Netflix, Amazon and YouTube form a streaming lobby as sports paywalls draw fire
Netflix, Amazon and YouTube launched the Streaming Access and Choice Alliance on 14 September. It will argue that leagues should be free to sell games to streamers.
Photo: Soumith Soman / Pexels
Netflix, Amazon and YouTube have formed a streaming lobby in Washington, Axios reported on 14 September 2026. The Streaming Access and Choice Alliance, or SACA, is run by the tech trade group TechNet. Mike Ward, TechNet’s senior vice president for federal policy, leads it.
SACA wants “technology-neutral” rules for sports rights
The group says it will push for technology-neutral policies. In practice, leagues should stay free to sell games to streaming services, and platforms should be able to keep investing in live sports. Ward said Americans want more choice in “how and where they watch”, sports included.
FCC chair Brendan Carr questions the 1961 sports law
The launch comes as Washington looks harder at sports on paid services. The FCC and the Justice Department have opened an inquiry into the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961, TNW reported. FCC chair Brendan Carr has asked whether the law’s antitrust exemption pushes too many games behind paywalls.
The House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the law in June. Senator Tammy Baldwin has proposed a bill that would require free access to local teams’ games in one place, PPC Land reported.
Fans are confused. A Gracenote study found that one in four sports fans cannot find the game they want to watch. To see every NFL game, a fan needs six networks, three streaming services and a YouTube subscription, according to PPC Land.
Sports on subscription services grew 52% since 2024
TNW reported that sports content on the major subscription services has grown 52% since January 2024. Almost every US household, 99%, has at least one streaming service, and the average is three. Only 36% still pay for cable or satellite. Streaming services also want more ad money, and Disney+ now shows ads on every plan.
Broadcast networks gain from any rule that keeps more games free to air. Netflix, Amazon and YouTube lose if Congress limits what leagues can sell to them. Advertisers who buy live sports on those services would then have fewer games to choose from.