Sports fans: No 'economic rationale' for blackout rule

A coalition of sports fans and consumer groups urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to drop its sports blackout rule in a filing on Tuesday.

The rule, first adopted in 1975, prohibits cable and satellite providers from carrying a sports event if the game is blacked out on local broadcast television stations.

Dropping the rule would have the most effect on the National Football League, which requires broadcasters to black out games if the local team does not sell out the stadium. The rule is meant to encourage fans to buy tickets to see the game live.

"The Commission must be moved to action by the public outcry in this proceeding against sports blackouts and the government policies that enable them," the Sports Fan Coalition, Public Knowledge and the Media Access Project wrote. "Perhaps most compelling are the statements by disabled and elderly fans who are physically unable to attend games in person and therefore rely on television to enjoy the games that they as taxpayers and voters help to finance."

But in a separate filing, the National Association of Broadcasters warned that lifting the blackout rule would lead more games to be shown on cable, rather than free over-the-air television.

"Elimination of the FCC’s sports blackout rules will not force sports leagues to end their blackout policies. But what elimination of the Rules would do is upset a carefully designed and balanced structure that supports America’s unique local broadcasting system and favor pay TV providers at the expense of local stations and their viewers," the broadcasters wrote.

They said that while they "sympathize with sports fans" who are unable to watch their favorite teams, eliminating the rules would "in the long-term, be detrimental to all sports fans."

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