Old television rules are colliding with 21st-century streaming.

Comment “Streaming” and we’ll send you an article that explores this further. When a company broadcasts World Cup matches for free on YouTube, regulators should not automatically treat that innovation as a problem to be classified, licensed, and burdened with old obligations. For much of the 20th century, broadcast regulation rested on a real constraint: spectrum was scarce. The internet changed that. Distribution became cheaper, audiences became easier to reach, and new creators could compete without asking permission from traditional gatekeepers. Yet many regulators still behave as if every new format must fit into boxes designed for another era. That mindset raises costs, slows experimentation, and protects established players that can afford compliance. Smaller firms, new platforms, and free models suffer most. Consumers lose when regulation turns innovation into paperwork. A free media market should begin with room to experiment, not with bureaucracy looking for a category.