On Mon, Nov 4, 2013 at 12:25 PM, Doug Fields <d...@flids.net> wrote: > Nope…upon further research, it appears I was on the right track after all. > > > > > http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/01/us-usa-broadcasting-blackout-idUSBRE9A00ZW20131101 >
Here is another storty that makes the same point, in somewhat expanded form: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-blackout-fcc-nfl-20131104,0,5510670.story#axzz2joqp3Ypn This has been an unusually confusing story - because FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn was so cryptic in her statement (back when she was acting chair last week), and because I (and, it seems, many sports fans) were so fuzzy on what the actual rule has been, and because many of the news reports were equally fuzzy, and did little to clarify the situation. The FCC rule prevents cable/satellite providers from circumventing a local sports blackout. The FCC neither requires local blackouts, nor requires them to be lifted. Lifting this rule is mostly an issue in the broadcaster vs cable wars, and has little to do with making sports programing more accessible to the public. The Times article notes that: "Blackouts used to be commonplace in the NFL. In 1980, 35% of all games were blacked out in a team's home market. By 2000, the figure was down to 14%. Last year, only 6% of games were blacked out and this year none have been blacked out." I suspect most of the recent blackouts have been Raider games. I think Doug's original question still stands unanswered: How did the original rule ever serve the public interest? Similarly, how does getting rid of the rule serve the public interest? It seems like the idea is that the rule serves the public interest by making sure that cable operators do not have an unfair advantage vs over the air broadcasters; this ensures that sports programing will continue to be available over the air. Getting rid of the rule serves the public I suppose because so many fans now have access to cable/satellite that they do not need over the air, and are hurt by not being able to access distant feeds of locally blacked out events. -- -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to tvornottv@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to tvornottv-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to tvornottv+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
