Left field

A bar in Tampa, Florida is facing possible action from the NFL after reports that it broke the league imposed television ‘blackout’ for Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers by broadcasting an internet feed of the match on screens.

The case highlights the increasingly antiquated blackout regulations which have been in place since 1973. The rules ensure that a home game will not be televised locally if it is not sold out 72 hours before kick-off.

It is a rule that could affect a number of clubs this season as fans find it hard to stump up for tickets and parking — USA today recently reported that as many as 11 clubs could be hit by the regulation this season.

As an outsider I have always found this rule a little odd, partly because I have sat in stadiums with plenty of empty seats but where the match has been televised due to being ‘officially’ sold out. The difference between an actual sell out and an “official sell out” is that in the latter version – television companies agree to buy up the unsold tickets to make sure that they can broadcast the game.

Which makes the whole thing a little pointless doesn’t it?

To be fair to the NFL, the rule is designed to protect clubs from the threat of local television coverage affecting their paid attendances. Before 1973, no games were broadcast in the home market and so anyone who wanted to see their city’s team had to get themselves out to the stadium, hand over their dollars and cheer on their team.

The policy is also supported on the grounds that the television product is better when there is a full stadium to be shown — not empty seats.

English soccer has a similar policy (albeit without any concept of a ‘local market’) which stops broadcasters from televising any live games on a Saturday afternoon. This protects lower league clubs from having their team’s 3pm fixture up against Manchester United v Chelsea down the pub.

But in both English soccer and the NFL, well-intentioned regulations are now facing challenges from modern technology and commercial moves from the broadcasters. Pubs and bars in England do broadcast games on a Saturday afternoon by grabbing the coverage from foreign stations that are not party to the restrictive legislation.

Premier League games in England are shown live on Italian and French channels which can be received (illegally) in the UK if you can get hold of the right decoder and smart card. If you happen to run a bar, the investment needed can be quickly recouped in takings.

A cheaper way, usually with a poorer quality of signal, is to route an illegal pirated internet feed on to a screen in the pub. That happens to be the (illegal) way that thousands of fans watch their sport every Saturday afternoon.

That is also what bars in Tampa have reportedly done and that will be the method used in all markets which are subject to blackouts. The internet and streaming video are not going to be uninvented and there really is little that can be done to ‘police’ viewing parties.

Even if the NFL sent out enforcers to all the sports bars in a town, it can’t do much about stay at home fans, watching on their PCs at home with their friends.

In fact, the NFL has been eroding the blackout policy itself. The Red Zone channel, which delivers near real-time highlights of all the touchdowns and major incidents in the games on a Sunday afternoon is not subject to blackout restrictions.

So, if a blackout is imposed in your market you can legally sit at home and watch your home team’s touchdowns but not their first downs.

Even if you don’t pay for the Red Zone service — quick post-game highlights are available on most of the networks with access to the images. So, even if you don’t do pirate feeds, you can watch another game live and then catch your team’s highlights right after.

All of which suggests that the blackout policy doesn’t really hurt the fan who wants to watch from home or the bar rather than the stadium — in other words, it is ineffective.

But there are fans who don’t have high-speed internet connections and attractive but pricey cable or satellite sports packages. These also happen to be the people who don’t have the $100 you often need for a game ticket and a stadium parking slot.

The blackout policy actually hurts these fans the most — as they don’t have an alternative to regular network television.

With the economic situation not exactly rosy in the United States, Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown recently wrote to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to ask him to consider scrapping blackouts.

“During these difficult times, working families are struggling to make ends meet. Although appealing, attending a football game is simply cost prohibitive for too many Ohioans. The average price for an NFL game ticket is $77 – nearly ten times the hourly minimum wage,” he wrote.

Speaking at the NFL owner’s meeting in Orlando this March, Goodell said he was aware that many fans are facing tight financial situations but offered no indication that an end to blackouts was on the cards.

“There are a lot of people who are still suffering and still having challenges. We have to be responsive to that as a league and as clubs.

“It’s about value. How do we create greater value? How do we create a more quality product that our fans want to be a part of. The good news in all these challenges we are facing is we have a high quality product and people still want to come,” he said.

But what if this season shows that there are a significant amount of people who might well want to come to the stadium but who feel priced out? Is it right that the NFL then stop those fans from enjoying the cheaper ‘second best’ of watching their team at home or in the local bar?