Senators take on sports blackouts

The plight of Hawaii fans and other blackout-burdened sports followers is before the Federal Communications Commission, where a group of prominent Democratic senators has taken up their cause.

A petition by the Sports Fans Coalition is seeking to have the FCC rescind the policies of various sports, including the NFL and Major League Baseball, that black out airing of events in designated areas.

Calling blackouts "a relic of a different time," a letter signed by Sens.Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) urges "the FCC to take a broad look at sports blackouts and to consider comprehensive reform that ensures fans’ access to sports programming."

In the letter, the senators note "Major League Baseball enforces a byzantine set of broadcast restrictions that results in blackouts" and say, "the most egregious examples occur in Hawaii and Alaska, where fans are thousands of miles away from their supposed home team yet find these games blacked out when they try to watch them via premium packages."

In a statement supporting blackout reform, Hawaii Sen. Daniel Inouye says, "Professional sports fans in Hawaii are at a significant disadvantage geographically and economically because unless their teams are on TV they have to expend significant time and resources to travel to watch them play."

In Hawaii, for example, residents who buy premium packages often cannot view games of the San Francisco Giants and as many as five other teams because the state is territory claimed by the teams and their TV network rights holders.

Declaring Hawaii part of their "territory" allows the teams to say Hawaii cable outlets must either work out a deal with the clubs’ regional sports networks or face a blackout of non-ESPN national telecasts.

Honolulu fan Jim Loomis said, "I subscribe to DirecTV’s MLB package and watch Red Sox games live on NESN, the New England Sports Network. A night game in Boston is aired here at 1 p.m. NESN rebroadcasts the game at midnight in the northeast, 6 p.m. here … obviously a more convenient time for Hawaii residents. The rebroadcast is blacked out here. Go figure!"

Phil Kinnicutt, a Hawaii fan, said, "a number of us have been working on this problem for several years and have not gotten any satisfaction or constructive comments at all from MLB or (commissioner) Bud Selig or his people. It is kind of like they ignore us and figure that we are going to go away."

Kinnicutt said the FCC review and senators’ support "is a major, positive development in trying to get a ridiculously unfair situation resolved."

Inouye said, "The fans are the lifeblood of these sports franchises and they should be able to watch their favorite teams play regardless of what state they live in. I would urge the FCC to take another look at sports blackouts and to think of the fans who want nothing more than to cheer their team to victory while promoting the franchise and expanding its base of support."