It's still about distribution rights and I don't think we will see any blackouts lifted in the near future.
from the FCC,
The Federal Communications Commission repealed its sports blackout rules, which prohibited cable and satellite operators from airing any sports event that was blacked out on a local broadcast station. This action removes Commission protection of the private blackout policies of sports leagues, which require local broadcast stations to black out a game if a team does not sell a certain percentage of tickets by a certain time prior to the game. Elimination of this rule, however, may not end all sports blackouts: sports leagues may choose to continue their private blackout policies through contractual arrangements with programming distributors. For more information read the news release....
In other sports, blackouts generally occur as a result of the way in which the sports league has defined a particular team’s “home territory.” For example, if you live within a particular team’s “home territory” but your cable or satellite system does not carry the local television station or regional sports network that holds exclusive distribution rights to that team’s games, you will be unable to view the team’s games, even if you subscribe to an “out-of-market” sports package, such as MLB Extra Innings or NHL Center Ice.
If a sports event is blacked out on a particular broadcast or non-broadcast channel, you may want to contact the broadcast channel or non-broadcast system to determine why the decision to black out the event was made, as well as register your viewing preferences with the channel or system which they can consider when renewing any future distribution agreements with sports leagues. You also can contact the relevant sports team.
a bit more...
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