The NFL will suspend its four-decade long “blackout” rule for the 2015 season.
There will be no blackouts in the 2015 NFL season, the NFL announced today.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 23, 2015
The blackout rule, where a team’s game would not be broadcast in the team’s local market if the game didn’t sell out, has been a sore point for many and it has recently come under criticism from members of Congress and the FCC.
The teams voted on the change on Monday and they’ll use the 2015 season to evaluate how a lack of blackouts will affect the upcoming season. The FCC’s concerns over the policy and the relative lack of blackouts during last season’s games reportedly played a part in the NFL’s decision.
Sources mentioned the lack of blackouts last year when discussing owners' reasoning. FCC thoughts also played part.
— Kevin Clark (@KevinClarkWSJ) March 23, 2015
Seeing as how there really hasn’t been much proof that blacking out televised games results in better ticket sales for teams, this was long overdue. Fans of small markets with low attendance, rejoice! For at least one season, you will be treated like fans of much more popular teams.
