Sports-bar owner tells Congress streaming-only NFL package could cost tens of thousands per location

Jim Hallers, who identified himself as the founder and managing partner of Tailgaters Pub and Grill and Citizens Grill in the Houston area, told the House subcommittee that the NFL Sunday Ticket is not just entertainment for his businesses but "an economic driver" that supports jobs and local suppliers.

"A full transition can require a 30 to $40,000 dollar investment per location to show the the current version of Sunday ticket through Everpass," Hallers said, describing the need for streaming boxes, signal-distribution equipment, and much larger internet connections to serve dozens of televisions simultaneously. He said that streaming-related outages or login failures leave customers blaming the bar, not the platforms, and that many smaller venues may lack access to the gigabit internet capacity required to run multiple concurrent streams alongside point-of-sale, security, and Wi-Fi systems.

Hallers urged lawmakers not to block innovation but to consider "reliable, economically realistic" transition policies that take into account the unique role sports bars play as community gathering places. He said the shift from DIRECTV's commercial Sunday Ticket to a streaming-only product called Everpass will force many operators to choose between expensive infrastructure upgrades or more labor-intensive and error-prone manual switching of displays on game day. The testimony emphasized concrete costs and operational hurdles for businesses that rely on live-game access as a core part of their revenue.

The subcommittee later questioned witnesses about whether Congress should revise the 1961 Sports Broadcasting Act or use enforcement tools to preserve over-the-air access, but Hallers' testimony focused squarely on the immediate, near-term burden on small businesses that host communal viewing experiences.