Teams mentioned that are having problems this year include:
- Minnesota (even after acquiring their cash for clunkers QB)
- San Francisco
- Oakland
- Jacksonville
- San Diego
- Detroit
- St. Louis
- Cincy
Some pre-season games have already been blacked out.
In past years it wasn't too big of a deal for a local giant corporation to step up to the plate and scoop up the remaining tickets but those deals are much tougher in this economy.
To me, the blackout is the most effective way to get the general populus to be LESS interested in your product and your team. And lets be real - the gate is a nice bonus for each team, but the TV revenue is really where it is at for them. The blackout just seems like such an obsolete tool to use to get people to come to the game. Let me try to wrap my head around the thought process.
I am not able to watch my favorite team on TV, so this will motivate me to actually go to the game so others can enjoy the game in the comfort of their own homes.
Really, the blackout policy punishes those who may someday be interested in the team, and those who are less well to do, who might love to watch the game, but simply can't afford to go to the game.
If the game were on TV, the ad revenue stays there, as the eyeballs still sit through the ads...unless they can't watch the game due to a blackout, and they will be watching reruns of Hogan's Heroes instead.
Come to think of it, they might be further ahead.
5 comments:
Maybe they will threaten to send you to the eastern front like colonel klink used to.
I remember when the Bears used to be on the edge of getting blacked out from week to week.
What is interesting is that such a high % of total seats were already sold to season ticket holders that what is left must be the high seats like we sit in here and there. I can't imagine that there are too many seats available to the general public in the first place.
What is super scary for the NFL is that ONLY general admission tickets are counted in the sellout data. In other words, no season tickets, club seats or luxury boxes, etc.
So in reverse, a NFL team could sell all of their general admission tix, but have a bunch of empty luxury boxes and still have it considered a "sellout".
It looks like from what I have read that every single Jacksonville game will probably be blacked out this year.
Being old enough to remember frequent Bear game blackouts in the 60's and 70's, I remember enterprising tavern owners here in Northern Indiana constructing tall antennas to suck in a signal from South Bend. Blackouts only effect the local market. Those places were packed during Sunday game day blackouts and we had a great time in the bars.
I am able to get South Bend stations on my cable so go ahead and blackout games. If for some reason they don't come through I will head for the farm and get in a little trigger time.
By the way, wasn't it General Burkhalter that was threatning to send Klink to the Eastern Front? Meh, I guess everyone always threatened everone with that on that show.
Gerry - I don't think the Bears are in any difficulty with blackouts...yet.
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