Entertainment

Baseball Streaming Rights Also Draw Federal Antitrust Scrutiny

A broadcast camera operator at a MLB game.

Photographer: Patrick Smith/Getty Images

US regulators are increasingly scrutinizing the distribution of streaming rights for Major League Baseball games as part of a broader federal inquiry about how professional sports leagues provide their games to online platforms, potentially driving up costs for consumers.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr said that he has so far mostly spoken about issues with broadcasts of the National Football League, but he’s sympathetic to complaints from baseball fans that America’s favorite pastime is too difficult to watch on TV.