Desire Still Strong at the FCC to Act Soon on Sports Blackout Rule Proceeding
Some FCC members would like to act on the sports blackout rule proceeding soon, agency officials said in interviews last week. There’s been no change in position from where the commission previously stood, officials said, referring to the interest of some commissioners in ending the rule. Chairman Tom Wheeler has said he asked the Media Bureau to provide recommendations on the proceeding by early fall (CD July 1 p11). The officials didn’t say whether commissioners had a preference for deciding on the rule on circulation or during a public meeting. The bureau had no comment.
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Interested parties continued to reiterate their stances on the sports blackout rule, including a campaign, “Protect Football on Free TV,” which submitted more than 6,700 letters in support of keeping the rule (CD July 30 p19). The rule enables the NFL to pursue its objectives both of maximizing the in-stadium experience and of having a broad reach of its broadcast games, said an attorney affiliated with the NFL. If the rule goes away, it loses the ability to control its games, the attorney said. “On cable, you don’t have to worry about that anymore.” In her waning days as acting chairwoman, Mignon Clyburn circulated an NPRM proposing to junk the rule, which the agency then approved 5-0 once Wheeler arrived as chairman.
The letters written by football fans echoed the concern shared by NFL, NAB and others that, without the sports blackout rule, professional football games would migrate to pay-TV platforms. Fans don’t want to have to pay $80 a month to watch their favorite football team, “like they do for their favorite baseball team or basketball team,” the attorney said. The letters are evidence showing that people do want their football on free TV, and the commission should take that into account, the attorney said.
Sports Fans Coalition referred to the campaign effort as “AstroTurf,” claiming the “NFL is using empty scare tactics that have been disproved by experts in the record,” said David Goodfriend, chairman of the coalition, which successfully petitioned the agency to start the proceeding. The rule is “really outdated and unnecessary” because “there are multiple copyright statutes that prevent the willy-nilly importation of out-of-market signals,” he said. The NFL is wrong on the law, he said: “Even if they believe they need the extra protection, they can negotiate for it with pay-TV companies and pay for that extra behavior.” Some broadcasters have opposed ending the rule, while some pay-TV companies have wanted it junked; Goodfriend has worked for Dish Network.
The attorney affiliated with the NFL urged the FCC to consider the cost implications for consumers if football games migrate to cable and satellite TV as a result of ending the rule. If the games do go to pay-TV, customers would have to start paying high costs to watch them, the attorney said: “That should weigh in the commission’s calculus.” (klane@warren-news.com)