Our news roundup information overload hour. Here's toll free telephone number. It's eight hundred and nine four one sean if you want to be a part of the program. All right, So, the FCC chair Brendan Carr doubled down on his argument that the NFL could lose its antitrust exemption if they move too many games behind streaming service paywalls, and the DOJ apparently is investigating the league amid the outcry that it has become too pricey, too complicated for sports fans
to watch the favorite teams. Car warning that oversight could extend to the FCC in Congress if the shift to streaming worsens. The experience has become frustrating for a lot of Americans, et cetera, et cetera. Anyway, so it's like for you can watch games on Amazon Prime. You can watch games on other streaming platforms now this year as well, and a lot of fans are angry about it anyway.
Mike Davis is with us. He's a founder president of the Article three project speaking out against and there's so many people angry at the NFL. They have you been ready for a course correction? My biggest problem with the NFL is that they just keep staying woke, and it's frustrating to me. I'm glad I don't see it in the NFL playoffs, and I don't see it that often in other sports, like like we do see it in the NFL. I'm surprised there hasn't been a greater outcry
about it. I guess the Kaepernick case was the biggest outcry, and anyway, it seems to have calmed down. But however, they do embrace woke anyway. Mike Davis, welcome to the program. Glad you could be here.
Thank you for having me on Sean. And you're exactly right. The NFL is supposed to be accessible to all Americans, real Americans in real America. And the NFL got an exemption from our federal anti trust laws with the Sports Broadcasting Act of nineteen sixty one, which allows the professional sports leagues to form essentially legally sanctioned cartels. And this Sports Broadcasting after nineteen sixty one allowed the NFL to pool their media rights and sell them to the networks
instead of having each team negotiate its media rights. But in exchange for this cartel protection in this law, this sports broadcast.
When you use a termline cartel, I mean, it just sounds a little harsh to me. I mean they are trying to maximize their profits, are they not.
Yeah, I mean they are. But they're also getting an exemption from our federal anti trust laws. Right, So in exchange for that exemption, they are supposed to make these games accessible to the broadcasters, to Americans on these on
the broadcast networks. The problem with the NFL now is they are trying to make not only is it too woke, like you said, Sean, it's also be coming to elite where they want to do private They want to do streaming Paige streaming for these NFL football games, and it's going to cost Americans over one thousand dollars if they want to watch all of these football games. And that's just not the deal.
Let me ask you this as somebody that clings really closely to the idea of free markets unless government interference in our lives, I really do cling to that. What would be the alternative, In other words, if you took away this exemption that they've had, what would that mean for them? And they're you know, a private entity in the sense that they're an organization of people of teams.
There's nothing stopping anybody else from trying to compete with them and trying to build out their own league if they want as an alternative. There have been attempts in the past. Donald Trump was part of an attempt to do such. In other words, so explain to me if they if they had the exemption polled, what would prevent them from doing whatever they want with the team?
Right? Well, I mean if they if they lost this exemption, it would mean that the NFL would not be able to negotiate on behalf of all the teams. Each team would have to negotiate their media rights. And I'm with you, I'm a free market conservative, but a free market requires a functioning market. And when you have when you have, you say it's harsh. But if you have the NFL as a cartel essentially that's that's negotiating on behalf of all of the teams, then you don't have a free market.
There's not real negotiations going on. It's it's the NFL doing it. So if you got rid of this exemption, the teams would have to negotiate their own METEA rights. But if they want to, if the NFL wants to keep this exemption, this anti trust exemption from the Sports
Projectcasting Act of nineteen sixty one. In the NFL has to keep its side of the bargain, which means, Okay, you get this anti trust exemption to negotiate media rights, but you also have to make the NFL games accessible to as many Americans as you can, which is what has been happening for the last you know, sixty plus years. It's just it's changing recently where they're trying to go to Paige streaming and that's just cost prohibitive to real
Americans in real America. They can't afford over one thousand dollars to watch football.
I mean, I'm not gonna lie because I'd like to have all the streaming services, and in the case of the NFL, I have red Zone. I'm sure you probably have that as well in Prime if you want to watch a game. But however, I mean the amount of money I spend for all of the different channels and services that are available. I spend the fortune every month through a small fortune, and I don't even watch that
much TV. However, when I do want watch TV, I find that so much of it is crap and garbage that just to find a show you want you have to go through like seven different streaming services just to find something that I'm interested in.
