PHOENIX — The NFL is saying bye-bye to blackouts. At least for 2015.
No NFL games will be blocked from local television next season, the league said Monday at the NFL Annual Meeting. The teams voted for a one-year suspension of the long-standing blackout policy for the preseason and regular season.
There were no blackouts last season because the minimum number of tickets, by NFL sellout standards, was sold for every game. The league had only two blackouts in 2013.
Still, the experiment is a huge step for the NFL, whose blackout policy dates back decades. In the 1970s, half of NFL games were blocked from local TV because the games did not sell enough tickets. Some teams — the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Miami Dolphins, Jacksonville Jaguars, Oakland Raiders, St. Louis Rams and San Diego Chargers — have struggled to avoid blackouts, and the league is taking a bit of a gamble for 2015.
The policy stipulates that a home game must be sold out 72 hours in advance of kickoff in order to be televised locally. Often, that deadline is extended to ensure sellouts if a club believes it can meet the criteria for lifting the blackout.
Monday’s move was met with immediate approval by one of the sponsors of legislation to eliminate the blackout permanently.
“This decision to suspend the blackout policy for the upcoming NFL season is a victory for the millions of sports fans and consumers across the country,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) said, “and it brings us one step closer to eliminating this anti-fan measure once and for all. This antiquated, anti-consumer rule has for too long served only to protect the NFL’s bottom line at the expense of sports fans.”
The NFL also announced it will stream the Oct. 25 game in London between the Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars on its website for free globally. The experiment, which will start at 9:30 a.m. ET, means the game won’t be shown on television outside of the local teams’ markets.
Thumbnail photo via Jeff Hanisch/USA TODAY Sports Images
