Unbreaking the NFL's blackout policy

by palewook on Feb 3, 2012 10:57 AM EST

With the US raid yesterday on a handful of streaming media sites, fans and visitors of the Cincy Jungle voiced concerns about the raid, the continued availability of the streams, and the illegal nature of the sites to begin with.

The real question all fans of the NFL should be asking, why in a free market economy which the USA has are the choices of obtaining blacked out NFL games limited to the current four options. You can watch the game illegally, which is illegal. You can buy a ticket and watch the game in person. You can miss the game or settle for the radio. Or you can watch another game.

Where is the critical fifth option of allowing you to purchase the blacked out event for home viewing? I've always maintained, I will not subscribe to the NFL's Sunday Ticket until I can at least have the option of securing blacked out Bengal's games. If the NFL wants to charge me specifically for the ability to view those blacked out Bengal's games, fine, lets talk about it. I'll consider paying 5 to 20 bucks per game to see the Bengals in my home.

The problem exists in the current NFL model. There is no avenue for the NFL to make this option available within the current established TV network contractual model. Nor will the NFL risk billions of dollars by angering Fox, NBC, ABC, or CBS which they could lose in a network contract dispute. The NFL lacks any incentive to ever present an option for in-market fans to legally purchase blacked out games.

This is where we can hope a Representative or Senator has a successful degree of maneuvering. Only by strong arming the NFL with a fear of legislated change will the NFL be compelled to make this black out option available to the fans. Attacking or at least questioning the existing black out rules is a start. These analog contracts were drawn up in a time before the age of the internet and satellites delivered data bits into our daily lives.

Consider what the music industry spent the better part of the 1990s ignoring or blocking. The progression and acceptance of MP3s. Finally admitting in the 2000s, the market had changed. Consumers were getting and making MP3s regardless of the DMCA or lack of commercial MP3 purchasing options. Eventually the music industry embraced the changed business model. MP3s are a legal available option for purchase in 2012. Are you more likely to buy a MP3 in 2012 or buy a CD?

You can't legislate morality. You can offer business models that work in current and future economic conditions. That by the definition of it, is a free market economy. Time for the NFL to get with the 2000s and make blacked out NFL games available for home purchase.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Cincy Jungle's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Cincy Jungle's writers or editors.

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Comments

Just wondering...

Why would CBS or FOX be upset about the ability to watch Blacked-out games? The games on Sunday Ticket are still televised through CBS or FOX. They would get more viewers that way. The NFL could actually profit from not only the ability to sell blacked out games, but whoever bids to exclusively carry the Sunday Ticket will pay more to the NFL. Also, CBS & FOX would have to bid more because they’re also getting more viewers. Seems like a win-win scenario. Start building smaller stadiums because the game is made for TV.

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by Joe Goodberry on Feb 3, 2012 2:40 PM EST via Android app reply actions

direct tv gets approx 600-750 million in revenue per season from sunday ticket

the other networks get zero dollars of that revenue. the 4 major networks pay 5.9 billion per year for exclusive access to nfl content. why would they want another network to profit from what they are paying so dearly for?

espn is disney (which owns abc), reason they are included as the 4 networks.

this is at a time when networks are already fighting carriers to get maximum retransmission fees for programming.

http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily/Closing-Bell/2011/12/14/NFL-TV.aspx
http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily/Morning-Buzz/2011/09/08/ESPN-NFL.aspx

"the bengals are not a west of the 104 longitude team."

by palewook on Feb 3, 2012 4:13 PM EST up reply actions

Direct tvs ticket is a monopoly which is BS. However i heard u can get it threw ps3. But ur still paying direct tv

by njbengalstat on Feb 3, 2012 4:20 PM EST up reply actions

And you are paying $340 to get it on your PS3

Don’t know if this is more, less, or the same as DirectTV

by Oregonbengalsfan on Feb 3, 2012 4:29 PM EST up reply actions

for now, the ps3 feed is part of direct tv's contract

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/08/17/directv-and-playstation-bring-nfl-sunday-ticket-to-ps3/

that could change in the future as the nfl looks to license directly with game future consoles and cut direct tv out of the console feed.

