A bipartisan crowd of NYC Council members are crying foul over streaming services gobbling up Mets and Yankees games — and demanding the feds find a way to improve the availability of pro sports on free TV.
Councilmen Frank Morano (R-Staten Island) and Harvey Epstein (D-Manhattan) introduced a non-binding resolution on June 11 calling on Congress to review MLB’s antitrust exemption — which allows it to essentially operate as a monopoly — and “promote the availability of professional sports programming on free, over-the-air broadcast television.”
The measure stems from growing frustration over the increasing number of games being placed behind streaming paywalls and spread across a confusing web of subscription services.
It notes both Yankee Stadium and Citi Field were built with significant public funding, providing MLB and the feds the chance to study the 1922 Supreme Court antitrust precedent and determine whether current broadcasting practices serve the public interest.
It also makes sense to grow the sport, the pols said.
“If a kid can’t easily watch the Mets or Yankees, that kid is less likely to become a lifelong fan,” said Morano, a longtime Mets fan. “The future of baseball depends on the next generation being able to experience the game.
“New Yorkers shouldn’t need five subscriptions just to watch their hometown team.”
Most Mets and Yankees games are predominantly televised on their respective pay-service regional networks, SNY and YES, and on free TV, but fans also must shell out additional bucks for streaming services like Apple TV+, which holds exclusive rights to MLB’s Friday Night baseball package and costs $12.99 a month.
Amazon also holds regional streaming rights for 21 New York Yankees games this year, while Netflix scored rights to the Home Run Derby and other exclusive MLB games.
In the mid-1970s, nearly all Mets games and most Yankees games were on free TV.