NFL is changing its blackout rule

[ShawnHill1]

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that effective this upcoming season, the National Football League is changing-up its TV blackout rule, where if 85 percent of the general tickets are sold, the home team is allowed to air their games in their market. The NFL doesn't count club and luxury suite seating in regards to blackouts. Game attendance has been down 4.5 percent across the league since 2007, but TV ratings have continued to increase in the years since. The league has a new combined $29 billion, eight-year contract between ESPN, NBC, CBS, and Fox that kicks-in starting in 2014.

This revised policy is among other things the NFL is implementing this season; every team will add Wi-fi systems in their stadiums, and the league is a developing smartphone apps to listen-in on the players on the field.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100...?mod=WSJ_article_comments#articleTabs=article

 

[1069_KIFR]

A smartphone app to listen in on the players? The New England Patriots will LOVE that app!

 

[nomadcowatbk]

Chiefs charge $27 for parking even for pre-season games, no public transit is available

 

[DToTheJ]

@1069KIFR: The GM of the Saints would be down with that app, as well (allegedly)... :-X

 

[ansky212]

Chiefs charge $27 for parking even for pre-season games, no public transit is available

That's a bargain! The Giants charge $50 for parking. There is a train station at MetLife stadium, although it's not convenient for everyone to get on a train.

 

[sathman01]

Try $80 for Jerry's World....err I mean the Dallas Cowboys. I went to one game and that is it for me.

 

[FreddyE1977]

Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo holds 80,000. Tough to fill that given these economic times.
With current demographic trends there might not even be 80,000 people IN Buffalo in a couple of decades.

 

[dhett]

Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo holds 80,000. Tough to fill that given these economic times.
With current demographic trends there might not even be 80,000 people IN Buffalo in a couple of decades.

After the latest renovation, that's down to just over 73,000. The Bills aggressively market in upstate New York and Erie PA, and try to draw as many Canadian fans as possible from the Niagara Peninsula up to Toronto. Twenty years ago, when the stadium did seat 80,000, they had a tough time selling out, even for playoff games - the Buffalo economy has struggled ever since the steel mills closed in the 1970s. The miracle comeback versus the Oilers wasn't shown in Buffalo or Rochester; I was able to pull in a very snowy picture out of Syracuse. Today, Syracuse also gets blacked out, and even if it didn't, a digital signal probably doesn't make it to the Genesee Valley without a really good antenna setup.

They won't have nearly the problem selling out after Ralph Wilson dies and the team moves to Toronto - or maybe LA.

 

[easttxtv]

Try $80 for Jerry's World....err I mean the Dallas Cowboys. I went to one game and that is it for me.

A guest at the hotel where I work tried to do it the cheap way and park across the street at Walmart. He was ticked off when he got back. Walmart had his vehicle towed during the game. I felt really bad for the guy.

Since then, our pre-printed directions to the stadium clearly state, 'Do not park in Walmart's lot during the game or they will tow you'.

Many I've spoken to since the stadium opened seem to feel the way Sathman does, unless they're die-hard Cowboys fans (or fans of whatever sports team opponent they like there, since the Monstrosity now regularly attracts high school football, college football, and non-football events alike).

 

[FreddyE1977]

I used to live in the Detroit area when the Lions played in the 80,000 seat Silverdome which they almost NEVER sold out. So when they built Ford Field they scaled it back to 65,000 (which they still had problems selling out until the team started to play better). And Detroit has way more population than Buffalo (though it is likewise bugging out fast).

 

[Joseph_Gallant]

Here in Boston, the last New England Patriots' home game to be blacked-out was almost twenty years ago.

And I don't think the Green Bay Packers have even had even one home game blacked out since 1972, the final year of the old NFL league rules when no league games, even those sold-out in advance, could be televised in the city they were being played in.

 

[ShawnHill1]

Here in Boston, the last New England Patriots' home game to be blacked-out was almost twenty years ago.

And I don't think the Green Bay Packers have even had even one home game blacked out since 1972, the final year of the old NFL league rules when no league games, even those sold-out in advance, could be televised in the city they were being played in.

As far as I know, the Packers haven't had a non-sellout at home at least since the very early years of the Vince Lombardi era. They and the Redskins have two of the longest home sellout streaks in the NFL, with the Broncos not far behind (since 1968). Certainly, it's due in-part to having huge regional fanbases.

 

[oldiesfan6479]

And the late games on the doubleheader network will now start at 4:25 PM ET,
instead of 4:15, according to stories floating out there.

The singleheader network's late game(s) will still begin at 4:05 ET.

Aunt Edna won't be in too good a mood over 60 Minutes being even more delayed
every other week.

 

[ajc_trw]

And the late games on the doubleheader network will now start at 4:25 PM ET,
instead of 4:15, according to stories floating out there.

The singleheader network's late game(s) will still begin at 4:05 ET.

Aunt Edna won't be in too good a mood over 60 Minutes being even more delayed
every other week.

They should just move 60 Minutes to 8PM as IIRC FOX has always regarded 7-7:30PM as a throwaway spot during the NFL season. Repeats dominate that half hour and the other half sometimes only shows on the west coast (again IIRC).