"the bengals are not a west of the 104 longitude team."

by palewook on Feb 3, 2012 4:36 PM EST up reply actions

But if you don't have DirectTV

At the start of the season, viewers who do not currently have access to DIRECTV will be able to subscribe to NFL SUNDAY TICKET at the season price of $339.95.

by Oregonbengalsfan on Feb 3, 2012 4:44 PM EST up reply actions

Two years ago the internet feed was a total and complete joke. Totally nonfunctional.

According to online sources, this last year wasn’t much better. I wasn’t willing/able to spend the money this year to try it though.

Hopefully they will finally get it right next year. And hopefully I’ll be able to get it then as well.

by FriarBob on Feb 3, 2012 5:06 PM EST up reply actions

And I don't know how much Sunday TIcket is with DirectTV

is what I meant

by Oregonbengalsfan on Feb 3, 2012 4:45 PM EST up reply actions

Yea it 340. But u can spend half of the easily during ONE game at the bar with food and booze

The dish sux thou. When it rains alittle i have problems

by njbengalstat on Feb 3, 2012 4:50 PM EST up reply actions

you can also get a deal on the sunday ticket

you can get it free the 1st season on most packages, then the following season you call before you are charged, talk to a CS rep, tell em its too expensive and you want to cancel the sunday ticket, they’ll give you the sunday ticket for 120 bucks off at that point

"the bengals are not a west of the 104 longitude team."

by palewook on Feb 3, 2012 5:05 PM EST up reply actions

Lol. I tried that years ago. No go

by njbengalstat on Feb 3, 2012 5:36 PM EST up reply actions

Dont the bars in cinci have the Ticket? Theyre not blacked out at the bars right?

by njbengalstat on Feb 3, 2012 2:49 PM EST reply actions

If the game is blacked out

then it’s blacked out in a certain size radius (75 miles?) from that home market. And that includes it being blacked out on Ticket if I’m not mistaken.

by Oregonbengalsfan on Feb 3, 2012 2:51 PM EST up reply actions

You are correct. Although the Red Zone channel usually shows a good chunk of the game anyway. It seems that there may be multiple RZ feeds because last time I went to Quaker Steak & Lube they had the RZ channel on the big screen and about a quarter or a third of the game got shown (basically anytime some other team wasn’t in the red zone they flipped back to the Bengals). Considering it wasn’t even a good game, that only makes sense if there was a “regional” feed for the channel or something like that.

by FriarBob on Feb 3, 2012 2:58 PM EST up reply actions

You can’t legislate morality.

um, actually you can.
They legislate things like murder, incest, partial-birth aboriton, rape, etc…

At least they legislate those things where i live

I hate it when Ephram uses data & facts to refute my unfounded opinions....No chocolate chip cookies for him!!!

by ephram on Feb 3, 2012 6:29 PM EST reply actions

glad it works in your area

where i live, they legislate those things and people continue to do them.

"the bengals are not a west of the 104 longitude team."

by palewook on Feb 3, 2012 7:18 PM EST up reply actions

unless i'm mistaken (and i could be)

the NFL games are not a necessity of human survival (like bread & water).. .. ..so the NFL has a right to determine the distribution of their product.

of course that water gets muddied when tax payers pay for the venue of the game, but then are blacked out from being able to watch the game when it’s televised on t.v.

I hate it when Ephram uses data & facts to refute my unfounded opinions....No chocolate chip cookies for him!!!

by ephram on Feb 3, 2012 6:41 PM EST reply actions

if you like everyone's tax dollars being spent on IP protection, be happy

me, i’m not. wasting tax money on a criminal investigation, criminal prosecution, and criminal incarceration for something that is already actionable via the civil trial system is a waste of tax money.

"the bengals are not a west of the 104 longitude team."

by palewook on Feb 3, 2012 7:20 PM EST up reply actions