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Big Tech sports broadcast rights could imperil US local TV news, stations say

By Thomson Reuters Mar 30, 2026 | 1:48 PM

March 30 (Reuters) – Major broadcast station owners on Monday said ​U.S. regulators ‌should address the trend of Big Tech companies acquiring the rights ‌to ​broadcast football, ⁠baseball and other ⁠sporting events, saying it could weaken local TV news.

Fox Corp ​said free TV viewers could ⁠eventually lose ⁠access to the ​World Series, Thanksgiving NFL ​football games or the ‌Olympics, citing “a world where Big Tech acquires more and ⁠more broadcast sports rights — often as a loss leader ⁠to ‌support other ⁠massive, vertically integrated ​businesses ‌that primarily profit ​off of ⁠the personal consumption data of its customers.”

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chris ​Reese)