Justice Department Opening Probe Into NFL 'Tactics': Report...

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has launched an investigation into the National Football League (NFL), according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. Newsweek reached out to the DOJ and NFL for comment via email. Justice Department’s NFL Investigation: What We Know The DOJ's investigation is looking into whether the NFL engaged in anticompetitive tactics that could harm consumers, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the situation. The NFL is granted limited antitrust exemption by the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961, allowing professional sports leagues to jointly sell TV rights without violating antitrust laws. Congress Questioned NFL Antitrust Exemption Some members of Congress have raised concerns about the league's antitrust exemption. Senator Mike Lee, a Utah Republican, wrote in a March letter to the DOJ and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that the modern distribution environment “differs substantially from the conditions that precipitated this exemption.” “To watch every NFL game during this past season, football fans spent almost $1,000 on cable and streaming subscriptions," Lee wrote. "In practice, this requires subscribing to multiple streaming services and maintaining high-speed internet in addition to a traditional cable or satellite bundle. The resulting fragmentation has produced consumer confusion and increasing costs for viewers attempting to watch their teams.” Two Democrats—Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Representative Pat Ryan of New York—earlier this week wrote in a letter to the Federal Communications Commission that “recent changes in the marketplace have increased costs for viewers while affecting their ability to watch nationally televised live sport.” This is a breaking news story. Updates will follow.