Pay TV Gets a Win as FCC Looks to Kill Sports Blackout Rule (Video)

Sports fans may be rejoicing soon, as the federal government does away with a nearly-40-year-old rule designed to keep fans going to games instead of watching them on television.

Later this week, the Federal Communications Commission is expected to kill what’s known as the sports blackout rule — a restriction that prevents pay-TV providers such as cable and satellite from airing local games if the local stadiums don’t sell out seats.

NFL fans usually complain about this rule because most pro football games are broadcast on over-the-air TV networks instead of cable channels, like other pro sports. While the end of the rule will allow the pay-TV companies to televise games that aren’t sold out, the local broadcast stations will still be barred.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.