Rubes Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 This makes so much sense, it's never going to happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 I'm in the Utica area. We get our CBS on cable from Syracuse. When Syracuse is blacked out so is Utica, and it's a 200 mile drive to the stadium from Utica. Supposedly the Syracuse over-the-air signal reaches into the exclusion zone near Rochester, so the station is subject to blackout. I want to know how they define THAT. Hopefully it means "usable signal", but give me a decent height antenna with an oscilloscope, and I could say the signal "reaches" much farther than that. Being the NFL of course, I'd bet it's a completely subjective judgement with absolutely no transparency into how it's made. Just like most of their on-field rules. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjt328 Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 You know what makes me mad? I live in St. Louis and get NFL Sunday Ticket. If the Rams game doesn't sell out, then it gets blacked out on Sunday Ticket too. Even though I paid to watch EVERY NFL game!!!!!!!! The only time I can imagine wanting to watch the Rams is when they are playing the Bills every 8 years, but still... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PromoTheRobot Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 The definition of over-the-air signal should be greatly reduced since the new digital HD signal footprint is half that of the old analog. PTR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gray Beard Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 The definition of over-the-air signal should be greatly reduced since the new digital HD signal footprint is half that of the old analog. PTR That's a good point. With the old analog signal you could get a fuzzy picture from pretty far away. With the new digital signal it's either there or it's not. It may come on and off if you are receiving a weak signal, but in general the ability to receive a usable signal is significantly diminished with the new signal format. It would be nice if they would redefine the coverage area from the TV stations, but that would mean that somebody would have to admit that the new digital format has some shortcomings compared to the old analog format. It could be hard to get a bureaucrat to admit that something new isn't as good as something old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drinkTHEkoolaid Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 This is a very stupid rule and should be lifted. I also have a problem that taxpayers subsidize this team and are not able to even watch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 Anybody have the link where we can go and leave comments with the FCC about this? We subscribe to Sunday Ticket, and as a sports subscription package, I don't see how it is legal that blackouts can apply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drinkTHEkoolaid Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 This is a very stupid rule and should be lifted. I also have a problem that taxpayers subsidize this team and are not able to even watch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reddogblitz Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 If the NFL has to give away it's product, why not say that Microsoft has to give away Windows and all music should be free too. Kids today. I remember when home games were never on, even if they were sold out. I understand the publicly funded stadium argument. But the NFL is a business trying to sell it's product. No one has a right to it free unless the NFL decides to give it away. So the City of Arlington is paying taxes on the Jerry Jones Boss Hogg Dome. So by that argument Arlington (a suburb of Dallas) would be able to watch it, but what about Dallas and the other surrounding suburbs that aren't paying taxes on it? Do they get to watch it too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo Barbarian Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 Looks like the F.C.C. is possibility going to end blackouts. My link Of course this will not end the blackouts caused by Bills Fans drinking themselves into a stupor YES!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. WEO Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 (edited) I heard and argument recently...Not sure if it was on the Radio or here...Anyway, the point made was that due to varying Stadium capacities and Market sizes in the NFL, the Blackout rule was completely unfair...It was pointed out that if The Bills had a Stadium capacity of say...Lucas Oil Stadium which seats 63,000 in a MUCH bigger City than Buffalo...There would be FAR fewer blackouts in WNY...So the argument was the Rule is unfair and at the very least it should be based on the capacity of the smaller Stadiums... Lambeau has 72,000 (soon to increase yet again, to 79,000) in the tiniest sports market in America. No problem selling out that place. The Bills iused to sell out regularly--and not that long ago. Given the low ticket prices, tbhis is a problem that, in Buffalo, could take care of itself. Give fans a reason to come to the stadium in December and they will come. Perhaps Congress should get involved in prying ownership of the team from Ralph's death grip. I think the NFL should lose the blackout rule simply because I see no evidence that it does what it is intended to to--keep people from avoiding the stadium and watching at home instead. Has the threat of a blackout ever filled a stadium? Of course not. Will lifting the blackout lead to even more empty seats at stadiums? No reason to believe this. Attendance league wide has been at all time highs recently--not because of blackouts, but because of the ever increasing popularity of the game. Having said that, the FCC is run by political hacks and it's not clear how they can end blackouts. The Ralph has sold out even during the "Dark Ages" of the past 2 decades becasue they have a great loyal fan base. That fanbase has finally lost its patience and is staying home, blackouts be damned. Edited January 14, 2012 by Mr. WEO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuntheDamnBall Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 The FCC should be blacked out - there is no justifiable reason for its existence. (Stepping off of soapbox.) That's RIGHT! FREE FREQUENCIES FOR ALL! I WANT MY OWN AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL COMMAND CENTER. