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[XiaNaphryz]

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/11343286/fcc-chief-supports-repeal-nfl-tv-blackout-rules

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Ajit Pai called the NFL's television blackout rules "outdated," and urged his fellow Federal Communications Commission representatives to vote in favor of having them repealed to address fan concerns.

"Right now, the FCC is officially on the side of blackouts. We should be on the side of sports fans," Pai said during a news conference in Buffalo on Tuesday. "The FCC shouldn't get involved in handing out special favors or picking winners and losers. And in my view, there is no reason for the FCC to be involved in the sports blackout business."

Pai, one of five FCC commissioners, became the first to speak out in favor of eliminating the NFL policy the FCC instituted in 1975. The regulation prevents games that are not sold out 72 hours in advance of kickoff from being broadcast in the home team's market by cable and satellite providers.

The FCC first weighed in on sports blackout policies in December, when commissioners voted unanimously to seek public input on the issue.

Pai is now calling for FCC chairman Tom Wheeler to put the issue to a vote. A simple majority from the five commissioners, which include Wheeler, is required.

Wheeler has not indicated whether he intends to bring the issue to a vote.

Transcript of the speech he made:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/236624734/Pai-Sports-Blackout-Remarks-8-12-14

To be sure, Congressman Higgins and I don’t agree on everything. He backs the Bills. I cheer for the Chiefs. He’s a Democrat. I’m a Republican. But there are at least three things that can unite Buffalo and Kansas City partisans and folks of all political stripes. First, there’s admiration for Marv Levy, who coached both of our teams with distinction. Second, it has been, is, and always should be the Buffalo Bills. And there’s also this: The time has come for the FCC to repeal its sports blackout rule.

Why do I say that? After carefully reviewing all of the arguments, I don’t believe the government should intervene in the marketplace and help sports leagues enforce their blackout policies. Our job is to serve the public interest, not the private interests of team owners.

During my time at the FCC, I have consistently stressed the need to get rid of unnecessary regulations—of rules that have outlived whatever usefulness they once might have had, of rules that keep hard-working American consumers out of the end zone. The sports blackout rule is just such a rule. The FCC shouldn’t get involved in handing out special favors or picking winners and losers. And in my view, there is no reason for the FCC to be involved in the sports blackout business.

I realize that eliminating the rule is no silver bullet. Even without the FCC’s blessing, there could still be dark screens any given Sunday. So I can’t promise Buffalo residents that they’ll be able to watch all Bills games on television if we get rid of the rule. But that’s no excuse for keeping it on the books. Right now, the FCC is officially on the side of blackouts. We should be on the side of sports fans like Jon Neubauer, who told WIVB News 4 “I can’t make it to every single [Bills] game, [but] I’m still a huge fan.” I want the FCC to help fans like him watch the stars of tomorrow: the next Andre Reed, who was just inducted into the Hall of Fame (and who has stood up for Buffalo of late); the next Thurman Thomas, who made it to five straight Pro Bowls; and the next Jim Kelly, whose brave battle against cancer inspires us even more than all of his on-field heroics.

So this afternoon, I’m asking the FCC to hold an up-or-down vote on ending the sports blackout rule. I hope my fellow FCC Commissioners will join me in voting to eliminate it. And I hope we do that before the rule turns 40 next year, in time for Buffalo fans everywhere to see the Bills play the Chiefs in the AFC Championship game.

 

[DUFFMCWALIN]

Now end the MLB black outs as well and we'll be much better off.

 

[benjipwns]

Typical government trying to stamp out the small businessman. So much for there even being football on TV to watch when all the teams go bankrupt with nobody coming to the stadium.

 

[smokeandmirrors]

Good. Good. Granted I live in a market where the team sells out anyway so I never have to worry but it's bullshit. NFL is better watched at home instead because you need to spend an absurd amount of money to see a game in person.

 

[DopeyFish]

Now end the MLB black outs as well and we'll be much better off.

There's a case going through the courts right now where people are suing the NHL over blackouts... and the case is moving forward

So if a victory occurs against the NHL, rule should be able to be applied to other leagues too... MLB has been co defending in the case

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=459001

http://www.cbssports.com/nhl/eye-on...sion-rights-will-have-case-heard-after-ruling

This is strictly about local vs national and if they lose it would allow teams to sell nationally directly instead of one block

 

[B-Dubs]

Good. Good. Granted I live in a market where the team sells out anyway so I never have to worry but it's bullshit. NFL is better watched at home instead because you need to spend an absurd amount of money to see a game in person.

Seriously, ticket prices are nuts.

 

[benjipwns]

First it'll be this, then they'll get rid of the anti-trust exemptions. Say goodbye to professional sports in this country, thanks Obama.

 

[Jack Scofield]

Black outs are idiotic. I purchased MLB.TV this year because I recently moved to LA and I still want to see the Giants play, but every time the Giants play the Dodgers, I can't watch the game. Instead, they want me to watch it on the local affiliate. The whole reason I bought MLB.TV in the first place is because I DON'T have cable! I mean, I understood blackouts before I even bought the service, but every time I'm stopped from watching a game I'm reminded of how dumb it is.

It doesn't make any sense. Like the article in the OP says, it's outdated.

 

[Kastrioti]

All praise be to the Football Gods.

Such a stupid rule in the first place. The NFL needs to improve the stadium experience if they want to fill seats. On top of that what if there is a Jaguars fan (or any team), the Jags suck, there is no justification for $100 tickets and that fan wants to watch the game on T.V.?

