FCC Seeks To Eliminate NFL Blackout Rule

FCC Seeks To Eliminate NFL Blackout Rule

Acting Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn has shaken up the regulatory agency – and potentially the National Football League – by eliminating a longstanding NFL blackout rule.

In a statement to the press, Clyburn announced that the agency is considering dismantling the commission’s rule that mandates sporting events to be blacked out in certain conditions. More specifically, the sports law allows the NFL to blackout television coverage of games in a team’s home market if it isn’t sold out within 72 hours of kickoff. Clyburn alluded that the rule, which was put in place in 1970, may be outdated.

“Changes in the marketplace have raised questions about whether these rules are still in the public interest, particularly at a time when high ticket prices and the economy make it difficult for many sports fans to attend games,” said Clyburn. “Elimination of our sports blackout rules will not prevent the sports leagues, broadcasters, and cable and satellite providers from privately negotiating agreements to black out certain sports events.”

The NFL is currently considering the proposal, which could have large implications for sports broadcasting in the future. In recent years, the NFL has largely softened its “sellout” definition, and enabled sports to sell only 85 percent of all non-premium tickets in order to lift the local blackout, according to NBC Sports. Historically, the NFL has argued against any previous calls to dismantle the rule, and spokesman Greg Aiello noted that given the more flexible stance the league has taken toward sellouts, blackouts have been fewer.

“But it is worth noting that there have been no local TV blackouts of NFL home games through the first 133 games of the 2013 season,” Aiello told the news source. In fact, only 6 percent of games were blacked out in the last two seasons. In the 1970s, this statistic was roughly 50 percent, the Los Angeles Times noted.