Resolution calling on Congress to review Major League Baseball’s antitrust exemption and the Federal Communications Commission to explore approaches that promote the availability of professional sports programming on free, over-the-air broadcast television.

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Res. No. 503 ..Title Resolution calling on Congress to review Major League Baseball’s antitrust exemption and the Federal Communications Commission to explore approaches that promote the availability of professional sports programming on free, over-the-air broadcast television. ..Body By Council Member Morano, Epstein, Cabán and Schulman Whereas, Baseball is a uniquely American sport that is now played globally, often referred to as “America’s Pastime”; and Whereas, New York City is home to two Major League Baseball (“MLB”) franchises, the New York Yankees and the New York Mets, while also having a rich history of being home to some of America’s first baseball teams, including the Brooklyn Atlantics, the Brooklyn Dodgers (now Los Angeles Dodgers) and the New York Giants (now San Francisco Giants); and Whereas, Baseball in New York City’s cultural significance has nationwide reach, with ESPN reporting that their broadcast of the New York Mets versus the New York Yankees on May 18, 2025 was the most-watched Sunday Night Baseball broadcast since 2018 and the most-watched MLB game of 2025, averaging 2.54 million viewers and over 48,000 viewers in attendance; and Whereas, The nationwide appeal of New York City baseball generates huge amounts of economic activity for the City, including a projected $800 million in economic activity from the 2026 MLB Regular Season alone, as estimated by the New York City Economic Development Corporation; and Whereas, Due to the rich historical and cultural significance of New York City professional baseball and its economic impact, the facilities for local MLB teams were built using public resources in the form of tax-free municipal bonds, subsidies, and tax breaks amounting to $1.2 billion for the New York Yankees’ home stadium, Yankee Stadium, and $614.3 million for the New York Mets’ home stadium, Citi Field, according to reporting by the Brookings Institute; and Whereas, The media landscape for consuming baseball has shifted dramatically in recent years, with MLB prioritizing exclusive deals with major streaming platforms to stream select games instead of relying on free, over-the-air broadcast television deals and localized partnerships with Regional Sports Networks (“RSNs”); and Whereas, On November 19th, 2025, the MLB announced a new 3-year rights deals with ESPN for MLB.TV which allows subscribers to watch their favorite teams outside their home territory, NBC for Sunday baseball games, and Netflix for premium live events including the Opening Night Showcase and Home Run Derby; and Whereas, The MLB also has exclusive agreements to broadcast regular season games on Saturdays to FOX/FS1, regular season games on Tuesdays to TBS, and playoff and major national games exclusively through both networks; and Whereas, The MLB has a blackout policy that emphasizes streaming exclusivity, where over-the-air broadcast television networks and local market RSNs are barred from broadcasting games purchased by streaming entities, in contrast to the National Football League which allows their Thursday Night Football games to be broadcast in local markets despite their streaming rights agreement with Amazon Prime; and Whereas, The MLB’s streaming deals mean that New York baseball fans will have to obtain multiple subscriptions to watch all of their favorite team’s games, with the New York Times estimating that it would cost $790 over the course of the season to watch every New York Yankees game during the 2026-2027 season; and Whereas, Gating games behind subscription services is particularly damaging to New Yorkers who suffer from a digital divide, with the NYC Chief Technology Officer’s Digital Equity Roadmap reporting that 30% of NYC households, or nearly 2.5 million residents, lack the combination of mobile and home broadband service required for full connectivity; and Whereas, Seniors, working families, and others who may find it difficult or prohibitively expensive to maintain multiple subscriptions and navigate multiple streaming platforms may be similarly harmed by exclusive streaming practices; and Whereas, For generations, baseball games were available free of charge on broadcast television and radio, allowing New Yorkers of all income levels to follow their hometown teams and pass their love of the game to future generations; and Whereas, The reduction in accessibility to broadcasted baseball games due to exclusive streaming deals with multiple providers for individual games and strict blackout policies may diminish fan engagement and long-term interest in the sport; and Whereas, Professional baseball has long received an exemption from federal antitrust scrutiny under the Sherman and Clayton Acts that other professional sports leagues have not due to a 1922 Supreme Court decision in Federal Baseball Club v. National League; and Whereas, the MLB and its member clubs should encourage accessibility to professional baseball by voluntarily ensuring that a meaningful portion of games are available on free, over-the-air broadcast television, especially because public support to build their facilities has aided the MLB to grow to the size it is today; and Whereas, Congress has legislated with respect to the applicability of antitrust laws to the MLB and other sports leagues in the form of the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961, and in 2014 the Federal Communications Commission repealed its sports blackout rules, which previously prohibited cable and satellite operators from airing any sports event that was blacked out on a local broadcast station; and Whereas, Current trends in the MLB’s broadcasting strategy, including exclusive deals with providers for individual games and strict blackout policies, continue to harm consumers and make the sport inaccessible for fans; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls on Congress to review Major League Baseball’s antitrust exemption and the Federal Communications Commission to explore approaches that promote the availability of professional sports programming on free, over-the-air broadcast television. EB/CCK LS # 23797/8743 06/03/2026

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