Wayne Friedman has a post on how lack of NFL games selling out may mean more bad news for the local markets that would've served those games:
It's bad enough TV stations are getting hammered in this still-suffering TV market. Now some may not be able to sell advertising time on one of their biggest TV properties: NFL football. That's because several markets -- Minnesota, San Diego, Jacksonville, Oakland, San Francisco, Detroit, St. Louis and Cincinnati Bengals -- may not sell out their home stadium tickets, all due to the suffering economy.
If that happens, the NFL might have to black out a number of TV games to inspire current and future home season ticket sales. The NFL has been so strong over the last few years -- in terms of TV viewers as well as stadium ticket sales -- it has been rare to see a blackout of local TV coverage.
I'm not sure how big of a deal this really is because it's not clear how many games won't sell out. Also, it's not clear to me how much revenue is lost. Because I could be wrong, but I thought, that for example, if Minnesota didn't sell out a game that would've been broadcast locally by FOX, the local FOX affiliate could broadcast another "out of market" game.
If I'm wrong and no game at all can be shown, that's a different animal, but I seem to remember more than a few times where a Raiders game got blacked out, and I got to see a more marquee match-up as a result.
Here are some interesting stats via The Washington Post:
Under NFL rules, a game cannot be televised in the local market of the home team unless it is sold out 72 hours before kickoff. Last season, 247 of 256 regular season games leaguewide -- 96 percent -- aired in the local market of the home team.
That figure has been at least 95 percent in each of the last four seasons -- including a record 97 percent in the 2006 season, when 249 of 256 regular season games were televised in the home team's market.
Only general admission tickets count toward the sellout standard for a local TV blackout to be lifted, not club seats or suite tickets.
We'll see if NFL commissioner Roger Goodell changes his mind if those ratios change a lot this season. Earlier in the year, Goodell had this to say:
"The blackout policy is a long-standing policy in the NFL. It's served us well. It's served the public well, and I do not anticipate any changes with our blackout policy."
I can’t believe San Diego still hasn’t sold out their opening game. Some people consider them a Super Bowl contender. I’ll be seriously pissed if I can’t see the game.
Does DirecTV’s NFL season pass have to black out local games that don’t sell out?
Julia, yes, at least that was the case last year and given Goodell’s comments, my guess is it is the case this year.
My memory of the Raider blackout telecast changes is the same. And while I’m typically at half the 49er home games, I’d gladly root for a Raider blackout on the other weeks so I could get to see a “good” game instead.
Edit: With 2 in market teams, the Bay Area usually sees only Raiders/49ers games on Sunday afternoons if they are both playing. Sadly.
To The1337:
Simple….just buy the remaining tix….lol.
Haven’t TV stations previously got around this by buying up the excess tickets themselves? I’m positive I’ve heard of this happening in the past…
Bill, yeah, we will often get screwed out of national doubleheader because of the two team market. If you’re 75 miles outside the local market, you get the national doubleheader game regardless. As far away as I moved…it wasn’t far enough!
The other network can televise against a local team if that team is on the road….just not when they are home.
Hydra: stations will sometimes do that when there aren’t many seats left (say less than 1000) and give them away to charity or sometimes stadiums block off sections, no longer make them available for sale and say “It’s a sellout!”
Romo: true, but with two local market teams (49ers/Raiders) there’s twice as much chance for there to be a home game!
Actually, it’s an interesting question. It is my belief that if a local team’s home game is blacked out, the network that was scheduled to show it cannot have a double-header (in that market) that Sunday. This would mean that, on certain weeks, blackouts could indeed lead to less football for certain CBS and Fox affiliates.
I disagree with this rule. Look at the economic situation in the Detroit area, is the NFL going to punish Lions fans because they don’t want to pay to see a team that will most likely be awful? Thankfully I root live outside of Boston and root for for the Pats, so the rule never comes up here, but it seems like it gives the shaft to fans of lousy teams who need all the breaks they can get.
Live in the bay area and I am hoping that all the Raiders and 49ers home games do not sell out. I can’t stand watching their mediocrity—-to the point that I considered getting DirecTV so I actually can watch some decent games. The Raiders and 49ers are just so plain unbearable to watch.
@romo
The city used to buy the tickets so we could watch the games, but now the city is flat broke mostly from corruption and now we might not be watching games on TV.
Those same cities struggle every year to sell out games. Fair weather fans not bad economy.
Unless something has changed with the NFL. DircTv will blackout a local team if it not sold out, but if you have an antenna that can get a signal from 50 miles away you can use it to pick up a station that would carry it.
and this is why my pals in LA don’t want a pro team.
and fair weather fans is BS. You’re talking $200 per game after ticket, parking, food and beer. you want to burn that cash on Lions games last year? or pay rent?
its weird how they want every seat to sell but jack up the prices!
Would love the Raiders to leave the Bay Area so I could watch some GOOD football on Sundays. I used to live in Los Angeles…and that was the best major market ever for watching football on t.v. The networks down there show the best match-ups of the week. Here I have to drop $$ at a bar to watch good football.