Paul Kirby reports in the Daily Freeman that Rep. Pat Ryan believes that Americans should be able to watch sports for free and on Oct. 31 demanded an investigation by federal officials into sports “blackouts.” Ryan sent a letter to the United States Comptroller General and the commissioners, saying that team owners have exclusive control of their private business and who airs games, and they sell the rights to a patchwork of networks and streaming services, “leaving fans with no option but to pay thousands of dollars to watch their favorite teams on streaming services like Apple TV+, Amazon Prime Video, and ESPN+.... Because of these monopolistic practices and ‘blackouts,’ fans still can’t do the one thing they want: watch their favorite teams play ball." Monday was a rare day when all four major professional sports leagues all played games, and Ryan seems miffed that they were not all on free television. Ryan says he has regulatory oversight over sports teams because of the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961, where Congress granted sports leagues an antitrust exemption for their broadcasting agreements. This year Mets and Yankees games were blacked out 25 times each because the league sold exclusive rights to the games to streaming services such as Prime Video, Apple TV+, and Peacock. Ryan said, “Fans who wanted to watch every Mets game this season had to fork over more than $1,400 to a variety of streaming services to avoid blackouts." Ryan wants the Government Accountability Office to investigate. Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.