Slashdot Mirror
FCC Rejects Blackout Rules
Today the Federal Communications Commission eliminated its sport blackout rules, which prevented cable and satellite television providers from showing sporting events that were blacked out on a local station. It's common practice in the NFL to black out football games locally if the stadium didn't sell enough tickets. The ruling now removes government protections for the NFL's policies (the NFL can continue to black out local broadcasts). The FCC's decision is based on "significant changes" to the industry over the 40 years since the rules were adopted. Television has replaced ticket sales as the primary source of revenue, and the NFL is incredibly popular. They also don't think there's any chance the NFL will move its games to pay-per-view.
I sincerely hope that they go cable only like the NFL threatened to do. The only thing that can stop the NFL and the misplaced US hero worship is their own greed.
The NFL can still black games out. I guess they'll just have to negotiate the rules with the cable networks? If that's how it goes then games will still get blacked out all the time because the networks won't give up the NFL over that rule. Maybe I'm reading this wrong.
If they didn't regulate anything, you'd be eating toxic food, driving cars which burst into flames, and using products which are outright dangerous.
Only a moron would believe that without regulations corporations wouldn't just screw consumers every chance they get.
But, hey, I hear you can probably buy some cheap baby formula from China which has melamine in it ... I'm sure it will only make you a little sick.
The 'free market' doesn't exist, and doesn't solve problems like this.
You're an idiot, who only dimly understands the world around you.
This is why soccer (European football) is so much better to watch. No commercials. The game plays until the time runs out.
Instead of a 1 hour game of football (American), it runs to well over twice that amount, not including the pre and post pontifications.
Here's the way pro football works. Flip the coin to decide who kicks off. Go to commercial. Come back from commercial and have kick off. Four seconds elapse then play is ended. Go to commercial.
Have first three plays of game. Go to commercial. Punt ball away or get second series. Rinse and repeat.
We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower
Because it's primarily a story about modernizing FCC regulations, not primarily a story about sports themselves. I doubt that a sports site would be as interested in the legal aspects of the change; they'd be more interested in the practical effects (i.e. that they get to watch more sports). Discussing legal ramifications of a regulatory change seems pretty nerdy to me.
It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.
Okay, our team is unpopular, how we going to fix this?
.
I know boss, lets prevent people from watching the games.
But won't that mean we'll have less fans in the long run?
No, we figure our team is just going to lose and we don't want anyone to see it
Genius! Black out the game!
God spoke to me
"They also don't think there's any chance the NFL will move its games to pay-per-view."
ROTFLMAO.
What are they smoking? The NFL will go PPV, ASAP.
Book it.
In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.
no one said gov't regulation was a "cure-all" for anything!
YOU said that...
everyone not an anarchist is in favor of government regulation, whether their rhetoric matches their functional beliefs or not
it's merely a question of **what kind of regulation**...there is no debate about the inherent existence of government regulation...yes libertards/GOP'ers use that language, but when they **vote** their actions don't match their rhetoric...they vote to give government money but no accountability because of corruption
that's it...a true anarchist is the only person who can claim to be truly 'anti-regulation'...and an anarchist isn't worth debating about the function of government, b/c their default is always to abolish government completely...b/c they're a true anarchist
everyone else is just debating how the government should regulate...GOP'ers and "libertarians" are most dishonest on this point
Thank you Dave Raggett