Yeah, no, I agree. Look at we have a free market. If people want to buy streaming, they could buy streaming. But again, if we're going to do a carve out for the NFL of our anti trust laws, if they if they get a sweetheart deal with this Sports Broadcasting Act of nineteen sixty one, they have to live up to their end of the bargain, which is to provide
the broadcasting to as many Americans as possible. When they when they have when they have this, when they're when they're when they get this carp out.
All right, explain how it works for other sports? How does it work for MLB? How does it work for the NBA? How does it work for the NHL for example? Like I know the NHL Playoffs have started and and most of those games are like on ESPN two or somewhere like that, or TBS. How does it work in those cases?
Yeah, it's it's similar. It's this Sports Broadcasting Act applies to all the professional sports leagues, and it's I think it's just the The problem is is that it's the NFL that's being pretty aggressive about this, and they want to go to Amazon Prime, Netflix and they you know, it's just it's becoming too expensive for Americans to watch football. And that was not the intent of this law. And I mean again, it applies to all the leagues.
It's going to be interesting to watch all of this play out because I think you're going to see all of these these different pay services now that have been making a fortune. I think they're going to be more competitive than networks and ESPN and and so on and so forth. They're going to be extremely competitive financially in bidding rights for you know, the rights to run these games. Would you agree, yeah?
Yes. And look, if the NFL wants to that, the NFL does not want to follow that, they don't want to keep their end of the bargain with this anti trust exemption, then Congress can repeal the exemption or the doog that Trump Justice Department, the Anti Trust Division is looking at this right now. They're investigating the NFL. So it's Brendon car at the FCC, as you said, So if they want the exemption, they have to keep their endo.
The bargain.
All right, Mike Davis, we appreciate your insight into this. I know it's very tough for people get so expensive. Everything gets so expensive, Linda, do you have all these pay channels like I do? I have all of you. It's awful. I mean, and most people I know end up getting all of them. I mean, yeah, I want to go back to the box.
I want the cable box that everybody thought was too prohibitive and too expensive. I mean, this is basically a box. Broke it into a bunch of little boxes that costs as much as the box, if not more.
All right, think about this. You have regular cable, right, and then you have YouTube, although in the YouTube channel. Then you have Netflix, then you have Prime, then you have Apple. What am I missing here? I mean there's so many services. Hulu, Disney, Hulu, you have that too.
Fubo, ESPN, ESPN plus UFC. It's ridiculous. I can't even tell you because all the fights.
And the only thing you really watch regularly is my show.
That's it. I mean, it's just stuck on Hannity and when you're not on, I just watched reruns. I'm like, oh my gosh, what about last week's Wednesday show. That was a killer. I'm putting that one back on.
By the way, Linda is loying through her teeth, it's not true. The prosecute. The defense is wrong. But don't you think wrong?
Don't you think Mike is right? Like you know, Brendan Carr has been talking about it, and some other folks have been talking about it, and I feel like it's one of those things where I will tell you, like we go to watch games, even college ball, and I'm like, wait, where is that game this weekend? I thought it was on. No, No, this one has it.
I have the I have. I have college football services too. I have NFL red Zone? Do you have NFL red zone? Do you have?
Do you have all the actually college game I want? Yeah, I got rid of anything NFL. I used to subscribe to the NFL, but I hate them, so I had to unsubscribe and I get it through other networks.
Now, all right, quick break, right back, more coming up your calls also straight ahead today eight hundred and ninefold one, Shawn, as we continue, all right, as we continue our discussion, I have a fiance that loves University of South Carolina, So I have to be. You gotta have it, so you have the SEC network. I do, Yes, I do have a big ten network. I do. Yeah, Well, if you really want the game, then then they're banking on that. You're going to You're going to pay for it if
you really wanted that? Bad is I don't have time to watch all these games? I mean, I give my son a hard time. I mean, he'll take entire Saturdays and Sundays and it did just football get days with him and his voice. That's it. And my Panthers didn't make it this year. But to watch the home games for the Florida Panthers, I had to purchase an app and then it comes up on my phone and then you you you sink it to your TV. Linda, is that not beyond impressive that I can pull that sucker off?
That actually is impressive for you.
And even if it's technology and I have nobody to help me, at that point, I am just gonna dive in. It's just easier for me to say, Linda, fix it, the sweet baby James, fix it. I just don't want to, so I try not to. I mean, that's a terrible.
