In its Wednesday voting, the five-member board of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted 4-1 in favor of forbidding cable companies from holding back their regional sports and other programming from competitors in the satellite TV arena.

The FCC vote will potentially offer the consumers an increased selection list of pay-TV providers, as it would close the so-called “terrestrial loophole” that cable companies – like Comcast and Cablevision Systems – have been using to prevent local sports programming from being run by TV services’ rivals like Verizon Communications.

Satellite operators and phone companies had complained that the ostensible loophole by cable operators spelled a competitive disadvantage for them, and denied the sports enthusiasts the opportunity to watch ‘live’ local sporting events from home.

Hailing the FCC vote as a ‘double victory’ for consumers, the Douglas County-based satellite broadcaster, Dish Network, said: “First, sports fans in Philadelphia and San Diego will soon have a choice of pay-TV providers; second, consumers can no longer be held hostage during a contract dispute between cable programmers and video distributors.”

In fact, the FCC decision not only allows satellite companies to run cable-company-owned sports programming; but also provides for initiating a process whereby satellite companies can call for the FCC’s help in case cable operators unfairly deny the satellite operators the access to the “must have” programs.