U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin is pushing for sports fans to be allowed free access to broadcast sports events in their home state through her bill, the For the Fans Act.
Baldwin strategically held a press conference via Zoom on Sept. 24, the same day as the Green Bay Packers home opener against the Atlanta Falcons, which was being broadcast on Amazon Prime, a streaming service that requires a subscription, instead of on network television, which has been a tradition for decades.
“Today is one of those days Wisconsinites circle on their calendar,” Baldwin said. “There’s a crispness in the air, and tonight the Green Bay Packers play their home opener at Lambeau Field. The sound of football should fill living rooms and sports bars across the state, but tonight, millions of Packers fans won’t be able to simply turn on the TV and cheer on the Green and Gold, and that’s because the game is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.”
This year, four of the Packers games are being broadcast on streaming services, including the night before Thanksgiving, a special Wednesday night football game where Green Bay faces off against the Los Angeles Rams that will be shown on Netflix. Baldwin said requiring fans and businesses to “shell out money” to watch a sporting event that’s practically in their backyard is unacceptable.
“In January, the Packers-Bears playoff game was also on Amazon Prime,” Baldwin said. “It was the kind of game that Wisconsinites expect to crowd around the TV to watch together, but folks across Wisconsin discovered they couldn’t get it through their normal TV package.”
Baldwin said that sports fans shouldn’t be forced to pay more money to watch events on television at a time when the economy is stretching families’ budgets to the extreme. Under her bill, sports leagues would still be allowed to ink deals with streaming services to broadcast games, but they would have to provide a free option for the local market. That means, in Wisconsin, there would need to be a free option to watch the Packers, the Milwaukee Brewers and the Milwaukee Bucks.
“This could be broadcasting on TV, a streaming network, YouTube or wherever they want,” Baldwin said.
The For the Fans Act would also prevent the leagues from blacking out any games for local markets, according to Baldwin. She noted this is for those who can afford the streaming services but discover after the fact that certain of their favorite team’s games are not being broadcast like they thought.
“This doesn’t just affect families at home. This also impacts sports bars and restaurants, where so many Wisconsinites gather to watch the games together,” Baldwin said. “For establishments with multiple TV monitors, these streaming costs add up very, very quickly. Our sports unify us, whether it’s a high-five with a stranger at a bar when the Packers score or a simple smile and a nod at the grocery store who has on a Brew Crew T-shirt. Our sports really do bring us together.”
Baldwin estimated the cost for watching all of the Packers, Bucks and Brewers games on streaming services will cost each Wisconsin household an average of $1,400 per year.
“My bill, the For the Fans Act, would put a stop to this chaos,” Baldwin said.
Don Mjelde, eastern district vice president of the Wisconsin Tavern League who owns two establishments in Green Bay, said his small businesses have been seeing costs jump up, and keeping up with providing sports for his loyal customers has eaten away at his bottom line. He noted that Thursday night football games, which are exclusively on Amazon Prime, would cost business owners anywhere from $1,100 to $95,000 per year, based on the size of the business.
“What makes this unique is its geographic impact on our state, as well as other states in the nation,” Mjelde said. “If you want to chance it and break the rules, there’s a fine, anywhere from $750 to $30,000 and could escalate to $150,000 if proven willful, and that’s per violation, per streaming service, per instance.”
The current state of sports access is causing economic strain on bars, restaurants and supper clubs, and Mjelde believes Baldwin’s bill is the way to get rid of it.
“With thousands of small businesses being impacted in Wisconsin, something needs to be done,” Mjelde said. “Speaking on behalf of a lot of these businesses, I hope the For the Fans Act continues with bipartisan support to regulate costs and streaming blackouts and provide free access for everyone.”
lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com
