At today’s Senate Commerce Committee hearing on the television and video marketplace, Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) introduced the Furthering Access to Network Sports (FANS) Act. This bill aims to eliminate the cause of most sports blackouts: take-downs during retransmission consent disputes.

This week, the House Energy & Commerce and Senate Commerce Committees will hold hearings on the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act Reauthorization (STELAR), which allows Satellite TV companies to distribute out-of-market local broadcast TV signals in limited situations, such as where a small market lacks a network affiliate. So, if you live in a rural area without a local affiliate, you can still keep up with your sports by watching a neighboring market's station.

Just like real estate, sports are all about location, location, location. There is nothing more local than your sports team; whether it’s your pro, minor, or youth team, sports provide pride to your community. It’s with that in mind that SFC is proud to announce the incorporation of Sports Fans Coalition New York, our first separate local chapter. SFCNY is based in New York City and will be tackling all the issues that plague the country’s largest sports market.

Last week we announced our opposition to the Sinclair/Tribune merger. We’ve received quite a few questions since our announcement and we wanted to address them here:

Fans already suffer through blackouts on a regular basis, the proposed merger between Sinclair Broadcasting Group and Tribune Media will do nothing but increase them and all while raising prices on fans.