Bulwark Takes: Pat Ryan’s Plan to END Sports Blackouts

Date: November 6, 2025
Host: Tim Bowen (Bulwark)
Guest: Rep. Pat Ryan (D-NY)

Episode Overview

This episode dives into the growing frustration around sports broadcasting blackouts in the U.S., caused by disputes between major media and streaming companies. Host Tim Bowen chats with Congressman Pat Ryan, who has introduced legislation aimed at stopping these blackouts and holding companies accountable. The pair also touch on broader themes of political strategy after recent elections, the struggle against corporate monopolies, and the urgent need for Congress to address real-life quality-of-life issues that impact everyday Americans.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Reflections on the 2025 Election Results

• Pat Ryan opens with optimism about the election outcomes, emphasizing a renewed sense of moral clarity and public pushback against “bad, wrong things” (01:28).
• He argues Democrats should avoid complacency, warning:

  “We cannot revert to like a totally failed, old, tired, status quo playbook... it's just who fights for the people, who fights against the elites, calling out heroes and villains.” (04:13-04:37)

• Both note recent local Democratic wins in New York and Virginia, signaling energizing grassroots momentum (01:28-02:40).
• Tim Bowen cautions against overconfidence, recalling that Democratic overperformance can breed complacency, which previously hurt them in the 2024 cycle (03:01-03:34).

2. The Congressional Battlefield and Recruiting Strategy

• Bowen and Ryan agree that the House battle will be determined by tough, well-funded races, and that recent redistricting may have slightly leveled the playing field but the challenge remains steep (05:41-06:45).
• Ryan describes a recruitment strategy focused on “stretch races”—less obvious districts where candidate quality and local engagement could make a crucial difference:

  “I'm particularly focused on getting more, not just military veterans, but patriotic candidates, service candidates, teachers, nurses, firefighters, cops, veterans. That’s… a really powerful combination.” (07:13-08:05)

• The pair suggest prioritizing donations to underdog races rather than those already flush with national party cash (08:24-08:48).

3. The Sports Blackout Crisis & Ryan’s Legislative Response

• Bowen vents his frustrations as a YouTube TV subscriber who couldn’t watch live football due to a blackout caused by a dispute between Disney and Google, representing a common viewer experience (08:51-09:55):

  “You gotta have subscriptions, like 9 things to watch every game of your favorite team. It’s stupid. You have a bill out to deal with that. Let’s talk about that.” (09:43-09:55)

• Ryan introduces the “Stop Sports Blackouts Act”:
  • Purpose: To compensate consumers when promised live sports content is withheld due to “carriage disputes” between streaming/platform providers and content owners (09:58-12:05).
  • He positions sports as one of the last truly nonpartisan spaces Americans share, making it even more essential to keep accessible.
• Ryan draws a wider analogy to vertical integration/monopoly problems in other U.S. industries, e.g., beef processing and energy—arguing that unchecked corporate consolidation leads to worse service and higher consumer costs (12:23-13:51):

  “This is just about as un-American, I think, as you can actually get—to have no competition.” (12:40)

• Ryan on economic unity:

  “This is… a broadly unjust thing that’s hurting everybody where we can build a coalition politically… whatever you think on other issues, we’re all together getting hurt, harmed, and if we don’t all together fight back, this is just actually going to get worse.” (14:11-15:05)

4. Details & Goals of the “Stop Sports Blackouts Act”

• Key provision:

  “If you are a subscriber and you’re paying… and you don’t have that service for that time period, you have to pay back those customers.” (15:09-15:28)

• Also proposes removing the legacy antitrust exemption for cable/streaming companies:

  “Congress needs to go back and say, whatever was decided in the 60s, it’s not working. This is not helping people.” (15:28-16:17)

• Aims to create real disincentives for blackouts, rather than just offering post hoc refunds (15:30-16:41).
• Both Bowen and Ryan rant about the user-unfriendly reality of modern streaming, where fans need multiple subscriptions/platforms to follow the same team (16:41-17:50).

5. Sports, Community, and Political Division

• Bowen notes sports is not totally apolitical, referencing the firing of an LSU athletic director due to his party affiliation in Louisiana (17:52-18:36).
• Ryan acknowledges exceptions but defends the idea that most sports settings remain nonpartisan civic spaces worth protecting:

  “We gotta preserve and expand these spaces… like civic groups, faith groups, like that’s the only, one of the only ways out of where we are.” (18:40-19:20)

• Politically, Ryan argues that tackling “smaller” quality-of-life issues (like sports blackouts) is just as important as major national debates (19:20-19:39).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Pat Ryan on the election results:

  “When bad, wrong things are happening both substantively and morally, the American people will still come out and send a message.” (01:28)

• Pat Ryan on the importance of fighting corporate blackouts:

  “This is an important window into the broader kind of lens of what’s happening… we have just straight up vertical integration and monopolies in almost all these parts of people’s lives. The service keeps getting shittier, the costs keep going up…” (12:23)

• Tim Bowen on sports streaming frustrations:

  “You gotta have subscriptions, like 9 things to watch every game of your favorite team. It’s stupid.” (09:43)

• Pat Ryan on building a bigger coalition:

  “It’s just actually a broadly unjust thing that’s hurting everybody where we can build a coalition politically and say… we’re all together getting hurt, harmed, and if we don’t all together fight back, this is just actually going to get worse.” (14:11)

• Pat Ryan on modern streaming chaos:

  “When it started, I think we all were like, oh, this is going to be better. It’ll be cheaper, it’ll be easier. It’s a fucking mess, right?” (16:17)

Key Timestamps

• 00:30: Intro, post-election political chat
• 01:28 - 02:40: Pat Ryan’s takeaways from the election
• 05:41 - 06:45: House map and redistricting implications
• 07:13 - 08:05: Candidate recruiting strategy and local roots
• 08:51 - 09:55: Sports blackout personal frustrations, lead-in to the legislative discussion
• 09:58 - 12:05: Ryan introduces the Stop Sports Blackouts Act
• 12:23 - 14:11: Broader monopoly issues and the consequences for everyday Americans
• 15:09 - 16:17: Bill provisions and the need to revisit antitrust policy
• 16:41 - 17:50: The chaos of modern streaming for sports fans
• 18:36 - 19:20: On preserving nonpartisan public/civic spaces
• 19:20 - 19:39: Tackling “smaller” issues alongside large ones

Action Points & Further Information

• To support Rep. Pat Ryan’s efforts or the Stop Sports Blackouts Act, contact your representative or visit patryanforcongress.com
• Ryan encourages bipartisan support:

  “We’ve been actually saying to people, hey, call your representative, whatever the party, ask them to get on this bill.” (20:17)

In their own words, both Bowen and Ryan deliver a spirited, informal, and relatable discussion that blends political insight with daily life aggravations, all while drawing attention to the crucial need to rein in corporate overreach in sectors impacting millions of Americans.