Blacked out??

[pBills]

What a joke... attendance for that game was 71,011. That is just sad for the NFL to do that. And really that ought to be Ralph's biggest complaint. Blacking out a team with a crown that large and with the team playing well.

 

THAT cuts into a teams bottom line. That's hurts the revenue based off of not only ticket sales for games, but for apparel, etc.

[inkman]

With the string of blackouts, I've become rather indifferent about football in general.

[Mike formerly from Florida]

With the string of blackouts, I've become rather indifferent about football in general.

870516[/snapback]

 

You should be. The league's intention is to get rid of football in Buffalo. Look how much press the Bills have been getting during this run. Very little. It's as if we don't exist. The NFL network last night didn't even mention the game less show any highlights. That tells you what they think of Buffalo. They hate Ralph and can't wait for him to die so the team will be moved. Enjoy the Bills while they're here.

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

You should be. The league's intention is to get rid of football in Buffalo. Look how much press the Bills have been getting during this run. Very little. It's as if we don't exist. The NFL network last night didn't even mention the game less show any highlights. That tells you what they think of Buffalo. They hate Ralph and can't wait for him to die so the team will be moved. Enjoy the Bills while they're here.

870527[/snapback]

 

Jackass.

[boltuprite]

Yeah, really makes sense this NFL blackout policy. The Bills posted the 3rd highest crowd of week 15 and yet their game is blacked out.

 

Week 15 Attendenace figues

 

Seattle 67,650

 

Atlanta 71,102

 

Buffalo 71,011

 

Chicago 62,260

 

Green Bay 70,472

 

Tennesee 69,143

 

Minnesota 63,677

 

New England 68,756

 

New Orleans 69,052

 

Carolina 68,947

 

Baltimore 70,857

 

Arizona 63,845

 

Oakland 50,164

 

New York 78,657

 

San Diego 66,583

 

 

[ganesh]

You should be. The league's intention is to get rid of football in Buffalo. Look how much press the Bills have been getting during this run. Very little. It's as if we don't exist. The NFL network last night didn't even mention the game less show any highlights. That tells you what they think of Buffalo. They hate Ralph and can't wait for him to die so the team will be moved. Enjoy the Bills while they're here.

870527[/snapback]

 

 

What pissed me most was when they were showing the Miami-Bills game highlight the big dude was talking about Vince Young and Jay Cutler.....Dude, there is a young QB in this team who made great plays too......Plus Young stunk up the joint yesterday.....

And then he jumped to Detroit and was shouting at them for playing Kitna....

[Lv-Bills]

Yeah, really makes sense this NFL blackout policy. The Bills posted the 3rd highest crowd of week 15 and yet their game is blacked out.

 

Week 15 Attendenace figues

 

Seattle 67,650

 

Atlanta 71,102

 

Buffalo 71,011

 

Chicago 62,260

 

Green Bay 70,472

 

Tennesee 69,143

 

Minnesota 63,677

 

New England 68,756

 

New Orleans 69,052

 

Carolina 68,947

 

Baltimore 70,857

 

Arizona 63,845

 

Oakland 50,164

 

New York 78,657

 

San Diego 66,583

870739[/snapback]

I agree, I really do. Hoever, if a lot of these teams had more seats, they'd beat the Bills in attendance easily. You could easily sell about 20,000 more seats in Pittsburgh every game. The same goes for many other teams as well.

 

I do agree however, how could you black out a game with 71K.

[Dan]

Yeah, really makes sense this NFL blackout policy. The Bills posted the 3rd highest crowd of week 15 and yet their game is blacked out.

 

Week 15 Attendenace figues

 

Seattle 67,650

 

Atlanta 71,102

 

Buffalo 71,011

 

Chicago 62,260

 

Green Bay 70,472

 

Tennesee 69,143

 

Minnesota 63,677

 

New England 68,756

 

New Orleans 69,052

 

Carolina 68,947

 

Baltimore 70,857

 

Arizona 63,845

 

Oakland 50,164

 

New York 78,657

 

San Diego 66,583

870739[/snapback]

 

Simple solution. Tarp off 5-7,000 seats (ala Jax) and there ya go, instant sellouts.

[inkman]

I can honestly say that the blackouts are affecting my interest in the Bills. I guess it's out of sight, out of mind. I have enough other things in my life where I don't need the Bills.

[boltuprite]

look for that next year.

 

basically the NFL needs a hard figure like say 65,000 seats sold = no blackout

[beausox]

Yeah, really makes sense this NFL blackout policy. The Bills posted the 3rd highest crowd of week 15 and yet their game is blacked out.

 

Week 15 Attendenace figues

 

Seattle 67,650

 

Atlanta 71,102

 

Buffalo 71,011

 

Chicago 62,260

 

Green Bay 70,472

 

Tennesee 69,143

 

Minnesota 63,677

 

 

 

New England 68,756

 

New Orleans 69,052

 

Carolina 68,947

 

Baltimore 70,857

 

Arizona 63,845

 

Oakland 50,164

 

New York 78,657

 

San Diego 66,583

870739[/snapback]

If Bills close 5000 seats and up ticket prices 5$ per remaining seat then free loaders can still be comfy lounging on couch and Bills would incresae dollars to them.

Given is that corporate support might be close to maximized and another given is that revenue sharing will not improve past being only a little unfair to small market teams. Ergo we the fans if we truly want the Bills to stay have to pick up the slack.

