Upset that Ohio State’s game against Purdue will be only broadcast on Peacock? An Ohio state senator is, too, and he wants to stop it from happening again.
Bill DeMora, a state senator from Columbus, told the Columbus Dispatch on Friday that he plans to introduce legislation that would prevent public colleges and universities in Ohio from airing sporting events exclusively on paid streaming services.
DeMora told the Dispatch that he believes publicly funded universities like Ohio State should be required to provide a local viewing alternative when games air on paid streaming services.
"I've heard from a lot of folks that are pissed off that the local bar doesn't have the game or they have to spend X amount of money to buy one football game on this Peacock network so they can watch Ohio State," DeMora said.
Details on what that legislation would look like remain scarce, the Dispatch’s Haley Miller wrote, as DeMora has asked the Ohio Legislative Service Commission to investigate the issue.
While Saturday’s game against Purdue will be the first Ohio State football game to air exclusively on a streaming platform, and the first since 1997 that will not be broadcast live on linear television, many other Ohio State sporting events and sporting events for other Ohio universities have already been broadcast exclusively on paid streaming services if they are broadcast at all.
There is no precedent for requiring college sporting events to be broadcast on television, and it’s certain that NBCUniversal would object to such legislation after reportedly paying $350 million per year for the rights to broadcast games both on its over-the-air network and on Peacock. The closest precedent would come from the NFL, which simulcasts its streaming-exclusive games on over-the-air networks in the local markets of the teams playing.
While it’s uncertain whether any such legislation has a realistic chance of passing, it won’t change anything for Saturday’s game, which will be broadcast only on Peacock and over the radio via 97.1 The Fan. Kickoff at Purdue’s Ross-Ade Stadium is scheduled for noon Saturday.
