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Tag: broadcasters

  • NFL Blackout Rule Nixed by FCC, but Games Could Still Go Dark

    NFL Blackout Rule Nixed by FCC, but Games Could Still Go Dark

    The Federal Communications Commission has made a huge move, eliminating the sports blackout rules that have been in place for nearly four decades. The rules, which prohibited cable and satellite providers from airing sports events which were blacked out in local broadcast markets due to lack of stadium sellouts, will no longer be enforced by the Commission.

    But that doesn’t necessarily mean your local NFL game can’t be blacked out.

    According to the FCC, the sports blackout rules are “no longer justified in light of the significant changes in the sports industry since these rules were first adopted.” The FCC argues that ticket sales used to be the primary source of revenue for the NFL, and sellouts were rare.

    Now it’s the blackouts that are rare (only two in the entirety of last season). Not only that, but the NFL’s television revenue was a reported $6 billion in 2013.

    So, the action will “remove Commission protection of the NFL’s current private blackout policy” – but could games still be blacked out?

    Yes, unfortunately for fans.

    The NFL currently has private blackout contracts with broadcast networks like CBS and FOX. These contracts, at least as of now, won’t expire until 2022.

    But according to the FCC, “the NFL will no longer be entitled to the protection of the Commission’s sports blackout rules – instead the NFL must rely on the same avenues available to other entities that wish to protect their distribution rights in the private marketplace.

    In other words, the FCC is no longer the NFL’s enforcer.

    As USA Today points out, cable and satellite operators are now, theoretically, allowed to show a local, blacked out game. This is something that broadcast networks feared could happen with a rule change.

    But once again, blackouts are extremely rare in today’s NFL.

    The NFL, for its part, had this to say:

    “NFL teams have made significant efforts in recent years to minimize blackouts. The NFL is the only sports league that televises every one of its games on free, over-the-air television. The FCC’s decision will not change that commitment for the foreseeable future.”

    Image via Parker Anderson, Flickr Creative Commons

  • Pat Summerall Dies; Sportscaster Was 82

    Pat Summerall Dies; Sportscaster Was 82

    Sports broadcaster Pat Summerall has died at the age of 82.

    According to an Associated Press report, Summerall died at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center on Tuesday following a heart attack.

    Summerall played in the NFL from 1952 until 1961. After retiring from his playing career, Summerall joined CBS sports as a commentator. He began as a color commentator for NFL games, though he would later cover other sports, such as NBA basketball, US Open tennis, and PGA Tour golf.

    In 1981 Summerall was paired with John Madden to provide NFL commentary. The pair would go on to become the most well-known broadcasting team in NFL history. Their collaboration lasted for 22 seasons, including five Super Bowl games.

    “Pat was my broadcasting partner for a long time, but more than that he was my friend for all of these years,” said Madden in a statement. “We never had one argument, and that was because of Pat. He was a great broadcaster and a great man. He always had a joke. Pat never complained and we never had an unhappy moment. He was something very special. Pat Summerall is the voice of football and always will be.”

    (Image courtesy Riley’s Autographs/Wikimedia Commons)

  • Canadian Supreme Court Rules ISPs Not Broadcasters

    Canadian Supreme Court Rules ISPs Not Broadcasters

    Is an ISP a broadcaster? The Canadian Supreme Court doesn’t seem to think so.

    Canada’s Supreme Court, in a ruling this morning, says that ISPs are not subject to the same rules that broadcasters are. Cultural groups argued that since ISPs distribute content, they should be considered a broadcaster according to The Globe and Mail.

    “An ISP does not engage with these policy objectives when it is merely providing the mode of transmission,” the court ruled. “ISPs provide Internet access to end-users. When providing access to the Internet, which is the only function of ISPs placed in issue by the reference question, they take no part in the selection, origination, or packaging of content.”

    If the court had ruled in favor of the cultural groups, it would subject ISPs to levies that broadcasters currently pay. The money that the broadcasters pay go back to content producers in the form of grants to encourage the creation of the original Canadian content.

    The case was filed by the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists, Canadian Media Production Association and the Directors Guild of Canada and Writers Guild of Canada.

    The groups said that they will continue to “press for solutions to ensure all those involved in broadcasting, including ISPs, have a regulatory responsibility to contribute to the Canadian broadcasting system.”