Now you can watch YouTube, you can literally learn just about anything on YouTube.
If you look, well, I'm sure you watch my podcast. You can watch it on your big screen TV if you go to YouTube and just put in you know, my podcast, and you can watch it whenever you want. You know, I do have YouTube TV hang out with Sean Hannity. Do you have a favorite episode?
Well, I'm partial to Greg and John because they're friends. So I like that episode.
He got a good SETO. Wasn't that really good?
I just love them because they're good people. So for me, it was nice to watch that. John and Greg have years of work. But John specifically really put his neck on the line as an undercover testigative journalist and really dug deep to get no they.
Want one of those sources. They they wanted, and without going into all the details, they came after me with the vengeance. They went after John with a vengeance. They even went after you because you're friends with me. Yeah, they're just sick.
It wasn't completely weaponized and gross, and that's why when this fiend outrage comes where we're holding people on the carpet for actual crimes, like in California and Minnesota for all of the fraud, and they want to be upset about it, or you.
Get to say that again, all of the what, all of the oh.
Stop it? All the fraud, however you want to say, how do you say fraud?
How do you say fraud?
Yeah?
How do you say it?
Okay?
Well, how do you say it?
Okay? Listening for all of the fraud? It's not fraud.
That's not fraud.
No, w a, that that's fraud.
All the fraud, that's frod.
Oh my gosh, you don't even hear it. It's unbelievable.
I'm going to have to go back and find a nineteen ninety six video of view.
You know what.
You know you're not going to be allowed to do play it, so don't waste your time.
Oh I'm going to waste my time.
Oh no, just like you're not allowed to go back and play me filling in the first time I filled in for Rush and the Golden Ei be Michael, that's actually really cool.
That's you know what, that's inspiring.
Yes, it is, because I'm inspiring. I had a panic attack over it. I don't want to be reminded of my trauma.
Let me tell you why you're wrong. This is one of the moments. Let me tell you why you're wrong. That is a moment for other people to see and go, wow, you finally make it. You're filling in for Rush Limbaugh. It's a big moment.
The golden Ei be mic go's crashing in the middle of my opening monologue. But I mean, and then Rush comes back the olden I be microphone.
But here's the cool thing about it. From that point on, you're going to do a great show because you've already made the biggest screw up you can make. Now you just got to do the show. That part's easy, and.
That's a better Rush or a better live in.
Uh, probably live in.
That's it.
You're growing up your country at the end of that better constitution you that's it. I'm done. How's that one? It was perfect?
You know what?
You should try doing your read in Mark Levin's voice.
Now, let me tell you something. I am really disgusted that there are groups in this country. I mean, and this is just evidence that the President's not wrong. The President put out this appeal to Iran that they not execute these eight women. I'm assuming they mean what they say, because the President said, I just got very good news. I've been informed that the eight women protesters who are going to be executed tonight in Iran will no longer
be killed. Four will be released immediately. Four will be sentenced to one month in prison. I appreciate that Iran the leaders respected my request. You know, as the President told me personally last night, Sean, I can I can bomb them any time. And as I reported as I went on the air last night, that this is going to be very short lived, this extension. It was at the behest of the Pakistani Prime Minister and at the behest of the people in Iran because they will be
impacted by what the President is planning. This is going to be another level of shock and all. We have increased our military presence in the Middle East, and we have now restocked and reloaded and we're ready to go. Our military is ready to go whatever the President's going to ask for. And so if the hardliners in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps went out, then it's going to be massive destruction in the end, and not going to
be able to get that nuclear dust. And in the end, the straight of horm Moves is going to be open one way or the other. Although frankly half of me wants the rest of the world to take care of that, not us, considering we don't even get any benefit from it because we don't get our oil through the straight of hormoves. We're putting that aside. But there are groups of people in this country and I discussed this earlier in the program today, that want this president to fail.
