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May 14, 2023 6:46 am  #1


Is This Really Why There Are No NFL Games On TV On Friday?

The NFL made a big deal last week out of announcing its upcoming schedule for the new season. Normally, I'm not all that interested in the game, but the linked article below contains a paragraph about something I've never heard of before:

"The Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 essentially restricts the NFL from airing games on Friday nights when it could keep people from attending high school games and Saturdays when it would compete with college football. While there have been some rare exceptions, the league has generally adhered to these guidelines."

First, there's actually a "Sports Broadcasting Act" in the U.S.? And second, the NFL is forbidden from airing Friday night games? Is this still in effect? At a time when there have never been more TV choices to watch, I can't believe this is still being enforced, if it exists at all. I admit to woeful ignorance on all things football, but this seems crazy to me. 


Are you ready for even more football? More nights could be coming

 

May 14, 2023 9:04 am  #2


Re: Is This Really Why There Are No NFL Games On TV On Friday?

Yes, I used to think that it was strange that the NFL had so many of its games on Sundays until I found out about that act. Here's what Wikipedia has about this at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NFL_regular_season:
Also in 1961, the U.S. Congress passed the Sports Broadcasting Act in response to a court decision which ruled that the NFL's method of negotiating television broadcasting rights violated antitrust laws. The law allows the league to sell the rights to all regular season and postseason games to the networks, but prohibits the league from directly competing with high school and college football games. Since high school and college teams typically play games on Friday and Saturday, respectively, the NFL cannot hold games on those days until those seasons generally end in mid-December.