FCC Ends Rule That Led to NFL ‘Blackouts’

[Garion_55]

Source: Time.com

The FCC brushed aside the NFL's objections that blackouts were needed to drum up attendance at undersold games

The Federal Communications Commission unanimously voted Tuesday to revoke its support for “sports blackouts,” in which a sports team can suppress local broadcasts of its games until it has sold a certain percentage of stadium seating. But the FCC said blackouts could continue as part of separate agreements between teams and local broadcasters, raising questions about whether the rule change will really lead to fewer blackouts.

The little-known rule, which was first put into effect in 1975, disproportionately affected NFL games, which were blacked out if the team hadn’t sold 85 to 100 percent of its tickets 72 hours before kickoff.

Read more: http://time.com/3449766/fcc-nfl-blackouts/

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wow!

[Reter]

1. Now, if only they will do the same with baseball!

[SoapBox]

2. And basketball.

[lastlib]

4. and chess!

[davidpdx]

5. Glad to hear this

If you lived in an area with a team and the game wasn't near sellout you were SOL. The damn games are becoming too expensive to attend.