1. I have no idea what the FCC could possibly do about sports moving more and more from broadcast television to streaming services, but for some reason the organization announced that it is launching a public inquiry into the matter.
Here’s the absurd statement from FCC chairman Brendan Carr.
For decades, Americans enjoyed turning on their TV & quickly finding the game they wanted to see.
— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) February 25, 2026
Yet watching your favorite team play isn’t as easy these day. Many games are still on broadcast, but an increasing number are on a range of different online platforms.
Today, the… pic.twitter.com/0NkscbH0FB
I find this completely comical. I’ve been ranting and raving about everything in sports going to streaming literally for years and NOW the FCC wants to get involved after it’s way too late. The ship has sailed. The horse is out of the barn. Add in whatever ridiculous cliché you want here.
Amazon has Thursday Night Football. Netflix has NFL games. NFL Sunday Ticket is on YouTube. NFL playoff games have aired exclusively on streaming services. Major League Baseball has sold its Opening Day game this year to Netflix.
The FCC looking into this now is like a fireman hosing down the remains of a house after it’s already burned down.
Again, let’s say the FCC finds that too many sports are on streaming services. What exactly can it do? It’s a free-market, capitalist society. The leagues have a product. They can sell it to whoever they want.
The issue at this point isn’t even that sports has moved from broadcast to streaming. The issue is just how offensively expensive it is to have access to games if you are a fan of several sports. But again, what exactly can the government do about that?
And why should the government stop there? Why doesn’t it look into venues that charge you $100 to park your car? Or arenas that charge you $8 for a bottle of water? Or nonsense like this.
An authentic Nike Aaron Judge Team USA World Baseball Classic jersey costs $419.99 on Fanatics.
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) February 25, 2026
It ships in April. The WBC ends in March. pic.twitter.com/xI3thUnQ5x
It’s not against the law to pull things from broadcast and put them on streaming. It’s not violating any kind of act. It’s not breaking any agreement.
The only thing worse than sports moving to streaming platforms is the government trying to get involved in sports moving to streaming platforms when it appears it’s just for show.
2. A brand new SI Media With Jimmy Traina dropped this morning. This episode features a conversation with Puck sports media reporter John Ourand.
Ourand explains what’s going on with the NFL television rights deals, which are expected to be reopened later this year. Is there any chance CBS or Fox could lose their Sunday packages? How much more of the pie will streaming services get? Will the NFL diminish Sunday Ticket? Are we going to see more playoff games on streaming platforms?
In addition, Ourand shares his thoughts on what ESPN will do with the NFL Network, the NBA’s new deal with Amazon, where things stand with Fox keeping the World Series and much more.
Following Ourand, Peter Schrager from ESPN fills in for Sal Licata and joins me for the weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. Topics covered with Schrager include the nonstop NFL schedule, his best celebrity interaction during Super Bowl week, dealing with the big blizzard that hit the East Coast, a couple of Larry David-esque moments, his iced coffee addiction, television recommendations and more.
You can listen to the SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast below or on Apple and Spotify.
You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on YouTube.
3. The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand reports that NBC will likely part ways with Football Night in America cast member Tony Dungy.
The show still has Devin McCourty, Jason Garrett, Chris Simms and Rodney Harrison, so I’m not sure if NBC even needs to replace Dungy.
The most fascinating part of this whole story to me is this line from Marchand: “Sources said that no final decisions have been made on the show, and Dungy has not been fully informed of the move, leaving the small possibility NBC could change its mind.”
Two things. One, if it got leaked to Marchand, it’s happening. Two, I’m not a Tony Dungy fan, but even I think it’s pretty rough that after being with NBC for 17 years, he has to find out he’s going to get the boot via Marchand’s column.
4. NBC’s decision to dedicate Sunday nights to the NBA continues to pay off.
This weekend’s Celtics-Lakers game drew 5.6 million viewers. It was the most watched non-Christmas or non-Opening Night regular-season game since 2017.
5. Yankees pitcher Cam Schlittler quickly became a fan favorite in his rookie season last year when he put up a 2.96 ERA in 14 starts while striking out 84 batters in 73 innings.
It’s a good thing Schlitter was so dominant because otherwise he wouldn’t last long in New York with these food takes.
6. New York Times The Washington Post
The Athletic is hiring Barry Svrluga, Adam Kilgore, Candace Buckner, Ava Wallace, Spencer Nusbaum and Jason Murray https://t.co/KDTHb22f39
— Dan Steinberg (@dcsportsbog) February 26, 2026
7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: In the mailbag that I did on Monday, I mentioned my old Hot Clicks days. Reader Steve from Boston, who was a reader back then as well, emailed me to request I feature one of the all-time great Hot Clicks videos in Traina Thoughts. Here you go.
Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on X and Instagram.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as The FCC to Look Into Sports Moving From Broadcast to Streaming.
