Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961
Title
Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961
Subject
Text of the 1961 US House Bill exempting the NFL from anti-trust laws.
Description
The Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 was passed in response to the NFL's inability to cooperatively sell the TV rights of the league as a whole because of anti-trust laws. The act exempted the NFL (and other professional sports leagues) from the anti-trust legislation, recognizing the cooperative, interdependent nature of the different franchises. The bill also recognized the validity of the NFL "blackout" rules that remain controversial today. First proposed by Representative Emanuel Celler of New York, it passed both houses with little opposition and was signed into law by President Kennedy on September, 30th 1961.
Creator
US Congress. House. Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961.87th Cong., 1st Sess., 1961, Public Law 87-331. http://uscode.house.gov/statviewer.htm?volume=75&page=732
Date
September 30, 1961
Contributor
Grant Cokeley
Type
US Law Code
Files
Collection
Citation
US Congress. House. Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961.87th Cong., 1st Sess., 1961, Public Law 87-331. http://uscode.house.gov/statviewer.htm?volume=75&page=732
, “Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961,” The American Century, accessed January 29, 2023, https://americancentury.omeka.wlu.edu/items/show/135.