That last post was me. First time in a long time I’ve done that. shrug
Interesting post Cheesesteak, but I’m not sure it’d work that way. In the blackout scenario NONE of those TV recievers are entitled to recieve the signal at all as a geographic area. They are recieving a signal from a station they’re not supposed to.
In this case, all recievers ARE allowed to recieve the signal EXCEPT those with a display over a certain size. I’m not sure the law allows them to split hairs this way, especially if the bars don’t advertise it as a superbowl party, or charge a cover charge to enter.
Not really sure, but it’d be an interesting case to watch.
So to speak. 
Regards,
-Bouncer-
Wait, does this only apply to public venues?
Say I have my own big screen TV-would they come after me if I had a Super Bowl party or whatever?
Only if you charged people to come in. If it’s free, no problem.
If it is okay to charge for the superbowl on the big screen, what is to stop movie theaters from showing the game on their gigantic screens and charging twenty bucks a head?
I don’t know if they did it this year, but the Parkway in Oakland, CA, generally shows playoffs, Super Bowls, and the Academy Awards on their movie screen. But they’re smart about it. They don’t charge admission, they just live off the hefty concession sales (you get an audience in the door for a four hour football game and they’re going to eat quite a bit, and plenty of beer).
Decidedly NOT and urban legend. My father owned a health club while I was in high school, and during normal business hours would set the stereo to a local radio station. ASCAP came by one fine day, and demanded payment for the radio being played in a public venue, on the grounds that no artists were being compensated for their music.
Okay, hijack over. Back on topic.
I’m still having trouble understanding where the NFL is seeing a loss. Obviously, if they’re playing the Super Bowl in a public bar, they’re not seeing any revenue from any alcohol that’s sold during that period. However, since the NFL wasn’t…I don’t know, paying for any of the alcohol that was sold, I’m hard-pressed to understand how they’re even entitled. That’s like going after the street vendors outside Soldier Field and demanding a cut of the bottled water and bagged peanut action.
Greed really knows no bounds, does it? :dubious:
I don’t know if it’s so much a ‘loss’ as people charging admission to watch the SuperBowl, without the NFL being compensated. Just like someone charging admission to watch a movie, even if the movie has been on TV or video, you have to compensate the artists.
Re: ASCAP
When I was a young pup, just out of college, I briefly had a job “enforcing” for them. Thought it sounded cool. Spend my evenings going from bar to bar, listening to music. With an expense account. . .trouble is an awful lot of those bars aren’t very happy to see any stranger, let alone someone from ASCAP. I lasted two days.
NFL jerks. This year they started prohibiting folks from listening to local radio feeds on the Internet unless they paid a monthly fee for the honor.
Not to mention the sensitivity of using the words Super Bowl on TV or the radio. I swear, the Pope himself does not so zealously guard the Third Commandment.
Now this measuring the sizes of TV crap. Reminds me of doofuses in Britain, patrolling neighborhoods in their TV-detecting van searching for people who haven’t bought their TV license. God forbid people are having fun somewhere without giving the NFL their cut.
I’m no NASCAR fan, but I have heard a lot about how that sport grew because they treated their patrons like fans of the sport - little stuff like allowing folks to bring coolers into the stands can go a long way.
Crap, I just thought of something - the NFL is likely to serve papers on all of us who have used the term “Upersay Owlbay” for other folks to see without expressed, written consent. See you all in court, muchachos.