On January 12, 2012, the FCC opened a proceeding requesting comment on whether it should eliminate the sports blackout rules for cable and satellite television providers.  The FCC opened the proceeding in response to a petition filed last November by industry and consumer groups. 

FCC rules permit professional sports leagues – such as the NFL – to prevent cable and satellite providers from offering live coverage of a local sporting event when the game is subject to blackout on local broadcast television.  

Comments are due February 13, 2012.  Reply comments are due February 28, 2012. 

 If you have questions about the sports blackout rules, or are interested in filing comments, please contact Scott Friedman at (312) 372-3930 or via email at sfriedman@cm-chi.com.