 

Stop the whining and face reality.

[marauderswr80]

Simple solution.  Tarp off 5-7,000 seats (ala Jax) and there ya go, instant sellouts.

870748[/snapback]

 

Thats a great point! I never thought of that until now! I dont understand the attendance thing, we always have more of a crowd them most teams, But I guess its cause the Ralph is bigger then most places......who knows.

[MDH]

I can honestly say that the blackouts are affecting my interest in the Bills.

870751[/snapback]

 

Then why are you posting on a Bills board the Monday after a game? If I lacked interest in something I wouldn't be making posts about it.

[ElMarko]

Buy a ticket and stop complaining.

 

When U2 sells out an arena, no one else gets to watch it for free on TV.

 

I'm so sick of hearing this blackout nonsense.

 

2-12

2-14

7-9

12-4

8-8...

 

Doesn't matter... I'm there.

[EndZoneCrew]

Then why are you posting on a Bills board the Monday after a game?  If I lacked interest in something I wouldn't be making posts about it.

870799[/snapback]

 

.....so true

[rockpile]

I can honestly say that the blackouts are affecting my interest in the Bills.  I guess it's out of sight, out of mind.  I have enough other things in my life where I don't need the Bills.

870751[/snapback]

 

When blacked out, I wear headphones and listen to the game on the radio while doing those other things. Even when the game is televised, I often tape it and watch it later.

[rockpile]

Buy a ticket and stop complaining.

 

When U2 sells out an arena, no one else gets to watch it for free on TV.

 

I'm so sick of hearing this blackout nonsense.

 

2-12

2-14

7-9

12-4

8-8...

 

Doesn't matter... I'm there.

870809[/snapback]

 

You are a better fan than me.

[Pyrite Gal]

What a joke... attendance for that game was 71,011.  That is just sad for the NFL to do that.  And really that ought to be Ralph's biggest complaint.  Blacking out a team with a crown that large and with the team playing well.

 

THAT cuts into a teams bottom line.  That's hurts the revenue based off of not only ticket sales for games, but for apparel, etc.

870498[/snapback]

 

As folks pointed out, if Ralph and the Bills simply took the step like many other teams do (Pitts was mentioned below) of tarping off some of the seats to lower the attendance possibilities then a lift of the blackout can be achieved,

 

Many teams do this because in the multi-use stadiums they occupy the sight lines which various seats provide for football makes these marginal seats anyway or total attendance at the stadium in the winter is a different level than the total attendance which can be handled in the summer or at different events depending upon how much staff is needed for crowd control, refreshments, etc.

 

As Ralph and the Bills could create a situation where sellouts are more easily achieved if they chose to the question is why not. Who knows for sure outside of Ralph and the Bills but my since is that the reason(s) are likely some combo of:

 

1. The current huge potential total attendance levels allows the Bills to maximize every nickel they can get from ticket sales and if the cost of making a few exra nickels is that a few games are blacked out after numerous sellouts then so be it.

 

2. Having a few games blacked out actually plays well into the Bills development strategy. The blackouts are a useful tool unfortunately if you want to leave town (one ignores the reality this was the 3rd largest crowd in the NFL last weekend and simply pretends the area does not care enought to support a pro football team or that as a small market it cannot compete. Or what I hope is the case is that this is a useful tool for building a case that the poor unwealthy Bills (yeah right) need and deserve a massive corporate welfare subsidy from NYS to build a new stadium for the sole control of the Bills.

 

I for one think that such a subsidy would be wrong, but since I am not in charge and my team and my area would benefit greatly from NYS shipping a bunch of money upstate I am happy to deal with it.

[Dan]

I can honestly say that the blackouts are affecting my interest in the Bills.  I guess it's out of sight, out of mind.  I have enough other things in my life where I don't need the Bills.

870751[/snapback]

Do you realize how many fans rely on NFL.com play-by-play to "watch" the Bills? Or watch some other game, just to see the scores from other games scroll across the screen, hoping to see if Buffalo scored? Or try franticlly to stream some obsure radio station on the net? Or refresh this board frantically trying to piece together the events of the game from the game thread? I used to do all of those.

 

Now, my fotunes have changed and between DirecTV and Sirius, I don't miss a game. But, to say the Bills aren't on TV; therefore, I find something else to do is just not an option.

 

Not living in Buffalo, living in multiple states over the years, and having a job that has me traveling non stop have made following the Bills an ordeal. I could write a book about the ways that I have found over the years to follow this team and how it has evolved (one of my prouder moments was finding the game on in a furniture store in some distant town and watching the game there). But, to say there's something else to do is just not an option. When the Bills are playing, my sole purpose is to find a way to find out what's going on.

[aussiew]

Not living in Buffalo, living in multiple states over the years, and having a job that has me traveling non stop have made following the Bills an ordeal. I could write a book about the ways that I have found over the years to follow this team and how it has evolved (one of my prouder moments was finding the game on in a furniture store in some distant town and watching the game there). But, to say there's something else to do is just not an option. When the Bills are playing, my sole purpose is to find a way to find out what's going on.

 

I hear ya'. Since leaving WNY in 1995, I've had to watch the game in some strange places and mostly alone. Now that DirecTv is available, it has really helped.

 

But I refuse to miss a game.