FCC Votes “Blackout Rule” Out

From the Hollywood Reporter: The FCC has voted unanimously to end the “blackout” rule that has allowed the NFL to prohibit broadcasts of pro football games locally if seats remain unsold on the day of the game. The NFL had opposed the elimination of the rule, but the FCC noted that the league’s most profitable revenue stream when the rule was put in place four decades ago was ticket sales. Today it is broadcasts.  Read the FCC Chair’s essay in USA Today promoting an end to the rule here. More here from the Washington Post’s blog The Switch. Read FCC Chair Wheeler’s statement on ending the rule here at fcc.gov.