RFK is taking on the sports world now: How the HHS Secretary could cause networks to lose billions of dollars

Don’t let the headline scare you: RFK Jr. is not joining the Chiefs on a one-year deal.

In the late 1990s, regulators made a seemingly modest change in how drug companies could advertise — and it was one that quietly reshaped the landscape of television, and especially sports programming.

Back in 1997, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration introduced a policy allowing pharmaceutical advertisers to run what’s called a “major statement” in their drug commercials. This statement would highlight the most serious risks of a drug, but didn’t require full disclosure of every side effect. It loosened the strict rules around how much information had to go inside the drug promotions.

Because the major statement had to be “clear and conspicuous,” advertisers could weave it carefully in their adverts, making them shorter and clearer, but not comprehensive.

At the same time, sports TV networks were hunting for lucrative ad revenues to sell to their millions of viewers. The new FDA policy created an opportunity: drug and medical ads could reach huge numbers of viewers during sports broadcasts without being hampered by stricter disclosure obligations.

So advertisers flocked to buy time during NFL, NBA, MLB, and other major leagues’ televised games. Networks noticed that it was the perfect mixture: prime viewing time, high engagement, and an easy ride in terms of regulations.

But that model might be in jeopardy. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., now serving as chief anti-vax propagandist in the White House, has made it clear that he wants to revisit the FDA’s 1997 policy. If the rules change and drugmakers are once again forced to list every side effect in exhaustive detail, commercials would skyrocket and lose much of their appeal. For networks, that could mean a devastating hit to advertising income, with billions of dollars tied to spending on sports could evaporate almost overnight.

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Networks rely on these ad dollars both to fund broadcasts and also to justify the astronomical fees they pay across the board. If a key pillar of that system is kicked out, it could ripple through the entire industry, forcing networks to cut costs, renegotiate contracts, or hike up ad prices elsewhere.

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