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beast34 Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 Considering the dollars generated by their TV deals it makes no sense to black games out. In fact that reduces potential ratings, which the networks are paying for. It's good to see the FCC is looking to end all blackouts. Sabres games are currently blacked out from the NHL Center Ice package in the Buffalo area even though MSG is not on Time Warner cable now. They won't show you games you are paying a premium for. PTR Sabres games are no longer on NHL Center Ice because MSG holds the broadcast rights and will not allow TWC to show Sabres games until TWC agrees to a 56% rate increase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ICanSleepWhenI'mDead Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 That's RIGHT! FREE FREQUENCIES FOR ALL! I WANT MY OWN AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL COMMAND CENTER. I don't want to freak you out or scare you away from flying, but some people already have one: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/164501/study_us_air_traffic_control_vulnerable_to_cyberattack.html More than 800 computer-related security incidents were reported in fiscal 2008 to the Air Traffic Organization (ATO), the part of the FAA that handles the management of some 50,000 aircraft moving through U.S. airspace per day. By the end of the year, the problems behind 150 of those incidents had still not been fixed, "including critical incidents in which hackers may have taken over control of ATO computers," the report said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QCity Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 If the NFL has to give away it's product, why not say that Microsoft has to give away Windows and all music should be free too. Kids today. I remember when home games were never on, even if they were sold out. No offense but that is a terrible comparison. In the 70's, TV contracts and luxury boxes were not a lucrative source of income - teams kept the lights on with gate receipts and did everything possible to fill the seats. Today, revenue sources have changed dramatically and television contracts are a much larger slice of the pie. The business model of a successful NFL franchise is nothing like that of a software company or the music industry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowery4 Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 The internet is free and pretty easy, blackouts? Are they even effective these days? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Over 29 years of fanhood Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 (edited) Ooops.... I thought this was a thread to help depressed bills fans crawl out of the bottle during the playoffs while our, I mean their team is so conspicuously absent. So my question is, does broadcast blackout risk actually increase ticket sales? is it proven? Does anyone ever buy tix because they may not see the game on tv? And if yes does the addl ticket revenue exceed the potentially lost broadcast advertisement revenue? Edited January 15, 2012 by over 20 years of fanhood Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. WEO Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 Ooops.... I thought this was a thread to help depressed bills fans crawl out of the bottle during the playoffs while our, I mean their team is so conspicuously absent. So my question is, does broadcast blackout risk actually increase ticket sales? is it proven? Does anyone ever buy tix because they may not see the game on tv? And if yes does the addl ticket revenue exceed the potentially lost broadcast advertisement revenue? The answer to the first question has to be no. Unless they are all unusually altruistic, no one is going to buy a ticket in the hopes that it will allow others to stay home and watch the game. It hasn't worked in Buffalo. Ticket revenue and broadcast revenue have no correlation as they are two revenue streams going to two different entities. Even so, the lost advertising revenue is mostly local--to the affiliate stations. The networks aren't losing any real money in a market like Buffalo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apuszczalowski Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 The answer to the first question has to be no. Unless they are all unusually altruistic, no one is going to buy a ticket in the hopes that it will allow others to stay home and watch the game. It hasn't worked in Buffalo. Ticket revenue and broadcast revenue have no correlation as they are two revenue streams going to two different entities. Even so, the lost advertising revenue is mostly local--to the affiliate stations. The networks aren't losing any real money in a market like Buffalo. There have been plenty of games where a local bigger buisness (if there are any of those left in buffalo anymore) would buy up the rest of the tickets to keep the games from being blacked out. And no single person is gonna go run out and buy a ticket in hopes that they can lift the blackout for others, but they do go out an purchase tickets if they want to watch the game Lambeau has 72,000 (soon to increase yet again, to 79,000) in the tiniest sports market in America. No problem selling out that place. The Bills iused to sell out regularly--and not that long ago. Given the low ticket prices, tbhis is a problem that, in Buffalo, could take care of itself. Give fans a reason to come to the stadium in December and they will come. Perhaps Congress should get involved in prying ownership of the team from Ralph's death grip. I think the NFL should lose the blackout rule simply because I see no evidence that it does what it is intended to to--keep people from avoiding the stadium and watching at home instead. Has the threat of a blackout ever filled a stadium? Of course not. Will lifting the blackout lead to even more empty seats at stadiums? No reason to believe this. Attendance league wide has been at all time highs recently--not because of blackouts, but because of the ever increasing popularity of the game. Having said that, the FCC is run by political hacks and it's not clear how they can end blackouts. The Ralph has sold out even during the "Dark Ages" of the past 2 decades becasue they have a great loyal fan base. That fanbase has finally lost its patience and is staying home, blackouts be damned. Even in the good times, back in the SB years, the Bills had trouble selling out December games, and there was always the playoff "Greatest Comeback" game that was blacked out to local TV. But yeah, lets continue to think that this was only now a problem because the team sucks cause Ralphs all about making Billions in profits a season! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Don't kid yourself. It's not a lack of common sense, but dollars and cents. Decisions go the way of the side that greases Congress best. PTR Exactly. This is nothing more than an election year shakedown of the NFL owners for some additional campaign contributions. Blackouts aren't going anywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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