Senate Judiciary takes on Sports Blackouts

The Senate Judiciary Committee began what looks to be a lengthy conversation on whether to ban blackouts of sports broadcasts, either during retransmission impasses or through league contracts protecting stadium ticket sales. The committee held a hearing on the FANS Act, which would eliminate the antitrust exemptions the four major sports leagues enjoy when negotiating their billion-dollar broadcast rights contracts if they continue to enforce blackouts. Sen Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said that the leagues were not being forced to eliminate the blackouts, but if they choose not to, they will no longer get that antitrust exemption -- established in the Sports Broadcasting Act (SBA) back in the 1960s, and would no longer be able to "fix" prices for league-wide contracts.