U.S. lawmakers crackdown on NHL in major win for hockey fans.

If you were to poll sports fans who regularly purchase digital sports packages and asked them what their least favorite aspect of modern day sports-watching truly is, I genuinely believe you would walk away with a pretty unanimous set of responses. Every fan that has ever purchased such a package has at one point or another expressed frustration over blackouts, that is to say the inability to watch certain games they have paid for as a result of regional restrictions imposed by the rights holders.

But that may be about to change drastically.

A recent decision from lawmakers in the United States of America may indicate that the digital sporting landscape as we know it is about to change forever. In a move that should have sports fans very excited, House Judiciary Committee chairman Representative Jim Jordan and Representative Scott Fitzgerald summoned the heads of the major sports leagues in North America to discuss the law at the heart of these blackouts, the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961.

"Under the Sports Broadcasting Act, major sports leagues receive broad immunity from antitrust liability for agreements related to the broadcasting of their games on network television," wrote Jim Jordan as per Sportico. "However, the sports broadcasting market has changed significantly since the SBA was enacted, and recent antitrust cases have raised important questions about whether the SBA should be modified or repealed as a result."

While any change to regional restrictions and blackouts that stem as a result of this inquiry would only impact fans in the United States, providing no relief for fans in Canada who suffer under those same type of restrictions, it would be a landmark step in the right direction. Ethan Litwin, a partner at law firm Shinder Cantor Lerner told Sportico that he believes the aggressive enforcement of blackouts by major sports leagues in North America are very likely the reason behind this government crackdown.

"If I had to say what’s behind all of this, it’s the aggressive enforcement of the local blackout rules," said Litwin. "I think if there’s going to be a deal done here, it’s going to be on multilateral blackouts."

The heads of major sports leagues in North America, including the National Football League's Roger Goodell, the National Basketball Association's Adam Silver, Major League Baseball's Rob Manfred and of course the National Hockey League's Gary Bettman were all asked to participate in a briefing on Monday morning. The deadline for these leagues to respond is August 25th, so we will likely know more about what will transpire here very shortly.

This has the potential to be one of the biggest game changers for sports fans who, like myself, are sick and tired of regional blackouts.