After another Sunday of watching two teams I don’t really care for, simply because I’m in their market, I’m forced to wonder what exactly is the NFL trying to accomplish? I know there’s the DirecTV package, which I think is a rip, and won’t ever capitulate to the dark clutches of the NFL’s greedy claws, but what is the point in forcing me to watch these teams? If it happens that the game isn’t sold out, what good is it to blackout the game? I know the theory is people will be more likely to attend the game and buy tickets if the game isn’t shown, but I have a hard time believing it.
I recently read an article that said New Orleans has one of the better followings in the Saints’ TV market. Of course some of these games are blacked out when enough tickets haven’t been sold. I would guess that the reason the games don’t sell out is due to the affordability of the tickets. I’m sure there are plenty of people interested in watching the game, but cannot afford to drop $75 on a ticket (or two). Wouldn’t it serve the NFL better to allow the game to be on TV where more people could watch the game, thereby increasing ratings numbers, which would help the TV networks, but surely would also increase the NFL’s bargaining power when negotiating TV deals.
This also brings me back to my original gripe: when I’m not in a specific team’s “market” :rolleyes: I can see as many as four day games each Sunday. When I’m in someone’s market, I get one for the nearby AFC team, and one for the NFC team. I guess the NFL wants me to support the home team, but why not increase the number of games I can see on television, in hopes that I will be more likely to watch one if I’m not interested in the other, rather than have me turn off the TV altogether? This sounds like it would be too good of a deal for the consumer, which is almost certainly why the NFL won’t do it, unless there’s something I’m missing? Is anyone familiar with the economics of the NFL’s bogus TV policy?
The NFL wants people to come to the games. They don’t want their games shown as being played in front of small crowds. There aren’t many home games in an NFL season compared to the other pro sports so they want to maximize the gate revenues.
So they don’t want you to stay home if you know your home team is going to be on TV. It’s not as big of a deal in baseball or basketball because they have other games to see and they also have chances to get more repeat customers. The NFL wants you to go to every home game.
Until 1973, there wasn’t any way to avoid a blackout. Congress made the NFL put in its current policy. And the first few Super Bowls were blacked out in the cities where they were played. The Dolphins-Redskins Super Bowl (VII I believe) was shown in L.A. and I thought it was so
weird that I was actually seeing an NFL game from the Coliseum. (Living in L.A. and all that).
I don’t think college football though has had a blackout policy that was similar. College football just would limit the number of times one team could appear nationally per season.
As for the thing about the doubleheaders, it’s just another way to make sure you go to the game and not stay home to watch what might be another game of more importance.
But I live in L.A. now and they show just about everything. FOX usually has an online poll to pick the game to see, which tends to run heavily in favor of San Francisco or Oakland games when available.
Because most fans in an area root for one or two specific teams. They will only watch when their team plays (I watch that way). It’s much more likely that you’ll be interested in seeing one particular team.
Other than that, it’s not the NFL that determines what games are being shown; it’s the local station. Usually it can pick from three games not involving the home team. The station makes a choice based on which game they think will get the most viewers.
I must beg to differ…DirecTV’s Sunday Ticket is not a ripoff. For < $10 per week, you get to watch any game you want; several if you want. You can also switch to whatever game you want if the game you’re watching turns into a blowout or something. I love it.
It comes in realyy handy for me, because I’m in the DC market. Without the Sunday Ticket, not only do you have to see the deadskins every week, apparently there’s some rule where THOU SHALT WATCH NO OTHER TEAM BUT THE REDSKINS. So, not only do they not even show an AFC game opposite the Redskins, they often won’t show the 1st or 2nd half of the doubleheader on the NFC channel. Bogus bullshit, and I gladly pay the fee, so I NEVER watch the stupid ass Redskins as a matter of principle.
Well, there is a rule that says that another channel cannot show a game against your home teams televised game. Here in Nashville, when the Titans are on, we don’t get a game on FOX at the same time. We’ve never had a game blacked out, but I know my parents complain in Cincy that if the Bengals game is blacked out, they sometimes get no game during that time slot.
The OP seems to be conflating two different things: the blackout and “brownout” policy, which is enforced on its broadcast partners by the NFL, and the selection of games shown subject to the constraints of the above, which is controlled by the local network affiliates.
The NFL blackout policy is that a home game won’t be shown locally unless it sells out at least 72 hours in advance. The “brownout” policy is that, even if the game sells out, the home area gets only one NFC and one AFC game that day.
Does this make economic sense? Beats me. This has been debated since the dawn of television with no resolution. The NFL seems to be in the minority–baseball, basketball, and college sports televise everything in sight. But pro football plays fewer games, and they’ve been awfully successful at running their business, so who am I to tell them that they’re wrong?
Beyond that, the local network affiliates decides which game(s) to show, and it stands to reason they’ll show the team with the largest local following, every week, whether they’re good or not. Anything else would be economic suicide. You wanna watch somebody else, pony up for satellite.
Which for the folks in New York means you get a steady dose of Jets and Giants… and little else. Thank goodness for Sudnay and Monday night games, or we’d never even know that other teams existed.
If the NFL thought it was in its economic self-interest to increase the number of games televised, it would. It’s not as if the NFL is under-exposed and does not get its share of free publicity.
I know this was wrong, I don’t know if it was corrected or not but for a while the Ravens where shown in obvious Steeler land, all because the NFL wanted to get more fans for the Ravens IMHO.