Examining the Sports Broadcasting Act

From: https://docs.house.gov/meetings/JU/JU05/20260610/119369/HHRG-119-JU05-Wstate-HallersJ-20260610.pdf

Jim Hallers
Founder and Managing Partner, Tailgators Pub & Grill and Citizens Grill

Subcommittee on Administrative State, Regulatory Reform and Antitrust

House Judiciary Committee

June 10, 2026

Thank you, Chairman Fitzgerald, Ranking Member Nadler, and members of the Judiciary
Committee. My name is Jim Hallers, and I am the founder and managing partner of Tailgators Pub &
Grill and Citizens Grill in the greater Houston area. Since 2009, I have built, acquired, or sold more
than a dozen restaurants and bars. I want to thank you for allowing me to testify today on behalf of
my businesses, the National Restaurant Association, and the Texas Restaurant Association.
My path into the restaurant industry was not traditional. I spent 25 years in Information Technology,
working in software consulting and technology infrastructure. Like many Americans, I loved
watching sports with family and friends, but I was frustrated by the lack of neighborhood places
where people could gather, have good food and drink, and watch competitive games together. So,
in the middle of a recession in 2009, I opened the first Tailgators Pub & Grill.

It was risky, but the demand was there. What started as a side hustle became my full-time passion.
Over the last 17 years, I have built a business around bringing together two things Americans love:
good food and sports.

From the beginning, our goal was simple: create a neighborhood-focused sports bar experience
that was not cookie-cutter. We serve quality food, local flavors, good prices, and big portions in a
relaxed atmosphere where customers can cheer, holler, and most importantly, enjoy the game
together.

For years, that model worked smoothly. We subscribed to the commercial version of NFL Sunday
Ticket through DirecTV and showed the full Sunday NFL lineup on dozens of big screens. It was
expensive, but in a large sports bar it made sense. Sunday Ticket was not just entertainment for our
customers. It was an economic driver for my restaurants, my 400+ employees, and the local
suppliers we depend on.

In Texas, we also see a lot of domestic migration from other states. My suburban locations serve
customers from all over the country. On any given Sunday, I may have fans of the Texans, Cowboys,
Steelers, Packers, Bears, Bills, Eagles, and many others sitting in the same building. For that
business model, offering the full slate of NFL games is not optional. It is part of what our customers
expect.

That is why my all my locations were built around the assumption that DirecTV would continue to
be the commercial Sunday Ticket provider. We invested heavily in that system because it was the
standard way restaurants and sports bars delivered NFL games.

But the television landscape has changed dramatically. Sports programming has been split across
Prime Video, Peacock, Netflix, YouTube, and other platforms. For a home viewer, that may mean
downloading another app. For a restaurant, it means more streaming devices, more remotes, more
logins, more video inputs, more switching equipment, more cabling, and more Internet bandwidth.
Because we promise customers every NFL game, we now have to figure out how to deliver multiple
simultaneous streams across dozens of televisions. One commercial video switch with enough
inputs and outputs can cost in excess of $15,000. A full upgrade including equipment, wiring and
the labor will cost $30,000 to $40,000 per restaurant.

And then there is the bandwidth problem. It is one thing to stream a game at home. It is another
thing to stream ten noon games at once while also running point-of-sale systems, credit card
processing, security cameras, online ordering, music, office systems, and customer WiFi. When a
game freezes during a key play, the customer does not blame the provider. They blame the
restaurant.

Now we face another major transition. Beginning with the 2026 season, EverPass is the commercial
provider for NFL Sunday Ticket. But EverPass does not replace the rest of the programming my
customers expect. I still need DirecTV, cable, or another provider for the in market football game,
and all the other channels and programming that make a sports bar work.

So instead of simplifying the business, the transition is adding another layer of cost and complexity.
I cannot simply replace 40 DirecTV boxes in one venue with 40 streaming devices. It does not work
like this. The Internet capacity, hardware, control systems, and reliability are not there yet.

This is especially difficult because restaurants operate on very slim margins. Labor is our highest
cost. Food costs remain high. Insurance, rent, utilities, and repairs keep increasing. Every dollar I
spend on a major technology upgrade is a dollar I cannot spend on payroll, food costs, equipment,
or improvements for my employees and customers.

My businesses in Houston depend heavily on two seasons: football season and crawfish season.
Crawfish season depends on Mother Nature. Football season depends on the NFL, its media
partners, and the technology systems that deliver the games. When that system becomes
fragmented and expensive, it directly affects my bottom line.

I am not here to oppose innovation. Streaming may be the future, and I understand that technology
changes. But for restaurants and sports bars, this transition is not as simple as changing the
channel or swapping a box. It requires real money, real infrastructure, and real operational risk.
Restaurants and sports bars like mine are part of the game-day experience. We help turn football
into a community event. We employ people, support local suppliers, collect sales taxes, and give
fans a place to gather together.

As Congress examines the Sports Broadcasting Act and the modern sports media marketplace, I
ask that you remember the commercial establishments that bring these games to the public every
week. We need a transition that recognizes the realities of running a small business, protects
customer access, and allows restaurants like mine to keep investing in our employees, our
communities, and the fans who gather with us every Sunday.
Thank you for your time. I look forward to your questions.