Conference Of Mayors Backs FCC Sports Blackout Rule

The National Conference of State Legislatures has asked the Federal Communications Commission not to eliminate its Sports Blackout Rule.

That rule backstops sports league broadcast blackout policies by preventing cable or satellite operators from carrying the blacked-out games to those local markets. The FCC has proposed scrapping the rule.

In a letter to FCC chairman Tom Wheeler, the conference said the rule "serve[s] the interests of states as well as the public by [helping to promote] economic activity, civic pride and the broadcast of professional football on free, over-the-air television."

The FCC rule helps promote attendance, the conference points out, and the stadiums, whose economic activity is boosted by getting fans in the seats, are often built partly with taxpayer dollars, they point out. "Thus, states share a stake in the continued use, success and vitality of sports facilities."