The US Federal Communications Commission has voted to eliminate the controversial ‘blackout’ rule that blocks certain sports events from being shown live on television in their local market if they fail to meet a specified level of ticket sales.
The vote, which took place yesterday (Tuesday) evening, was unanimous.
“It is not the place of the federal government to intervene in the private marketplace and help sports leagues enforce their blackout policies,” Ajit Pai, one of the five commissioners to vote on the issue, said. “It is the commission’s job to serve the public interest, not the private interests of team owners.”
American football’s NFL argued that eliminating the blackout rule would endanger the availability of games on free-to-air television, but FCC members and commissioners said that was unlikely due to current NFL media rights deals running through to 2022.
The NFL will still be able to black out a game on television, but due to the FCC vote, a pay-television provider can show a blacked-out game in a market where the broadcast version is blocked.
The commission’s chairman, Tom Wheeler, added: “I hope the NFL will seize on this opportunity to repudiate blackouts. For 40 years these teams have hidden behind a rule of the FCC. No more. Everyone needs to be aware who allows blackouts to exist, and it is not the Federal Communications Commission.”
The rule will officially be repealed 30 days after a notice of the FCC’s action is published in the Federal Register, which will take about two weeks.