NFL pushes back on criticism of streaming games - ESPN

The NFL is defending its expanded lineup of games on streaming platforms amid criticism from President Donald Trump and scrutiny from the U.S. Justice Department.

While discussing this week's schedule release with reporters, NFL executive vice president of media distribution Hans Schroeder on Friday suggested the league has no intention of pulling back from its partnerships with streaming services.

«We love our model,» he said. «We think we have the most fan-friendly model there is of any sport or entertainment as far as distribution.»

The NFL airs 87% of its games on free broadcast networks CBS, NBC, FOX and ABC, according to league officials. But Schroeder argued that the league is actually meeting consumers where they are in an era of cord-cutting by adding games on platforms such as Netflix.

«We think broadcast [networks] have been an incredible home,» he said. «And, now, we also know fans are increasingly spending their time on other platforms as well. They tune into broadcast for the NFL and that's where we want to be. But we also want to be on these platforms with a limited amount of our games where we know our NFL fans are already as well.

»When we're going onto Netflix, we're going onto a platform that is already massively adopted and a huge number of viewers on that platform already, including a huge number of NFL fans."

Trump criticized the NFL earlier this week for its expansion to streaming platforms, telling news program «Full Measure» that «you've got people that love football. They're great people. They don't make enough money to go and pay this. It's tough.» Asked whether the government would intervene, Trump said, «I don't know, but I don't like it.»

The Justice Department reportedly has begun reviewing