Ted Cruz puts the NFL's broadcasting schedule on notice during streaming hearing

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Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, had pointed words for the NFL at the start of the Senate Commerce Committee’s "Field of Streams" hearing on Tuesday.

Cruz suggested the NFL has come close to breaking the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961, which was established to keep the professional league from infringing on the schedules of high school and college football games.

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Sen. Ted Cruz speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Feb. 20, 2025, in Oxon Hill, Maryland. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

The NFL is technically barred from broadcasting games on Friday night through Saturday, starting from the second weekend in September through the second weekend of December, according to Pro Football Talk.

Cruz called it a concern that the league has been able to broadcast games on Black Friday over the last two years.

"One growing concern is that the NFL has used its special exemption in the SBA to the frustration of college and high school football schedules," he said. "For example, the SBA explicitly excludes antitrust protection for the NFL if broadcasting a game on a Friday night or a Saturday between mid-September to mid-December. That’s to protect the interests of high school and college football, and ultimately, their fans, who are no doubt also followers of the NFL.

Sen. Ted Cruz speaks at a press conference on Jan. 25, 2023. (FOX Business)

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"The NFL has tiptoed up to this rule, now putting a game on streaming on Black Friday afternoon, which used to be a slot reserved for