Nearly 40 years later, FCC finally pulling plug on NFL blackout rule which it previously found “was…
It appears the FCC is finally set to the pull the plug on the NFL blackout rule, which prohibits a local team from being televised in its…
It appears the FCC is finally set to the pull the plug on the NFL blackout rule, which prohibits a local team from being televised in its home market unless the game is sold out. Initially, the NFL blacked out all games in a local market, something which President Nixon helped change in 1972 with S. 4007, the “antiblackout law”. This change permitted local games to be shown on local television provided the game was sold out 48 hours in advance.
That bill was eventually signed into law in 1973 and existed for three years, until 1976 when it expired. The NFL agreed to make the revised law league policy. Over the years, the NFL has modified its policy to its present iteration where teams can establish their own benchmark for attendance, so long as it is 85% of capacity.
It is interesting to note that in 1976, following a three-year review of the “antiblackout law”, the FCC concluded the following, in the words of Stephen R. Lowe (1995 p. 101):
The FCC’s 1976 report declared that the law was not harmful in any way to professional football. On the contrary, greater television exposure spawned greater fan interest, which had actually led to higher attendance at the stadium, not an increase in the number of no-shows.
Glad we got that cleared up…