FCC's Wheeler: Sack the Sports Blackout Rules

[dfergie]

FCC chairman Tom Wheeler said Tuesday he will schedule a vote Sept. 30 on getting rid of the FCC's sports blackout rules. The commissioners in December 2013 voted tentatively, and unanimously, to scrap the rules.
In a blog post, Wheeler said the NFL "should no longer be able to hide behind government rules that punish loyal fans."
The rules backstop NFL blackout policies that prevent the importation by cable or satellite operators of distant-signal versions of NFL games blacked out in the home market due insufficient ticket sales.
Without the rules, the NFL can still write those blackouts into their contracts, but Wheeler says the FCC is not going to play along. "Today, we are blowing the whistle on this anti-fan practice," he said.

broadcastingcable.com

 

[bigjohnok]

Next Congress needs to strip the NFL of non profit status.

 

[Voyager6]

Next Congress needs to strip the NFL of non profit status.

The IRS could easily say that the NFL violates the Section 501(c)6.
http://www.businessinsider.com/why-is-the-national-football-league-given-tax-exempt-status-2012-3

Here’s the meat of the IRS’ explanation of how these tax-exempt leagues are supposed to work:

A business league is an association of persons having some common business interest, the purpose of which is to promote such common interest and not to engage in a regular business of a kind ordinarily carried on for profit. Trade associations and professional associations are business leagues. To be exempt, a business league’s activities must be devoted to improving business conditions of one or more lines of business as distinguished from performing particular services for individual persons. No part of a business league’s net earnings may inure to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual and it may not be organized for profit to engage in an activity ordinarily carried on for profit (even if the business is operated on a cooperative basis or produces only enough income to be self-sustaining). The term line of business generally refers either to an entire industry or to all components of an industry within a geographic area. It does not include a group composed of businesses that market a particular brand within an industry.

It seems inconceivable that the NFL is not “engag[ing] in a regular business of a kind ordinarily carried on for profit.” How are their efforts to maximize profits any different than those of Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association or the National Hockey League? As far as the NFL’s “net earnings,” the nonprofit was actually in the red in 2009, according to its latest available return. Virtually all of the leagues $192.3 million in revenue in 2009 came from “membership dues & assessment.” While the NFL doesn’t explain how much each clubs pays in dues, it averages to about $6 million per team. NFL owners don’t have to pay taxes on those dues, as they are considered donations to a nonprofit. Meanwhile, the NFL had $234.6 million in expenses in 2009, but the “nonprofit” paid $53.6 million to 8 individuals. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell earned $9.9 million in 2009 (and will earn $20 million by 2019) but he wasn’t even the highest paid individual. NFL Network President Steve Bornstein was paid $12.6 million by the “nonprofit” even though NFL Network is part of NFL Enterprises, LLC. In other words, the only reason the NFL is operating in the red is because of the massive salaries it’s paying its key executives.

 

[dvrexpander]

The only thing I hate about a blackout of a channel is such as say my local team is on ABC...but would also be on ESPN national feed yet what they will do is black out ESPN when they should just put another game on it or same with ESPN2 and ABC. I paid for the damn channels so stop blacking them out and just put something on them!