FCC commissioners will consider a proposal to “get rid of the FCC's blackout rules once and for all,” as the agency “will vote on the proposal" on Sept. 30, according to FCC Chair Tom Wheeler in an editorial for USA TODAY. The proposal “fulfills a commitment” Wheeler made in June. The NFL is “loudly opposing this effort.” Wheeler writes, “They claim that the system is ‘working’ and the FCC shouldn't disrupt America's most popular sports league.” Through the first week of the NFL season, two things are clear -- "the NFL is king” and “sports blackout rules are obsolete and have to go.” The rules “make no sense at all.” Wheeler: “The bottom line is the NFL no longer needs the government's help to remain viable. And we at the FCC shouldn't be complicit in preventing sports fans from watching their favorite teams on TV.” It is “time to sack the sports blackout rules for good” (USA TODAY, 9/10). The WALL STREET JOURNAL’s Gautham Nagesh noted the NFL blackout rule “blocks local broadcast of games where fewer than 85% of seats have been sold 72 hours before kickoff, to encourage more fans to attend because they can't watch the game at home.” Blackouts were “once common but there were only two last year, in San Diego and Buffalo, both in December.” The NFL and the broadcasters have “opposed scrapping the blackout rules, arguing they would only accelerate the migration of sports from free, over-the-air channels to pay-TV.” Joining the NFL in “opposing the rule change are the AFL-CIO and the National Urban League” (WSJ.com, 9/9).
