Fan Group: FCC Needs To Throw Flag on Sports Blackouts

Sports Fan Coalition Finds Teammates for Push to Repeal Rule

By John Eggerton -- Multichannel News, 2/14/2012 10:39:13 AM

Washington -- The Sports Fans Coalition - joined by Public Knowledge, Media Access Project and other advocacy groups -- has filed public comments in support of its petition to the FCC to scrap its sports blackout rule, which they say is outmoded and fan-unfriendly.

In a filing at the Federal Communications Commission on Monday, the coalition and its supporters argued that the rule has been rendered obsolete by the changes in the economics of sports and technology.

"In the name of maintaining the availability of sports, the commission ironically perpetuates the practice of restricting the availability of games on various video platforms through the Sports Blackout Rule," they argued.

The advocacy groups see the problem as two-fold. The National Football League, the main target of the petition, blacks out the local-market TV broadcasts of home games that are not sold out 72 hours before kickoff, and the FCC's blackout rule prevents cable or satellite operators from filling in that TV void.

"The leagues are at the root of the problem, because they currently charge exorbitant prices for tickets, which, in turn, results in lower attendance," said the coalition. "The leagues then punish fans by blacking out games from television because a few seats remain unsold, under the theory that doing so will help ticket revenues and avoid television images of empty seats."

The commenters also make the point that sports leagues enjoy public subsidies through taxpayer-funded stadiums, infrastructure to get to those stadiums, tax exemptions and more. "The public should be able to watch the games that they helped to finance."

The coalition recognizes that getting rid of the FCC rule would not mean the NFL would have to lift its blackout. It argues, though, that without the FCC blackout as a "corporate welfare tool to prop up multi-billion dollar operations" the league may find that the policy is not in anyone's best interest, and may also be forced to lower ticket prices.

 The NFL argues that it is the most broadcast-friendly sports league and that the FCC blackout rule is part of a package of exclusivity rules - such as syndicated exclusivity (syndex) and network nonduplication - intended to protect TV broadcasters.

The FCC is seeking comment on whether to open a rulemaking on the issue, as the coalition has requested.