The short answer is this music is not already covered — networks have to negotiate separate deals to include these songs in their broadcasts.

If you're thinking, "That's not fair — they can't control what other people are playing in the background," you're not alone. Though the networks and sports teams accept that they should pay something, they argue that their lack of control means they should get a bit of a break.

ESPN and music-licensing agency BMI settled a high-profile case in 2017 about this very issue. They were in court to negotiate a blanket deal whereby ESPN could include any music published by BMI (and that's a lot of songs — BMI is the biggest licensing agency in the U.S.) in its broadcasts.

ESPN argued that BMI was asking too much money, since the music it was including was just background sound, rather than the feature of the program, while BMI counter-argued that, "ambient stadium music is a critical component of the broadcast that allows ESPN to attract viewers by making them feel like they are sitting in the stadium cheering on their favorite team."

The TV problem is repeating itself on new media as well.

CBS Sports writer Jonathan Jones wrote a column in 2020 about the NFL's legal wranglings with the music industry over background music in social media posts. He cited similar examples, including videos of "players mic'd up on the field before games with music playing in the background."

That was in 2020, which means these negotiations are likely still ongoing.

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