FCC ends the blackouts

K-Low_4_Prez · Sep 30, 2014

bout time! Could this effect the Rockets games on national TV in anyway?

lock if posted

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/09/30/fcc-eliminates-nfl-blackout-rules/16480131/

The Federal Communications Commission said Tuesday it repealed its sports blackout rule for the National Football League, eliminating a decades-old ban on airing local games that were not sold out.

The rule change may not trigger significant changes for football fans since almost all NFL games are sold out. The league may still establish its own blackout rules through private contracts they set with broadcasters and cable companies.

In their contracts that run until 2022, the NFL requires broadcast networks to black out a game if a team does not sell out tickets at least 72 hours before the game starts. And the NFL plans to keep the contract in place.

But the FCC's rule change, voted unanimously by all five commissioners, means the agency no longer prohibits cable and satellite operators from airing any sports event that had been blacked out on a local broadcast station. And now they theoretically would be free to air a local game -- one that has been blacked out on the local broadcast station -- by carrying another station outside the market that's airing the game.

"NFL teams have made significant efforts in recent years to minimize blackouts," the NFL said in a statement. "The NFL is the only sports league that televises every one of its games on free, over-the-air television. The FCC's decision will not change that commitment for the foreseeable future."

Vigorously opposed by broadcasters, the blackout rule is "no longer justified in light of the significant changes in the sports industry since these rules were first adopted nearly forty years ago," the FCC said in a statement.

In the early 1970s, NFL teams relied primarily on ticket sales to generate revenue and the rule was implemented to encourage fans to attend games. But the league has diversified its revenue base by reaping billions in advertising and programming licensing fees from networks.

Despite player concussions and other controversies surrounding its players and teams, the league's popularity is growing unabated and only two NFL games were blacked out last season.

"Blackouts of NFL games are increasingly rare," the FCC said. "The NFL is the most profitable sports league in the country, with $6 billion in television revenue per year."

Broadcasters have maintained that changing the rule could drive more games away from over-the-air stations to pay-TV providers, like satellite and cable operators.

Cable operators cheered the FCC's move. "We commend the commission's unanimous decision to eliminate the antiquated sports blackout rule," said the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, in a statement. "We encourage the FCC to continue its examination of outdated rules that no longer make sense."

Contributing: Tom Pelissero
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Scionxa · Sep 30, 2014

I'm assuming if you actually read the article you quoted, you'd find the answer to your question.

This doesn't and will not affect the Rockets in any way shape or form, nor does it relate to out of market blackout rules.

K-Low_4_Prez · Sep 30, 2014

Scionxa said: ↑

I'm assuming if you actually read the article you quoted, you'd find the answer to your question.

This doesn't and will not affect the Rockets in any way shape or form, nor does it relate to out of market blackout rules.
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i did read the article, I'm just not sure what this means:

"the agency no longer prohibits cable and satellite operators from airing any sports event that had been blacked out on a local broadcast station."
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It sounds like to me they are basically leaving it up to the leagues now to enforce the blackouts rather than hiding behind the rules of the FCC. In an attempt to force the leagues into ending blackouts altogether because the league doesn't want to be the one to say, "Hey you can't watch our games," they just want to point at the FCC.

Smokey · Sep 30, 2014

The black out being referred to is specific to NFL.

NFL and NBA black outs are apples and oranges.

The NFL blacks out games in the local market if the game doesn't sell out 72 hours before kickoff. There is no local option.

The NBA blacks out national broadcasts in the local market to protect the local broadcasts.

justtxyank · Sep 30, 2014

Nba and mlb blackouts are not FCL blackouts they are league policy blackouts.

This ruling doesn't impact them.

ipaman · Sep 30, 2014

Blackout rules are outdated. They were created to protect owners and ticket sales to the games when tickets were a major revenue source. Nowadays all the money is in TV/Media. Less games on TV for whatever reason is stupid. Especially with revenue sharing. And this logic applies to all sports.

Mr. Brightside · Sep 30, 2014

Why is something negative like this called a blackout? Why don't they call it a whiteout instead?

ChankMcStank · Sep 30, 2014

Mr. Brightside said: ↑

Why is something negative like this called a blackout? Why don't they call it a whiteout instead?
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Because Illuminati.

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FCC ends the blackouts

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