EXCLUSIVE: As NFL Embraces Streaming, Poll Finds Overwhelming Push Back

FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—Americans overwhelmingly oppose moving live sports viewing to paid streaming platforms, according to a poll by the Internet Accountability Project released Tuesday.

The poll found that 93% of likely voters—across party, gender, and age demographics—said it’s important for live sporting events to be available on broadcast television so they can be interrupted for local emergency alerts, such as tornado warnings.

Another 84% said NFL games should remain on broadcast TV or be available on both free and paid viewing platforms.

“Big Tech and the NFL are quietly dismantling the free broadcast infrastructure that American families relied on for generations, and they’re doing it one exclusive streaming deal at a time,” said Mike Davis, founder and president of the Internet Accountability Project, a conservative advocacy group warning about the potential harms of Big Tech companies.

“Americans know what they are losing,” Davis added.

Only 1% of poll respondents said sporting events should be available exclusively on paid streaming services.

The survey found that a smaller majority—51%—said they were concerned about their local TV station’s ability to fund local news and emergency coverage if it lost the rights to broadcast NFL games.

The poll of 1,800 likely voters was conducted by OnMessage Inc. from March 2–3 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.3%.

Davis said he supported Sen. Mike Lee’s, R-Utah, request that the Justice Department, the Federal Trade Commission, and state attorneys general investigate whether tech companies’ streaming agreements violate antitrust laws.

The Internet Accountability Project cited data from the Federal Communications Commission that found fans would have required paid subscriptions costing an estimated $1,500 per year to watch every single NFL game in 2025.

“As FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said, working families should not have to choose between paying their bills and watching their favorite team play on a Sunday afternoon,” Davis added.

“When Big Tech monopolists control live sports, they control the focus of the nation, and that means they control whether your family gets a tornado warning in time to take cover.”