FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai said the FCC should...
FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai said the FCC should hold an up-or-down vote on ending the sports blackout rule. The time has come for the FCC to repeal its sports blackout rule, he said Tuesday at a Sports Fans Coalition event…
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in Buffalo (http://bit.ly/1osy6ev). The FCC’s job is to serve the public interest, “not the private interests of team owners,” he said. Pai said he couldn’t promise Buffalo residents that they'd be able to watch all Buffalo Bills games on TV if the rule were eliminated. “But that’s no excuse for keeping it on the books.” The commission shouldn’t get involved “in handing out special favors or picking winners and losers,” he said. Repealing the rule “may lead to unintended consequences and deny viewers of valuable sports programming on broadcast television,” said the Protect Football on Free TV campaign. Fans, organizations and community leaders sent more than 10,000 letters to the FCC in support of maintaining the rule, it said. “It’s unfortunate that pay-TV special interests continue to bankroll this effort to overturn a rule that works for millions of Americans,” it said. The campaign is led by former NFL player Lynn Swann (CD July 30 p19).