FCC Unanimously Votes To Get Rid Of NFL Blackout Rule
NEW YORK (CBSMiami) – NFL fans who live in cities that have had home games blacked out due to insufficient ticket sales are celebrating today.
The FCC voted unanimously to eliminate the rule that prevented local network stations from televising NFL games that were not officially sold out by the deadline date for that particular week.
"This is a historic day for sports fans," said Sports Coalition chairman David Goodfriend in a statement. "Since 1975, the federal government has propped up the NFL's obnoxious practice of blacking out a game from local TV if the stadium did not sell out. Today's FCC action makes it clear: if leagues want to mistreat fans, they will have to do so without Uncle Sam's help."
The ruling means that the NFL can no longer insist on network blackouts based on an FCC policy that had previously given the league the ability to do so.
However, the league can still blackout games if the NFL and the broadcast networks agree to continue operating under the terms of the rule that the FCC has extinguished. The NFL just can't use the FCC rule as an excuse anymore.
The newly scrapped FCC rule was put into place in 1975 with the goal of helping to generate revenue for the NFL at a time when the league needed financial stability. That is no longer the case as the NFL has become one of the most lucrative sports leagues in the world.
For instance, in 2013 there were only two games that were blacked out in local TV markets. Meanwhile, the league pulled in a record profit of $10 billion.
Last month FCC chairman Tom Wheeler, speaking in advance of Tuesday's vote to void the blackout rule, said in an editorial that the NFL's position that the rule was still a viable regulation is misleading.
"To hear the NFL describe it, you would think that putting a game on CBS, NBC or Fox was a money-losing proposition instead of a highly profitable multi-billion dollar business," Wheeler wrote. "If the league truly has the best interest of millions of American fans at heart, they could simply commit to staying on network television in perpetuity.
"The bottom line is the NFL no longer needs the government's help to remain viable. And we at the FCC shouldn't be complicit in preventing sports fans from watching their favorite teams on TV. It's time to sack the sports blackout rules for good."
Now fans will have to wait and see what the NFL does next. Considering that the blackout rule truly is an unnecessary thing in current times, the league would be wise not to continue pursuing a regulation that, as far as fans and the FCC are concerned, does more harm than good.
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