Prepare for the First of Many Blackouts This Season
by Sean Yuille on Sep 16, 2009 5:56 PM EDT
in Detroit Lions News
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PrintThe Lions have until 1 p.m. tomorrow to sell 4,000 tickets for Sunday's home opener against the Vikings. If the game fails to reach a sellout, it will be blacked out in a 75-mile area around Detroit. There's always the chance that the deadline could be pushed back until 1 p.m. on Friday, but the Lions would need to suddenly sell quite a few tickets for that to happen. (A 24-hour extension will only be granted if the team is close to a sellout.)
It isn't a guarantee that Sunday's game will be blacked out, but I'd be pretty surprised if it wasn't. The only hope for us fans in the blackout zone is for a company to buy up the remaining tickets. Gardner-White did just that for last season's home opener, though there were only 3,100 tickets available at the time. Before last season it was common for the Lions to be close to a sellout but not reach one until a company stepped in and bought the available tickets. I don't know if that will happen this year given the economy, but let's hope it does so there is no blackout.
What this says in the bigger picture is that Lions fan in the blackout zone will be lucky to see any home games not on Thanksgiving this season. I've mentioned this before, but it's worth mentioning again that if the Lions can't even sell out the home opener, what does that say about the rest of the home games? I think the Thanksgiving game will be sold out one way or another, but I'm extremely worried that every or almost every home game will be blacked out. Sure, the NFL is going to make the games available to watch online after midnight, but that is nowhere near close to being good enough.
The NFL needs to realize that in places like Detroit, where the economy is awful and the team has struggled for quite some time now, many fans simply can't justify spending the money to go to games. What's more, not selling out a game should not mean the fans can't watch it. This debate has been beat into the ground already, but I will make my main point one more time: When fans are unable to watch games, interest in the team drops. If fans aren't already planning on going to the game, the threat of not being able to watch it on TV will not cause very many people to suddenly go out and buy a ticket, at least not to the point where the game will reach a sellout. It's asinine to think that blackouts affect ticket sales very much, as they really don't unless a company steps in like Gardner-White did last year.
Since the NFL doesn't seem like it is going to do anything to truly resolve this problem, I wonder if the Lions could simply buy up the rest of the tickets. I don't know if that is allowed or not, but it's the least the team could do after all that fans have been through over the years.
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lol
I thought of that, but with the negative attention the domestic auto co. are getting for not making profits, it probably wouldn’t be a good move on FoMoCo part
agreed i thought the same thing
y doesn’t wcf himself buy the tickets its his fault the team sucks. and i mean with his money not the teams cause that is allowed.
Kevin Smith let em kno, Ernie Sims Break em, Calvin Johnson you already Kno
2009 Detroit Lions 6-10 to 8-8
by DetroitLions 4 life on Sep 16, 2009 10:27 PM EDT up reply actions
NFL live said
that “the team owner themselves should buy the tickets not the team cause it is allowed by rules” ~NFL LIVE
Kevin Smith let em kno, Ernie Sims Break em, Calvin Johnson you already Kno
2009 Detroit Lions 6-10 to 8-8
by DetroitLions 4 life on Sep 16, 2009 10:28 PM EDT up reply actions
Sad
How sad is it that I will be able to see more Lion’s games in Utah than if I were still living in Michigan. The blackout rule is another example of a policy that makes sense in theory but will only hurt the game and certain teams in reality.
agreed
I will be watching this one from the comfort of my living room in Iowa. Anyone want a VHS copy of the game mailed to them?
Funny you brought this up
I’m a fan of Frank Deford, and he does a segment for NPR every Wednesday. Today’s touched on the blackout rule in the NFL, albeit from the perspective of Jerry Jones, but still pretty interesting.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112859869
I root for the Tigers, Pistons, Red Wings and yes, the Lions.
www.twitter.com/zajareich
It will be
at my team, Jacksonville. The ticket sales are in a very miserable status there too.
Although down there is the problem looks like the biggest, and not just economy related, I think at this challenging economical times, the blackout rule must be lifted, at least this year.
Life without knowledge is death in disguise
by Zoltan from Budapest on Sep 16, 2009 7:18 PM EDT up reply actions
Jacksonville......