What if that fan can't afford a ticket, and just wants to watch his team play? Either way its the NFLs loss. They continue this shit people will find other ways to watch it.

 

[Sandfox]

Black outs are idiotic. I purchased MLB.TV this year because I recently moved to LA and I still want to see the Giants play, but every time the Giants play the Dodgers, I can't watch the game. Instead, they want me to watch it on the local affiliate. The whole reason I bought MLB.TV in the first place is because I DON'T have cable! I mean, I understood blackouts before I even bought the service, but every time I'm stopped from watching a game I'm reminded of how dumb it is.

It doesn't make any sense. Like the article in the OP says, it's outdated.

Its because they want you to buy cable and this is probably their biggest weapon to keep people from dropping their cable provider.

 

[daycru]

Black outs are idiotic. I purchased MLB.TV this year because I recently moved to LA and I still want to see the Giants play, but every time the Giants play the Dodgers, I can't watch the game. Instead, they want me to watch it on the local affiliate. The whole reason I bought MLB.TV in the first place is because I DON'T have cable! I mean, I understood blackouts before I even bought the service, but every time I'm stopped from watching a game I'm reminded of how dumb it is.

It doesn't make any sense. Like the article in the OP says, it's outdated.

MLB gets majority of their money through television. They're protecting their interests.

 

[DUFFMCWALIN]

There's a case going through the courts right now where people are suing the NHL over blackouts... and the case is moving forward

So if a victory occurs against the NHL, rule should be able to be applied to other leagues too... MLB has been co defending in the case

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=459001

http://www.cbssports.com/nhl/eye-on...sion-rights-will-have-case-heard-after-ruling

This is strictly about local vs national and if they lose it would allow teams to sell nationally directly instead of one block

Thank you for the info! I did not know this. Going to read your links now.

 

[Plinko]

Now end the MLB black outs as well and we'll be much better off.

This. I live in an area with three teams considered to be in the home region, and none of them are even in the state. It is ludicrous.

 

[Lkr]

First it'll be this, then they'll get rid of the anti-trust exemptions. Say goodbye to professional sports in this country, thanks Obama.

And then maybe we can get rid of ridiculous things like salary caps

 

[zroid]

sports blackouts are the fucking worst

 

[billy beane]

Finally I get to watch the Raiders lose at home. My life is complete

 

[acheron_xl]

This. I live in an area with three teams considered to be in the home region, and none of them are even in the state. It is ludicrous.

I lived in Iowa for years. The blackout bullshit is bullshit. I haven't regularly watched my favorite MLB team in, I dunno, 15 years because of the blackouts?

 

[zer0das]

I wouldn't mind seeing the blackout rules get blown up. MLB TV is stupid, my area had 5 teams claim TV rights to it so about a third of MLB games were blacked out at any given time. It's like, really? So damn bad, can't even tell from the map there's so many blackouts, as there's no good way to represent it.

I'm also interested in seeing how mightily the NFL struggles in the absence of black rules to get anyone to show up to the stadium.

 

[XiaNaphryz]

Update!

http://deadspin.com/the-fcc-will-vote-to-dump-its-nfl-blackout-rules-1632599095

Less than a year into his tenure as chairman of the Federal Communication Commission, Tom Wheeler has announced that at the end of the month, the FCC will vote on killing the 39-year-old rule mandating local blackouts for NFL games that don't sell out.

Wheeler announced the call to a Sept. 30 vote—which projects to pass easily, judging from the unanimous vote on the proposal—in a forceful op-ed in USA Today:

The sports blackout rules are a bad hangover from the days when barely 40 percent of games sold out and gate receipts were the league's principal source of revenue. Last weekend, every single game was sold out. More significantly, pro football is now the most popular content on television. NFL games dominated last week's ratings, as usual, and the Super Bowl has effectively become a national holiday. With the NFL's incredible popularity, it's not surprising that last year the League made $10 billion in revenue and only two games were blacked-out. [Ed. note: One in San Diego and one in Buffalo.]

But the NFL's blackout policy remains a real concern for fans. During last year's playoffs, Cincinnati, Green Bay and Indianapolis hadn't sold out their games 72 hours before kickoff. The only way those games weren't denied to fans was that local businesses bought blocks of tickets just so the game could be officially "sold out."

The most egregious case was in Green Bay, where the weather forecast called for a low of minus-15 degrees. Despite decades of unbelievable fan support and loyalty – Green Bay had sold out every regular season game since 1959 – local Packer fans were effectively told that if more people didn't buy tickets to go freeze, the rest of the community wouldn't be able to watch the game on TV.

Today, we are blowing the whistle on this anti-fan practice.

The NFL is, as you'd expect, fighting against any lifting or relaxation of the blackout rule, even though FCC action would not remove the possibility of the league negotiating blackouts into its TV contracts. In July, the league dispatched its full-time lobbyist Ken Edmonds and counsel for both the NFL and the NFLPA to meet with FCC commissioners. NFL representatives argued that the current blackout system "clearly serves the public interest."

Former player Lynn Swann has also been hired as part of the NFL's PR blitz, and has said that blackouts "help to keep NFL games available to every viewer on free, broadcast television."

(The NFL's vague threat seems to be that if it loses the ability to enforce blackouts, it will no longer put its games on network TV. Which would never happen, so you can ignore anything the NFL says about this.)

The FCC vote is on Sept. 30, so by season's end, fans should feel comfortable staying the hell home and watching their teams from the comfort of their couches. Wheeler gets the last word:

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.