WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) introduced a new bill to stop professional sports leagues from blacking out games for fans, end the complicated web of streaming services, and cut costs for viewers across the country.
The For the Fans Act will ensure that local sports fans can watch their favorite sports team in one single location, for free. Baldwin’s new legislation comes as the evolving digital landscape has turned watching sports into a costly subscription nightmare, with fans paying thousands of dollars to watch their teams play.
See for yourself:
New York Times: U.S. senator introducing bill intended to make sports TV more accessible to fans
April 15, 2026 – Andrew Marchand
As fans, leagues, media companies and various branches of the government grapple with an increasingly complicated and frustrating sports TV landscape, U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a Democrat from Wisconsin, plans to introduce the “For the Fans” Act that is designed to decrease consumer TV costs and make local games easier to access, while ending blackouts for fans with out-of-market subscriptions.
…
If enacted, the new bill would impact the NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, WNBA, MLS and NWSL, among other leagues. All nationally televised games involving pro teams from a state would be made available for free statewide, via broadcasting or streaming and on a consistent channel or service.
…
This past January, the issue was in the spotlight in Wisconsin. The Chicago Bears faced the Packers in a Saturday playoff game on Amazon Prime Video. By NFL rule, the game has to be offered in its local market on a free outlet, such as a broadcast network. However, this rule only applied to Green Bay and Milwaukee, leaving out Wisconsin’s five other media markets, according to Baldwin.
“For many fans in Wisconsin, the only place to watch the game was on Amazon Prime, so families were forced to pay Jeff Bezos just to watch the game,” Baldwin said. “It’s extremely frustrating to not know how or where to watch the games we love. It’s also damn expensive.”
NBC Sports: Senator Tammy Baldwin will introduce bill aimed at game accessibility
April 15, 2026 – Mike Florio
When it comes to the various attacks on the way the NFL does its broadcasting business, the league is a lion tamer in a cage full of untamed lions.
The latest development comes from the U.S. Senate, where Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) plans to introduce a bill making it easier for fans to watch games on TV.
…
The NFL has, since selling its first national cable package in the 1980s, made games available in the local markets via free, over-the-air network affiliates. Baldwin’s bill would expand that footprint significantly, requiring free access throughout a given state.
“It is leveling the playing field for fans,” Baldwin told Marchand. “Sports leagues and teams of all sizes will continue to be able to make money from advertising and media rights. We just want to have some basic ground rules to bring down costs for fans.”
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Tammy Baldwin targets game blackouts, expensive sports streaming apps
April 15, 2026 – Hope Karnopp
U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a Democrat from Wisconsin, is taking aim at what she called the “maze of subscriptions” with legislation that would prohibit game blackouts and require a free access option for local fans.
“This web of expensive services only benefits the leagues, the big streaming services and the billionaire owners of these sports teams – and not the fans,” Baldwin said at a virtual news conference.
…
The bill would apply to men’s and women’s professional baseball, basketball, football, hockey and soccer leagues but makes exceptions for minor-league teams and leagues with fewer than eight teams.
…
Baldwin cited the Packers’ wild-card playoff game against the Chicago Bears that streamed exclusively on Amazon Prime Video. At the time of the Jan. 10, 2026, game, the streaming service cost $14.99 per month or offered a 30-day free trial. Two markets – Green Bay and Milwaukee – had the game on local TV channels.
“I heard from folks across the state, confused and angry as to why they have to shell out even more money to a company owned by one of the richest guys in the world, just to watch their home game on television,” Baldwin said.
Wisconsin Examiner: Sen. Baldwin introduces bill to stop sports blackouts
April 15, 2026 – Henry Redman
U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin introduced a new bill Tuesday aimed at making it simpler and cheaper for people to watch professional sports.
Currently, for a fan in Wisconsin to watch every Packers, Brewers and Bucks game in a year it costs more than $1,500 annually to purchase the necessary streaming services and subscriptions — a cost that Baldwin said Wednesday benefits league and streaming service executives, as well as the billionaire owners of sports teams, at the expense of fans.
“This isn’t just a Packers or a Wisconsin issue. This has become an American issue,” Baldwin said during a Wednesday news conference. “What used to be grabbing the remote and hitting a button or two has turned into a maze of streaming subscriptions, unexpected blackouts or a sky high payment. To top it all off, there is no consistency, and it is flat out confusing for fans.”
Baldwin’s For the Fans Act includes two major provisions meant to make it cheaper for people to watch their favorite teams. The first would prohibit league-owned streaming services, such as MLB.Tv or NBA League Pass, from blacking out games that are played locally or on a third-party streamer. The second would require the leagues to provide a way for local fans to watch all games for teams based in the state in which they live.
See also:
Northern News Now: Baldwin bill would require free access to local pro sports games
WEAU News: Sen. Tammy Baldwin’s bill proposed to keep Packer games off streaming-only platforms
NBC 26: Baldwin introduces bill targeting sports blackouts, streaming costs
Baldwin’s press release announcing the bill is available here.
A one-pager on the bill is available here. Full text of the bill is available here.
An online version of this release is available here.
