(The Center Square) – The Ohio State Buckeyes played one football game televised on a streaming service, and an Ohio lawmaker wants to stop a second.
Leading up to and during Saturday’s Ohio State game with Purdue, fans flooded social media with complaints about the extra cost to watch on NBC’s streaming service Peacock and poor service, announcing and production.
Sen. Bill DeMora, D-Columbus, called the move to streaming greedy and said he plans to introduce legislation that would stop Ohio public colleges and universities from airing sporting events exclusively on streaming platforms.
“The greed of the Big Ten and multinational streaming corporations is placing an unreasonable burden on Ohio’s small businesses, which rely on their ability to air games,” DeMora said. “Paying thousands of dollars to air one game is a ridiculous requirement for small businesses. This problem is created wholly by public institutions seeking to make a profit.”
DeMora, an Ohio State alum, said businesses across the state that wanted to air the Purdue game were forced to play thousands of dollars, including one bar that paid $3,600 to show the game on six televisions.
Saturday was the first time since 1997 an Ohio State football game was not watchable on linear, or traditional, television channels.
Saturday’s game is the only football game planned for Peacock, but the Ohio State men’s basketball team has five games scheduled for streaming, beginning with a Nov. 10 test against Texas A&M.
