According to a proposal, the FCC thinks the rule had become obsolete. FCC aims to end NFL blackouts

The Federal Communications Commission is pushing to end the sports blackout rule — a move that would roll back nearly 40 years of blocking TV broadcasts of NFL games in which the local team doesn’t sell out its stadium.

A ripple effect across the television sports spectrum could come with the commission’s historic and unanimous vote to look into the change. Ultimately, it could affect what games are seen in which cities and allow fans of long suffering teams to actually watch their hometown teams on TV. But the FCC action also could create a new problem for NFL team owners trying to sell out massive football stadiums.


According to the commission’s notice of proposed rule making, the FCC thinks the rule is obsolete.

“Changes in the sports industry in the last four decades have called into question whether the sports blackout rules remain necessary to ensure the overall availability of sports programming to the general public,” the commission wrote. “In this proceeding, we will determine whether the sports blackout rules have become outdated due to marketplace changes since their adoption, and whether modification or elimination of those rules is appropriate.”

Even though the blackout rule applies to all televised sporting events, it has, in effect, become the NFL’s rule as the league has some of the most restrictive blackout policies and is fighting the hardest to keep the rule. The NFL contends the rule is still needed because it helps fill stadiums and enhances the game for both the TV viewer and fans on-site.

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“We will strongly oppose any change in the rule,” said NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy. “We are on pace for a historic low number of blackouts since the policy was implemented 40 years ago. While affecting very few games the past decade, the blackout rule is very important in supporting NFL stadiums and the ability of NFL clubs to sell tickets and keeping our games attractive as television programming with large crowds.”

According to the league, there has been only one blackout for attendance this year.

Lawmakers in D.C. were quick to weigh in.

“The FCC’s unanimous vote today is a big victory for sports fans,” said Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). “This June, Senator [Richard] Blumenthal and I sent a letter to FCC Acting Chair [Mignon] Clyburn, urging the Commission to move to eliminate the Sports Blackout Rule, which is no longer supported by facts or logic.”

Blumenthal (D-Conn.) added: “Existing blackout policies quite literally leave fans in the dark, and leagues or programmers that enforce them should not be rewarded with special regulatory status, antitrust exemptions, or taxpayer subsidies.”

While the FCC has yet to make a final decision on the rule, the fact that it is seeking to end the rule is significant. For many sports fans, the move was a long time coming.

“The American sports fan just won another round, thanks to the Federal Communications Commission’s latest action,” said David Goodfriend, chairman of the Sports Fans Coalition, which is pushing to put an end to the rule. “This is the beginning of the end of the Sports Blackout Rule in particular and government subsidization of anti-fan behavior by sports leagues more generally.”

But the National Association of Broadcasters contends that the FCC’s proposal is a solution in search of a problem. Instead of putting more games on TV, the action will put more sports on pay-platforms, the organization argues.

“Sports blackouts are exceedingly rare, and NAB dislikes these disruptions as much as our viewers,” the NAB wrote in a statement. “We’re concerned that the FCC proposal may hasten the migration of sports to pay-TV platforms, and will disadvantage the growing number of people who rely on free, over-the-air television as their primary source for sports.”

While proponents of the rule will get a chance to argue its merits before the FCC, the commission made it clear that those wanting to retain the rule will have an uphill battle.

”We propose to eliminate the sports blackout rules and seek comment on the potential benefits and harms of that proposed action on interested parties, including sports leagues, broadcasters, and consumers,” the commission wrote.

If the commission votes to end the rule, it may not immediately spell the end of sports blackouts as contractual arrangements between the sports leagues and television providers would still be in effect.

Blackouts have drawn increased scrutiny from Washington policymakers recently amid concerns that high ticket prices put games out of the reach of many consumers. Others have worried that the FCC’s rules haven’t kept pace with the explosion of new ways people consume sports, including on iPads and other devices.

According to the NFL, the number of blackouts has fallen by the decade with 92 percent of the games going on the air in the 2000s compared with 69 percent in the ’90s and 60 percent in the ’80s.

Congress took action in 1973 so local blackouts could come only when a venue fails to sell out 72 hours before game time. In 2012, the NFL changed its policy: A blackout can now be avoided if a team sells 85 percent of its tickets.

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