FCC Proposes Ending Sports Blackout Rules

In this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), the Federal Communications Commission proposes to eliminate the Commission’s sports blackout rules, which prohibit certain multichannel video programming distributors (MPVDs) from retransmitting, within a protected local blackout zone, the signal of a distant broadcast station carrying a live sporting event if the event is not available live on a local television broadcast station.

The sports blackout rules were originally adopted nearly 40 years ago when game ticket sales were the main source of revenue for sports leagues. These rules were intended to address concerns that MVPDs’ importation of a distant signal carrying a blacked-out sports event could result in lost revenue from ticket sales, which might cause sports leagues to expand the reach of blackouts by refusing to sell their rights to sports events to all distant stations. The rationale underpinning the rules was to ensure to the greatest extent possible the continued availability of sports telecasts to the public. Changes in the sports industry in the last four decades have called into question whether the sports blackout rules remain necessary to ensure the overall availability of sports programming to the general public. In this proceeding, the FCC will determine whether the sports blackout rules have become outdated due to marketplace changes since their adoption, and whether modification or elimination of those rules is appropriate. The FCC seeks comment on whether it has authority to repeal the sports blackout rules. Next, it examines whether the economic considerations that led to adoption of the sports blackout rules continue to justify the intervention in this area. Finally, the FCC proposes to eliminate the sports blackout rules and seek comment on the potential benefits and harms of that proposed action on interested parties, including sports leagues, broadcasters, and consumers.