides. 

“At a time when the NFL’s broadcast antitrust exemption is under increasing scrutiny, it’s probably not a good idea for Amazon to talk so openly about eventually streaming a Super Bowl,” reported ProFootballTalk on X. 

In 2008, Amazon Prime Video landed its first deal in England to broadcast the US Open tennis tournament live. Then came another contract a year after that, and this time the platform acquired the rights to air the Premier League. At present, the company’s over-the-top platform streams the NFL, the NBA, NASCAR, and the NHL in Canada, among others.

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Amazon has added major games to its package over the years and is giving tough competition to other digital platforms such as Netflix, YouTube, and Apple TV. But even then, Prime Video executive Jay Marine believes the platform lacks that ultimate annual game that would break TV viewership records and receive global attention.

According to him, the company is dead set on making its Super Bowl dream a reality. “For us, our ambition has always been to broadcast the absolute best, the pinnacle of live sports,” Marine told The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand. “We never thought we wouldn’t do that in the fullness of time.”

“In the fullness of time, I absolutely expect that will happen,” he added while discussing the possibility of airing the Super Bowl in the future. “Our desire is for that to happen in the fullness of time.”

By “fullness of time,” Marine hinted that he wants Amazon to achieve this goal in his lifetime. But the future of streaming major games on platforms like Prime Video seems uncertain. We can’t say how debates surrounding the broadcast antitrust exemptions will shift viewership trends and business in the coming years. But for now, the NFL is facing pressure, especially as it may have plans to finalize deals with multiple networks. 

And that’s why PFF believes Amazon shouldn’t be too loud about its long-term plans with the NFL. It may seem like an intentional jab at the Federal Communications Commission. After all, the agency plans to reform the system in which most games are locked behind paywalls and can only be accessed based on a user’s subscription plan.

This makes the game less accessible to people who don’t want to spend big or prefer other media to watch the sports. Currently, anyone can catch the Super Bowl on their televisions without paying extra.

Amazon’s journey to NFL dominance began with a $50 million deal in 2017 for non-exclusive streaming rights. This initial foothold expanded with renewals in 2018 and 2019, before the company made its major move: a $1 billion-per-year contract for exclusive Thursday Night Football rights, solidifying its place as a key NFL partner and setting the stage for its current wild-card game broadcasts.

The NFL remains under scrutiny from the FCC and legislation 

Congress passed the Sports Broadcasting Act (SBA) in 1961, protecting major sports leagues from antitrust exemptions to a large extent. The legislation, passed under the Sherman Act, helped sports associations negotiate contracts and terms directly with networks instead of allowing franchises to negotiate individually. But the migration of major games from cable to streaming platforms has worsened the situation. 

These are two major factors that have left the FCC and many sports fans livid. There are high subscription fees for OTT platforms and dwindling access to games on television. As a result, the talks of revisiting the SBA could be on the table. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr echoed his frustration, saying that the rise of streaming platforms could jeopardize the very foundation of the exemption.

“Americans are frustrated when they sit down and can’t find the game they want to watch,” Carr told Fox News in March. “And that feeling grows only worse when they realize that they might need to sign up for another streaming service to watch the game.”

It’s not just broadcast regulators warning about the changing distribution landscape. Lawmakers are also contemplating whether fans are even benefiting from the current setup. The legislation also gave leagues the exemption to bundle their broadcasting rights and sell them as a single package to networks.

Senator Mike Lee believes streaming platforms are blocking public access to these games. “The NFL now licenses games simultaneously to subscription streaming platforms, premium cable networks, and technology companies.”

He also noted that if the games remain behind these paywalls, “these arrangements may no longer align with the statutory concept of sponsored telecasting or the consumer-access rationale underlying the antitrust exemption.”

Moreover, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Pat Ryan raised concerns about the rising subscription charges. It is because of the rise in the number of people switching to these platforms. The environment is concerning for the NFL because they are eyeing tempting deals from major networks. If the legislation removes the exemption, every single franchise will have to negotiate for itself. It could create revenue disparity due to differences in popularity and also affect the revenue sharing and the salary cap system.