Prepared Statement of Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa
Ranking Member, Senate Judiciary Committee
"The FANS Act: Are Sports Blackouts and Antitrust Exemptions Harming Fans, Consumers, and the Games Themselves?"
Thursday, December 4, 2014

Mr. Chairman,

First, let me welcome the witnesses who’ve taken the time out of their schedules to be with us today and share their views.

The subject of today’s hearing is the legislation sponsored by Senators Blumenthal and McCain, the FANS Act.  But more broadly speaking, we’re here to talk about sports blackouts, and sports blackout policies.

Let me start by saying that I think we can all agree on one fundamental notion: No one likes sports blackouts.  The sports leagues and their member teams don’t like them.  Television providers don’t like them.  And of course, sports fans definitely don’t like them.

In Iowa, even though we don’t have a Major League Baseball team, the entire state falls within a blackout territory of six different teams: the Cardinals, Royals, Twins, Brewers, Cubs, and White Sox.  I can tell you, the periodic blackouts are a very frustrating experience for a lot of Iowans.

So there is no question that blackouts are an exasperating experience and disfavored.  The question is how best to minimize blackouts and thereby maximize the benefits to consumers, while also respecting the rights of private parties to negotiate with each other at arms-length.

On that note, I’ll add one other comment.  As we all know, the Federal Communications Commission voted unanimously in September to eliminate its sports blackout rules.  I think as a general matter, the federal government shouldn’t be in the business of mandating policies that parties are otherwise free to negotiate privately.  

At the same time, however, I think we need to be mindful of the flip side of that same coin.  More specifically, as a general rule, the federal government shouldn’t be in the business of mandating which provisions should and should not be included in private contracts.  Anytime such a step is proposed, we should tread carefully.

I thank the witnesses for being here today, and I look forward to hearing from them regarding these important topics.
 

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