Roger Goodell declines invitation to appear before Senate hearing on streaming

The Senate Finance Committee will be holding a hearing on Tuesday regarding the ongoing migration of sports from broadcast TV to streaming.

One requested witness has opted to pass.

John Ourand of Puck reports that Commissioner Roger Goodell has declined an invitation to participate.

The letter to Goodell from Finance Committee chairman Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) includes a sentences that Ourand accurately characterizes as "ominous": “Given the unique federal statutes that apply to the NFL’s broadcasting rights, such as the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961, the Committee is especially interested in understanding how the League balances commercial innovation and its legal responsibilities.”

The Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 grants the NFL and other pro sports leagues the ability to sell TV rights as a league and not on a team-by-team basis. Moving the games from broadcast networks to streaming services tests the limits of the antitrust exemption. As we explained two years ago, the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 arguably applies only to broadcasting through traditional over-the-air channels. Streaming deals for games previously televised on three-letter networks could fall beyond the scope of the exemption.

Goodell is free to decline the invitation; only a subpoena would compel him to attend. Still, saying "no" to the folks who hold the legislative power carries with it some risk. Especially at a time when the league could be (and perhaps should be) tiptoeing on corporate-sponsored eggshells given simmering animosity toward the NFL from the current chief of the executive branch.