New Delhi, April 10 -- The US government has opened a sweeping investigation into the business practices of the National Football League, a move that could reshape how millions of Americans watch the country's most popular sport and threaten one of the most powerful financial models in global entertainment.

The inquiry, led by the US Department of Justice, is examining whether the league's increasingly complex web of broadcast and streaming agreements has crossed a legal line, restricting competition and driving up costs for consumers.

At the center of the case is a simple question with far-reaching consequences: Has the NFL's transformation into a streaming-first media empire made football less accessible to its own fans?

This develop...