……said all 8 of its games this year will more then liklely be blackouts….What do tickets cost……I live in TC and when we were kids back in 92 93 and 94 we had 3 season tickets that cost a total off 66 bucks, 22 a piece, for endzone corner 18 rows up……Im sure they are more now but maybe 40 50 bucks…….I think someone will swipe them up
by BennieBladesFan on Sep 16, 2009 7:31 PM EDT reply actions
Most likely yeah
Jags just lost 17000 season ticket holder in 1 year!!!! Anfd the tickets are the second cheapest in the league…
That’s why owner Wayne Weaver announced today the Jags will keep on eye on local favourite Tim Tebow. (i think if the ticket sales not improving, they will draft him, no matter what will be the price…)
Life without knowledge is death in disguise
by Zoltan from Budapest on Sep 16, 2009 9:15 PM EDT up reply actions
Wow
That really sucks.
Pride of Detroit, SB Nation's Lions Blog
by Sean Yuille on Sep 16, 2009 10:50 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah
it does.
Life without knowledge is death in disguise
by Zoltan from Budapest on Sep 17, 2009 12:33 PM EDT up reply actions
And now it is official
the 2009 first blackout belong to us!
Life without knowledge is death in disguise
by Zoltan from Budapest on Sep 17, 2009 8:57 PM EDT up reply actions
The whole Blackout thing seems pretty stupid to me
Why stop your own fans from watching the product? Seems monumentally stupid.
2009 = The start of the Lions Golden Age (We hope).
i hate to say it, but i agree with the blackout rules
The NFL is protecting itself and it’s franchises. If you can stay home and watch the games for free, why would people decide to go to the game? Sure there are those that will go to every game no matter what is going on in the world. However, in order to sell out the stadiums teams need to make sure that fans will go to the games in order to see them. The economy is not good in most of the country right now. I’ve never been to Green Bay but I assume its not a booming metropolis. The population is listed as 100,000. The population for metro detroit is 1,000,000. If you look at it in terms of percentages, 72% of GB population needs to go to their games to sell them out. In contrast Detroit needs 7% of the population to attend games.
I’m sure there are similar economic issues in Buffalo and I’m sure they are going to sell out their games and they have not been doing well recently.
The bottom line is that the NFL wants to have full stadiums for good TV and they want full stadiums for their teams. If Detroit wants to sell out, they need to do something to move tickets. They need to offer better packages, discounts, something to get people at the games. Of course, the best way to get people to the games is to win.
This is the Lions problem to fix for their fans, not the NFL’s problem to fix for them.
by kingdaddylions on Sep 16, 2009 8:30 PM EDT up reply actions
Except it's not just the Lions
apparently almost all of the home games this coming weekend (or it may have been last, I saw it earlier and can’t find the article now – but I think it’s this weekend) are border line not selling out, meaning that it’s possible (thought highly unlikely) that a majority of home teams this weekend may not have their home openers televised. Not cool.
Have you ever been to a game?
It is a MUCH different experience than watching on TV. Sure, I love to sit on my cushy sofa and see the Lions in glorious HD, but that pales in comparison to a live game. The atmosphere… it can’t be replicated. People go to NFL games for that reason alone. If the economy was better, the games would be sold out… no question.
The Lions have sold out many games with bad teams… actually, the first blacked-out game at Ford Field was last year. This economy has really hit some small markets hard. Don’t even talk about the NFL needing to “get theirs”. They do… trust me, they do. So far from me, they’ve gotten 2 jersey sales, 3 single game tickets and immeasurable support from me promoting their product… of which, I have no affiliation… I just love the sport and talk about it nonstop.
I understand the concept, but in these times… that’s what Sean is talking about with this post… the blackout rule should be lifted.
i think i agree with your point...
i have been to games in several NFL cities: detroit, jacksonville, miami, tampa, atlanta and cincinatti, plus college games in columbus, orlando and miami. I also been to the joe, atlanta and tampa for NHL games, plus ECHL and Junior hockey local clubs. I’ve been to the Daytona 500 4 times and Pepsi 400 3 times. I’ve magic games in orlando and hawks games in atlanta. I have not been to any Indy Races or MLS games but they are not on the list….now that we have that covered…..
I couldnt agree with your point that the games are a different experience that you cannot replicate at home. My point is, if the NFL lifts the blackout people will be use to staying at home and next year they could decide that it’s easier to stay home than go to the stadium. It is a snowball affect, if you give people something for free now they wont pay for it later.
by kingdaddylions on Sep 16, 2009 10:12 PM EDT up reply actions
I disagree
I understand why the NFL has the blackout rule, because they can. No other professional sport in America has a fan base like the NFL. It’s a super-monopoly and they take advantage. But to say that someone won’t go to a game because they can watch it for free seems very false. The Tigers, Wings, and Pistons put people in the seats nearly every night without blackout rules. Maybe not complete sell outs, but decently full stadiums. The Wings do this for comparable prices 41 times a year, plus playoffs. Granted, all these organizations are more successful, it just so happens their respective leagues aren’t King like the NFL, so they don’t have to threaten fans with a blackout to get people to come out.