And it's spectacular to me. It's incomprehensible to me. It shouldn't be. Now you've got radical leftists. Nothing that Donald Trump can do that is ever going to be right in their eyes. Ever. You know, the poll show that the American people are behind the president. They understand that we can't have a nuclear arm Durant. The American people are smart. Then you have the Democrats that have been he's losing. It's been the most unbelievable up to this
point military victory in the history of warfare. It has been such a one sided campaign, and if the President has to re engage, it'll be again. A one sided campaign doesn't mean when there's not risk associated with it. It doesn't mean it's easy. None of this is easy, and this won't be a forever war. That much, I can tell you. And sometimes it might take a little longer,
a little shorter. But you know what if we try to accomplish here, we don't want a nuclear arm Duran, We don't want them to be the number one state sponsor a TERA. The easier choice for the President is to bomb them into the Stone Ages. But the president is trying to trying to thread a needle to get to where he's comfortable being for our national security. And also think of the ninety million plus Iranian people, through no fault of their own, that have been terrorized themselves.
And then you have, you know, the isolation as lunatics, the people that would have no problem doing nothing. Hear no evil, see no evil, blah blah blah. Okay, those people are just dumb. I don't know. I have so little respect for them because they learned nothing from history. They have learned nothing from Mao in China and Stalin and Russia and Hitler and Germany and Mussolini and fascism and Tojo and Japan. They've learned nothing after World War Two,
and they should have embraced the lessons of history. We didn't need to lose one hundred million people because there was enough evidence of an emerging, real, clear present danger in every one of those cases, and we could have neutralized all of them earlier if we had so acted. Well, we're going to repeat their eror of history and millions potentially die. I would hope not. I would think that would be something that would be universal, that we could
all agree on. You know, Linda said to me, Oh, you want me to book someone that disagrees with you. I'm like, no, because there's nothing to say to them.
I'm never going to convince them that preventing a ran from becoming a nuclear power is in the best interests of our children and grandchildren, because they've already made up their mind, and I think some of them are just outright angry the president didn't listen to them because they thought they had such great influence with the President, and you know, to see their fragile egos explode is kind of hilarious. But that's separate and apart from what I'm
saying here. Then you've got these democrats themselves, which is so disgusting. You got Chris Murphy of Connecticut retweeting or retruthing or rexing Iranian propaganda from a foreign news site, and he that was posted by a former UN hack and in this article of Bragg that at least twenty six Iranian shadow fleet vessels bypassed the US blockade. That
was completely fake news. It was a lie. Just start there, Number one, number two Senator Murphy, you know re you know, post this on X and then adds to it the comment awesome that twenty six Iranian shadow fleet vessels were able to get through the US blockade. He's he's he's cheering against his own country in a conflict against the number one state sponsor of terror. I mean, what kind of human being is this guy? I mean, you talk about America, last of you. I mean, you really want
to you know, He's he's claiming, well, it's sarcastic. There's nothing sarcastic about it. And Murphy was in Europe just prior to this, comparing our duly elected American president to a fascist, well speaking to let's see an audience full of socialists and communists. And he has a long history
of cozying up to Iran. In twenty nineteen, during Trump's first term, he was secretly meeting with the Iranian foreign minister, and then he admitted for years, I have met on occasion with Iran's Foreign Minister during both the Obama and Trump administrations. Uh, I'd like to know, Chris. Inquiring minds want to know what did you talk about? Did you share your disdain for the Great Satan and the Little Satan,
the US and Israel. Now, this is a senator in Connecticut that has been elected by the people in Connecticut, you know, which, like New York has just gets gone. That state is just deteriorating from within. But this is a guy that publicly advocated for Iran's Evil Revolutionary Guard to be removed from America Terror watch List. Listen, I have it on tape. Listen.
Could you take the Rand's Revolutionary Guard off a terror list in order to get a deal?
Yes?
I mean the practical impact of designating them as a foreign terrorist organization is inconsequential. We have dozens of other terrorist designations on the RGC that would remain, and so to me, if that's the barrier to getting a deal, then let's get it done.
Wow. Pretty unbelievable to me, you know, I mean, a city US senator that has more compassion and sympathy for murderers and terrorists inside the Islamic Revolutionary Guard than verse fellow Americans. You know, it should make every American sick to the stomach. You're not going to hear about this on fake news scene and then ABC, NBCCBS, You're not going to read about it in the New York Times,
Washington Post, MSDNC, No, they will ignore it. I guess I should be grateful because that's one of the reasons that this show has been successful, and TV's been successful, and the lunch of the podcast has been successful, thanks to all of you. Anyway, let's get to our phones. Let's say how to Tim and Texas. God bless Texas. Tim, how are you hey?
Thank you Sean. That senator is an idiot. But let me get to my point.
