Senate Judiciary Sports Hearing Postponed

Hardly had the rescheduled Senate Commerce Committee hearing on sports blackouts—and a bill to cancel that exemption for leagues that impose them—been scheduled for Nov. 19 when it was postponed.

The hearing was initially to be held in October, but was postponed then, too.

Monday morning the committee announced that "The FANS Act: Are Sports Blackouts and Antitrust Exemptions Harming Fans, Consumers, and the Games Themselves?," had been slated for 11 a.m. on Wednesday (Nov. 19).

But late Monday, the committee posted the cancelation on its website without elaboration. Although one source said it could be to focus on the USA Freedom Act, a cybersecurity bill that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) signaled he wanted to bring to the floor for a vote this week. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) who was to preside over the sports hearing, is said to be managing Democratic time for floor debate on USA Freedom Wednesday.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.