In short, the rule is basically there because the NFL is greedy and can get away with it, even with the economy the way it is.
ABC baby, always be closing.
by ALWAYSBCLOSING on Sep 17, 2009 12:04 AM EDT up reply actions
I think that the NFL is misconstruing things.
I think that they miss part of the point. It seems to me that they should treat the NFL on TV as a commercial for the local team. Always play the games. Going to the games is way more fun than watching on TV and showing this to people will just benefit the teams long term resulting in the sale of more tickets.
BUT, if you bury the teams, local interest will just fall. Listening to it on the radio is not the same and if you can’t see what they want you to buy, people won’t.
It might be nice short term for the NFL, but long term, killing local interest will be bad. Of course, I have a feeling the NFL could care less about killing interest in the Lions.
I’m trying to think of another professional sports league that has black-out rules for the home teams TV viewing area….
nhl does it...local area is blacked out
doesn’t happen too often in toronto…but i know it happened for my parents a couple times for ottawa games. not sure if it works the same but pretty sure it does.
It is a BUSINESS
The sooner people realize that the better off they will be. Why show the product for free and leave your stadium empty? That is exactly what would happen if they lifted the black out rule especially in a failing economy. We are almost sold out, Imagine if all games were televised, that stadium would be a ghost town.
I'd love to see statistics on people that go to games
Because I’d be willing to bet a high percentage of people that go to the games don’t do it because of the threat of a blackout. Also, I’d love to see where people at the games are from. If they are outside of the blackout zone than they aren’t relevant to that argument.
Pride of Detroit, SB Nation's Lions Blog
by Sean Yuille on Sep 16, 2009 10:59 PM EDT up reply actions
+1
completely agree…i’d also bet that if they are not from out of town…they are businesses using “travel & entertaining” expenses. this only hurts the average joe who might get to a game or two a year, but has followed his team for years.
Sounds like a research paper to me
The Relation of Blackout Policies to Ticket Sales
Check out nickandroll.blogspot.com
nfl is to greedy
its a business its all money it not about the fans. td celebrations an blackouts plus a few other things like regular season games in London.
Kevin Smith let em kno, Ernie Sims Break em, Calvin Johnson you already Kno
2009 Detroit Lions 6-10 to 8-8
by DetroitLions 4 life on Sep 16, 2009 10:24 PM EDT reply actions
The games aren't fun
I have been to about 4 Lions games at Ford Field since I moved down to Georgia four years ago. The product on the field has stunk, and every game has been extremely boring. I was always glad to go with my dad, but the crowd was tame and quiet, and even if there was an exciting moment it wasn’t loud.
The atmosphere in Ford Field is stale. Corporate, quiet, even polite. Why get off of your couch for that? The experience at the Silverdome was ten times better. At the Silverdome the fans were yelling, a little crazy, a bit drunk and having fun. At Ford Field its golf claps, and a diet coke. I hope that whenever the team is good again the environment changes, but I doubt it.
If the NFL really wants to drive fans to the games why don't they black out all games?
For instance, when Detroit does not sell out they should black out every game for that weekend. While they are at it, black out the radio too. Yeah, that will show those ingrates in the Detroit area! Then have those TV stations run some movies during those time slots like The Runaway Bride, First Wives Club, What Women Want, ……you know really classy stuff.
That should start a stampede to Ford Field.
I agree their are some small technical kinks that need to be ironed out, but I am sure Goodell and his cronies are considering how to do that right now.
If they really want to sell tickets
As a continuation from what I said above.
The NFL should use the games as advertising. Stress the tailgating in the parking lot. Show how much fun people are having. And sell tickets for less. LionsfanATL has it about right. The corporate atmosphere makes the games stale and now that the corporate boxes are the priority, what fun is it for the real fans.
The NFL gets a big chunk of their revenue from their deal with the networks who in turn get their money from advertising. Advertising does not change based on the teams that are playing. The same commercials will play whether they are playing the Lions, the Bears or the Chargers. And that goes for every market. We’ll still see Bud Light, Miller Light, Ford Trucks and Cialis.
interestingly
i wonder how many viewers are lost because they can’t watch the home team? how many of you switch to cbs or nbc to watch a game if the lions aren’t on fox? sorry if i have the networks mixed up…but i wonder how much $$ they are losing in advertising due to lost viewership in the home cities…lost viewership means lost ratings…means cheaper advertising dollars.
