In a 4-1 vote Wednesday, the FCC voted to end a provision in the Cable Act of 1992 that allowed cable operators under certain circumstances to keep local sports programming to themselves.

AT&T, citing a competitive imbalance, filed a complaint with the FCC last year, saying Cox's refusal to make Padres games available to anyone but cable operators hurt AT&T's U-Verse television service.

Cox does license its games to Time Warner Cable in San Diego.

DirecTV officials are also interested in how this case plays out, as are the Padres.

Because Padres games are exclusively on cable TV on Cox's Channel 4, they aren't available on AT&T, DirecTV or MLB's pay-per-view package.

Cox and the Padres are in the eighth year of a 10-year deal that pays the Padres about $16 million a year.

The two parties have already talked ---- at least informally ---- about a new contract, a deal that would either get games off cable or make them available to a wider audience.

"Channel 4 is at the top of our business agenda," Padres owner Jeff Moorad said recently. "There is nothing more important to us than providing our games to a wider audience.

"The funny part of our deal with Channel 4 is that John Moores (who is selling the Padres to Moorad) lives in Rancho Santa Fe and can't get Padres games.

"A new deal is critical."

Moores can't get Padres games because Rancho Santa Fe is not a heavily cabled area. Neither are other areas of the county, including parts of Valley Center and Ramona.

There is no question Cox Communications and Channel 4 have done a wonderful job, televising about 150 games a season.

The games are all live and all are network quality with great production and camera work.

Production, however, isn't the question. Distribution is.

When the since-departed Sandy Alderson took over as chief executive officer of the Padres in 2005, he quickly identified the team's TV deal as a bad one for the club.

Because games are available only on cable, viewers in Los Angeles and Orange counties can't get them.

National viewers on the MLB package are left out.

More importantly, fans in Southern Riverside County, an area the Padres agree is a hotbed of interest and houses the organization's California League team ---- the Lake Elsinore Storm ---- can't see the team play on TV.

"We want our games available to a wider audience," Moorad said.

Even though two years remain on the contract, insiders say Cox and the Padres are already talking about a new deal.

Distribution is at the top of the list, but so are rights fees.

Sources say Cox, which also produces San Diego State and USD games as well as high school football and basketball, is willing to pay something close to what it pays now for the Padres ---- about $16 million a season. The Padres, sources say, want something close to $30 million a season.

If Cox agrees to the $30 million figure or something close to that, it could recoup some money by making games available to AT&T U-Verse and DirecTV, which would have to pay a fee to carry them.

Just because the FCC voted to end the '92 Cable Act, doesn't mean Cox has to give its product away.

Cox and Channel 4 have been a great partner to the Padres.

There doesn't appear to be another outlet in San Diego that can give the Padres what they have now ---- 150 top-quality TV games.

None of the networks ---- ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox or CW ---- can clear the time needed for games because of network commitments.

That's why the deal with Channel 4 looked so good 10 years ago.

KUSI (Channel 9/51) is San Diego's only independent station. It has a heavy commitment to sports, running up to 10 minutes of sports programming during its 60-minute 10 p.m. newscast.

The "Prep Pigskin Report" has been a major boon to the station, but KUSI on its own can't produce 150 Padres games.

So maybe a partnership between Cox and KUSI would work.

At Cox, company spokesperson Ceanne Guerra said it was too early to comment on what the FCC's decision means.

It's also too early to predict exactly what direction the Padres will go in search of a new TV deal.

But TV is important to Moorad and the Padres.

The team recently hired Dick Enberg as its TV voice.

Enberg is a 13-time Emmy Award winner, a nine-time National Sportscaster of the Year, a winner of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Pete Rozelle Award and a winner of the NBA's Curt Gowdy Award. And Enberg has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

"Our broadcasts are our brand," Moorad said. "And Dick Enberg is now our voice. So that's significant. His hire broadens our appeal and makes us more credible."

Now, Moorad would like that appeal to be available to wider audience.