On February 25, 2026, the FCC’s Media Bureau issued a Public Notice seeking public comment on “sports broadcasting practices and marketplace developments,” as more live sports migrate from free over-the-air broadcast TV and traditional pay TV distribution to streaming platforms and subscription services.

This is a request for comment and record-building step, not a proposed rule or enforcement action. The proceeding is open under MB Docket No. 26-45, with comments due March 27, 2026 and reply comments due April 13, 2026.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr publicly promoted the inquiry, emphasizing the consumer experience of trying to find games across many different online platforms and what that shift means for local broadcasters.

Key questions the FCC is asking

The Public Notice frames the issue as a marketplace shift that can expand viewing options, but also increase navigation complexity and push more games behind subscription paywalls. The Bureau is asking commenters to address current and emerging trends and their effects on both consumers and broadcast stations, including local stations’ ability to support public-interest programming such as local news and reporting.

Specific areas the FCC highlights include:

• Consumer impact: How the present marketplace benefits or harms consumers, including the difficulty of finding events and the need for one or more subscriptions to follow preferred teams or leagues.

• Fragmentation: Whether distribution fragmentation facilitates or inhibits local broadcast stations’ ability to meet public interest obligations.

• Rights and exclusivity: How rights are being packaged and licensed (including exclusive and non-exclusive arrangements) and what that means for consumer access and local-market availability.

• Cost and “stacking” dynamics: The notice points directly to the multi-service reality for major sports (including NFL games spread across many services) and cites estimates that the “watch everything” path can become expensive.

• Does subscription distribution matter?: The Bureau explicitly asks whether it matters that many of the relevant platforms are subscription-based services.

When and where to file comments

Comments in MB Docket No. 26-45 are due March 27, 2026, and reply comments are due April 13, 2026. Filings are made through the FCC’s Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS).

Why now

The FCC’s inquiry lands as sports rights continue to be sold across a widening mix of broadcast, cable, and streaming services, increasing the odds that a single fan needs multiple subscriptions to follow one league or team across a season. The Public Notice itself flags the growing prevalence of streaming paywalls and consumer navigation challenges.

Per AP reporting, the discussion is also unfolding against broader policy and legal context, including ongoing attention to what the Sports Broadcasting Act covers (and does not cover) as distribution moves beyond traditional broadcast, plus recent congressional interest in how leagues coordinate and sell broadcast rights.

It is also worth noting the NFL’s counter-position in coverage of the inquiry: the league argues that most games remain available free-to-air in local markets, even as national packages and exclusive streaming windows expand.

INSIDER TAKE

Treat this as a regulatory signal for subscription video operators and any business relying on premium content to drive acquisition and retention: the FCC is building a formal record around paywalls, fragmentation, and consumer cost, with live sports as the leading example.

• Exclusivity is the pressure point. When consumer access and “where do I watch” confusion become part of an official record, exclusives and windowing mechanics tend to draw the hardest questions.

• Stacked subscriptions are being framed as a consumer experience issue. That is the lens that can expand beyond sports over time, even if no rulemaking is on the table today.

• Operators should watch the downstream ops load: entitlement clarity, geographic restrictions, refunds, cancellations, and support demand when fans feel forced into multiple services to follow one product.