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Home teams now will have the option of selling 85 percent of game tickets to avoid a blackout in their local TV market. Previously, teams had to sell out games or receive an exception from the league for the game to be shown on local TV.
The change comes as league-wide attendance has declined over the past five years, the newspaper said.
Owners approved the measure at the NFL Annual Meeting in May.
Lowering the blackout threshold also is a matter of how revenue is shared, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said.
"It's optional if clubs want to do this and would only affect a few teams," McCarthy said in an email. "Last year only 6 percent of games were blacked out in a local market. This figure is down significantly from 15 to 20 years ago when 25 to 30 percent of games were routinely blacked out."
The change comes as league-wide attendance has declined over the past five years, the newspaper said.
Owners approved the measure at the NFL Annual Meeting in May.
Lowering the blackout threshold also is a matter of how revenue is shared, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said.
"It's optional if clubs want to do this and would only affect a few teams," McCarthy said in an email. "Last year only 6 percent of games were blacked out in a local market. This figure is down significantly from 15 to 20 years ago when 25 to 30 percent of games were routinely blacked out."
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