Tammy Baldwin

As the NHL and NBA playoffs get underway, Major League Baseball’s season continues and the NFL draft approaches, Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., introduced legislation she said would make it both easier and cheaper for fans to watch their favorite teams.

Her bill, "For the Fans Act", targets what she described as the growing “complexity and cost” of watching professional sports, including blackouts and the need for multiple streaming subscriptions.

Baldwin told The National New Desk that sports can be “one of the great unifiers,” but argued that fans are increasingly being priced out or blocked from watching games. She said that for Wisconsinites who want to follow all their favorite professional teams, “it can cost you over $1,500 a year.”

The bill would specifically target blackouts for subscribers who pay for a streaming service specifically to watch games.

“No more blackouts,” Baldwin said, arguing that fans should not pay for a service only to turn on a game and find they cannot watch it.

They promised you something. You shouldn't have to turn on the TV to find the screen blank. Right. And then secondly, for home state fans, you should be able to, either go to a streaming service or, broadcast and be able to watch your home teams play for free and live," she added.

The legislation would also require that home-state fans be able to watch their local teams live and for free, either through an in-state broadcast network or via a streaming option.

“The bottom line is, home state fans should be able to watch the game live and free,” Baldwin said. "So in some professional leagues like the NFL has been under the microscope here when it comes to this topic of streaming games, specifically the cost, as we keep mentioning, associated with doing so, the Justice Department, the DOJ, even launching an investigation earlier this month into this specific topic.

She added that the bill would still allow teams to generate revenue through advertising, saying, “We’re not saying you have to do it ad-free.”

The senator said she believes there is bipartisan interest in the issue and that she is seeking co-sponsors. She said she had “eager signs of interest” after introducing the bill and pointed to fan frustration during the NFL playoffs as an example of the problem.

She cited a Saturday in January during the NFL playoffs when the Green Bay Packers played the Chicago Bears and, she said, “in most places in Wisconsin, you had to get on Amazon Prime in order to be able to watch the game.” She said, “People were furious that they had to have the subscription,” and argued that similar issues recur across sports, including baseball, basketball, football and soccer.

Baldwin said her bill would not interfere with a review of the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961, calling it “due for an overview” given its age.

She emphasized the importance of revenue-sharing arrangements for small-market teams, pointing to the Green Bay Packers and noting that Green Bay is “a city of 100,000 people,” unlike teams in cities with millions of residents. Baldwin said the For the Fans Act would not disrupt those agreements, describing the bill as focused on preventing blackouts for paying subscribers and ensuring free local access for home-state fans.

Baldwin also discussed the NFL draft, noting that Green Bay hosted the draft last year and calling it “an amazing success.” She said Wisconsin “left a high bar for Pennsylvania for Pittsburgh to carry on,” and added that she was looking ahead to the Packers’ picks, including a second-round selection on Friday. Baldwin said she is “very much looking forward to the team that the Packers field later this season.”