That's another good question
The NFL sent out a table of ratings from last week, so if they do it again we might be able to compare.
Pride of Detroit, SB Nation's Lions Blog
by Sean Yuille on Sep 17, 2009 12:39 PM EDT up reply actions
Agreed
I was thinking the same thing a little while after I posted this.
I love football, but I admit that the only games that I set aside time to watch are the Lions games. If they’re not on, I may or may not turn it on football. And if I do, it’s not for the whole game.
Seems like sponsors may have a vested interest in forcing the NFL to leave the games on local channels for advertising purposes.
RE: LionsfanATL
Like Lionsfan ATL I’m a huge out of state Lions fan and have travelled to Ford Field before. The atmosphere before the game is outstanding – with the streets packed with things for the kids, the Lions bad, etc. Its really a good time.
HOWEVER – the atmoshpere inside Ford Field is very boring. There are more fans for the opposing team than Lions fans. Its a pretty tame experience. I didn’t feel like drinking. The one thing that will solve all of the Lions problems is (and this isn’t rocket science) is WINNING
Recall that we have not won >5 games in a season since Ford Field opened. Its a gorgeous venue and it saddens me that you can hear a pin drop when our team takes the field. Really the panacea is put a competitive product on the field and fans will come to watch.
I spray paint my dog Honolulu Blue and Silver
Pic - me and the great Herman Moore
We were 7 and 9 in 2007.
A very weak seven and nine, but seven wins nonetheless.
by NorthLeft12 on Sep 17, 2009 12:45 PM EDT up reply actions
7-9
Two years ago, the year before the season that won’t be mentioned. 6-2 to start the season and finished 1-7.
...you mentioned the season that shall not be named?
by NorthLeft12 on Sep 17, 2009 12:47 PM EDT up reply actions
Thats right - I forgot about 2007
My bad. That was a year I went to Ford Field too!! LOL
Its been so long I can’t remember we were ever 6-2
I spray paint my dog Honolulu Blue and Silver
Pic - me and the great Herman Moore
by NYCLionsfan on Sep 17, 2009 12:51 PM EDT up reply actions
@NYCLionsFan
I agree about the outside being fun, I forgot about that part (and the Silverdome was nothing but a parking lot), but I’m glad you agree with the inside being boring. The greater point is that I don’t think the inside will be that much fun anyways once the lions are good because the louder raucus fans are already priced out.
Ooorr Ford Field can get rid of the canned roar and go back to playing “2 Legit 2 Quit” and “Pump up the Volume” and “Rock n Roll Part 2” incessantly during games.
HAHA or Detroit Rock City
It is pretty quiet in there. One time, for last year’s Bears debacle (Kevin Jones had a good game against us) there were definitly more Bears fans than Lions at FOField- how depressing.
Like I said, I’ve been a few times and have VOWED never to go back until there is a competitive team on the field. Will I go back this year?? I will wait until week 5 to see – there should be good seats available (sorry I had to say that) should I fly out
I spray paint my dog Honolulu Blue and Silver
Pic - me and the great Herman Moore
Lets face it
The lack of sell outs has less to do with a bad economy then it does a crappy team. Yeah there’ve been many changes and this is far from the team we suffered through last year, but the average fan wants to see some W’s before they shell out the green. Put a competitive product on the field week in and week out and I’ll start to financially support you, until then, why should I ever pay for a bad product? You wouldn’t got to a crappy fast food joint and pay top dollar for a meal would you? Why should you pay top dollar for a crappy football team? I’m all for supporting my team, but there comes a time when you gotta draw the line and say enough is enough. We’ve been rebuilding since the 1950’s. The NFL’s blackout policy sucks for those in the blackout area, but it puts the spotlight square on the owners to do something and hits them where it hurts……the wallet. Very rarely do you see a good competitive franchise with a solid fan base have problems selling out.
Yep
They have a crappy fan base. Its SanDiego. Great weather, hot women, ocean beaches……..Same thing in Jacksonville, the fan base sucks.
ok...but your point was based on not having a competitive team
times are hard in san diego too…but they have had a solid team now for the past few years.
Read the last line of my original post......
There are always exceptions to the rule, but everyone here in Michigan knows darn well, if they had a playoff team, there’d be no trouble selling out. Bad economy and all.
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