In a unanimous 5-0 vote, the Federal Communications Commission threw out the sports blackout rule that had been on the books dating back to 1975. It allowed sports leagues to use the FCC as a crutch to blackout games in local markets.

The National Football League especially liked the rule so it could enforce its 72 hour policy meaning games had to be sold out exactly three days in advance to ensure they would be seen in the local market. And while in recent years the NFL had relaxed its rule allowing a team sell at least 85% of its tickets, the league still enforced it despite protests from fans and legislators.

So what does this mean? Does it signify the end of all sports blackouts? No. It means the NFL can’t use the FCC to blackmail local markets to buy up tickets to ensure the game will be aired locally. It does mean that the NFL and its TV partners can still agree to blackouts, but it will be without the Feds’ blessing.

And what about baseball? Does this mean the end of the maddening home designation where a territory can be claimed by as many as six teams? No. That is still in place and won’t be rectified by Major League Baseball for the near future despite pledges to do so.

But as far as football is concerned, Federal support for the blackout rule is gone and if a bill introduced in Congress is signed into law, that would take away the NFL’s broadcast antitrust exemption and for all intents and purposes end the local pro football preemptions.

The NFL has been lobbying to keep its exemption in place and has threatened to remove games from broadcast television if the FCC voted to repeal the blackout rule. However, this is an idle threat as the league knows it won’t be as popular if it took games off the broadcast networks and solely went to cable or pay per view.

So the ball is in the NFL’s court and with the league taking hits over concussions and domestic violence, the last thing it needs is to anger fans even further by continuing its antiquated blackout policy. If it wants to get some much needed goodwill from the fans, eliminating its blackout rule altogether would be a good first step.

About Ken Fang

Ken has been covering the sports media in earnest at his own site, Fang's Bites since May 2007 and at Awful Announcing since March 2013.

He provides a unique perspective having been an award-winning radio news reporter in Providence and having worked in local television.

Fang celebrates the four Boston Red Sox World Championships in the 21st Century, but continues to be a long-suffering Cleveland Browns fan.

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