FCC Unanimously Strikes Down NFL Blackout Rule

Are you ready for some local televised football?

In a unanimous decision, the Federal Communications Commission voted Tuesday to eliminate the National Football League's controversial blackout rule. Citing "significant changes in the sports industry since these rules were first adopted nearly forty years ago," the FCC said in a release that the NFL would have to pursue its own "private blackout policy." The release also confirmed that "the NFL will no longer be entitled to the protection of the Commission’s sports blackout rules" and that the league "must rely on the same avenues available to other entities that wish to protect their distribution rights in the private marketplace. "

The original rule stipulated that professional football teams' home games could not be televised in their local markets -- on cable or broadcast -- unless the games were sold out 72 hours prior to kickoff. The rule was enacted in 1973 to encourage local attendance at NFL games.

The rule has come under increased scrutiny in recent weeks. According to Sports Business news, teams like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had ownership buying tickets to keep games on local TV. Because of this, only two NFL games were blacked out during the 2013 season and no games have been blacked out so far in the 2014 season. 

FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel told Government Executive that the decision was a "victory for fans." FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai also chimed in, saying, "With this decision, the FCC is officially out of the sports blackout business."

The decision comes at a time when the NFL is under intense criticism for player behavior, ranging from substance abuse to child abuse to domestic violence. In addition, NFL leadership has been criticized for not being proactive on workforce-related brain injuries and the defense of the blackout rule adds another layer of criticism on the league. Three lawmakers -- Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and John McCain, R-Ariz., and Rep. Brian Higgins, D-N.Y. -- recently sponsored a bill called the FANS Act that would revoke exceptions, including Major League Baseball's antitrust exemption, for any league that imposed blackouts.

On Twitter Tuesday, Higgins lauded Pai in particular for his work on eliminating the blackout.

Commissioner Ajit Pai on eliminating @FCC Sports Blackout Rule: "It is the Commission's job to serve the public interest..." #BillsMafia

— Brian Higgins (@RepBrianHiggins) September 30, 2014

Last week, the NFL said it would look at the FCC's decision when it came down.

“We’ll review the FCC’s decision on the blackout rule, which has worked for decades to make our games available,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told Politico. “With or without the rule, the league will continue to work to find new ways to bring more people to the game, and bring the game to more people.”

The NFL has yet to release a statement on the FCC's decision.