The U.S. Justice Department has launched an inquiry into whether the National Football League has used anticompetitive strategies that may be harming consumers, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The investigation comes amid longstanding concerns raised by major broadcast station owners, U.S. regulators, and lawmakers about the increasing difficulty for viewers to access live sports and the expanding practice of selling broadcast rights to streaming platforms.

The full scope and direction of the probe have not yet been determined, the source said.

In a statement released Thursday, the NFL said that more than 87% of its games are aired on free broadcast television and that all games are shown on free broadcast TV in the local markets of participating teams.

The U.S. Department of Justice declined to comment when contacted by Reuters. The Wall Street Journal first reported the investigation.

Separately, the Federal Communications Commission launched a review in February into the growing migration of live sports away from traditional broadcast networks toward pay TV and subscription streaming services, seeking public input on actions the agency "could take to ensure continued access by viewers to live sports through free over-the-air broadcast TV."

In response, major broadcast station owners last month urged regulators to confront the trend of technology companies acquiring rights to air football, baseball, and other sporting events, arguing it could undermine local television news operations.

The FCC has also noted that many sporting events once available on free broadcast television or standard cable packages are now exclusive to standalone streaming subscriptions, a shift that has frustrated many sports fans.

According to the agency, NFL games were distributed across 10 different services last year, with estimates suggesting consumers could need to spend more than $1,500 to access all games.

In March, U.S. Senator Mike Lee sent a letter to the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission requesting a review of antitrust exemptions related to the NFL’s arrangements with streaming platforms.

A 1961 statute provides major professional sports leagues with an antitrust exemption that allows them to collectively pool teams’ television rights and sell them as a unified package.