The ceasefire was.
Supposed to end to nine at eight o'clock. If I'm not mistaken. If I was the president and I know he listens to the show, the first thing I would do, I would do it ben is Wayland type attack on carg Island, not to seize it, not to keep boots on the ground, just to evacuate it to where nobody can operate anything. Loadships, unload ships, do anything like that. And then I would put out and notice every six or twelve hours take out an electrical plant, take out
some of their infrastructure. That way, they can't say he's committing genocide because you get before warning. Put the ball back in the Iranians court and make them respond to him without to your point, without going in and totally annihilating I ran, which we can do it in an hour or list. But that's regardless that. I hope that what she said about the female I call them victims or what if you want to call him.
I mean that these women, some of them are as young as sixteen years old.
I hope, I hope.
It's just it's horrible, I hope. But that's the brutality of this regime. Now, the president, as he's told me last night, I can do that anytime I want, and he's now given a timeline three to five days. We'll see what that means. We'll see if the Iranians are able to coalesce behind a solution that would work for the president, and they'll either do it the hard way or the easy way. You know, the Democrats think they're clever. If the president, you know, delays is what's seemingly inevitable.
Not understand that they can't even communicate with each other, the varying factions. Then the president's committing war atrocities, which, by the way, everything that you just mentioned is a legitimate recognized military target number one, number two, or he's taca. He Trump changes his mind. He's proven over and over again. How many times does this man have to act before these idiots would give him credit for doing that which Biden, Kamala, Harris, Obama,
the Clinton's all said that we needed to do. Bush all said we needed to do, and that is prevent Iran from being a nuclear power. There were twelve days away from weapons and weapons enriched uranium. I don't think the president had a choice here.
He didn't, and they'll never give him credit for anything he's doing.
Let's see what happens. The only thing I would urge people is, don't believe the fake news media. Don't believe that this is Oh, this is such a stepback. No, it's not the president. I mean leaning into the possibility of peace, knowing all these options are his and his alone, and there's nothing that they can do to stop it. Gives him all the cards here. So let's see what happens.
I think I, for one, prefer negotiated settlement. Although the safer long term settlement, the better option to end that terror regime completely would be to wipe them out. However, the pain that would be inflicted on innocent people is very great. Give the president props for thinking of the people in Iran as well. Maybe others, don't. I do Blake in Texas again, God bless Texas. Blake, what's going on?
Thank you, Seanan. It's pleasure and honor to be on your phone with you on the radio here, sir, No, thank you to say, if there's anybody with enough compassion to help those women out who are in peril, it would be Donald Trump. And I tell you we need to be supporting our president. And uh, we we voted
him as commander in chief. And if he needs to make the determination if boots go in for whatever reason they go in, whether it's the rescue Ironman, or whether to go in and rescue the good people of Irans, and I wanted to say that I trust him because he has to make decisions in real time. He can't wait for Congress to nitpick and pithy around with with important decisions. And uh, when I want I want to
say that when our young men women. They joined the military, they join with the intention of being of service to our country and arts olid deals, even if it means to going into harm's way. And when when people say, well, we can't have boots on the ground for any reasons, well we don't know all the reason. This is why we should have boots on the ground. You know, these military people they leave their their fears and their worries on the bus before they swear in it the military and listing.
No, we actually did put boots on the ground when we rescued those pilots. You know, if we if we have to put boots on the ground, if they decide they want to extract the sixty percent enriched uranium, whether it's the easy way or hard way, I'd respect the president's decision. If there's an easier way to do it. And in toomb the thing, okay, we could do that as well. Now that we know what the enriched uranium is. Put it in perspective, this is going to come to
an end. Just stand by, watch, wait and see and just have Everyone needs to have a little bit of patience. Here is this complicated business. Let's put it that way. Blake God Busha Man appreciate all our friends in Texas. All right, that's going to wrap things up at today. We got a great Hannity tonight nine eastern on the Fox News Channel. As I said last night, this will be short lived. There is a ceasefire extension. White House said, only three to five days. We get reaction. Lindsay Graham,
Ted Cruz, Cash Betel will join us tonight. What about these eleven missing scientists. Congressman Tim Burshett will join us, and the one and only Clay Travis. That's all coming up. Say a DVR tonight, han Many, nine eastern on Fox. We'll see you then back in tomorrow. Thank you for making the show possible.