Only the NFL can turn a down economy into a marketing opportunity. The league announced this week that it will not lift the blackout rule, even though there are many civic leaders crying for it to be lifted because the economy makes it tough for average, everyday folks to buy tickets.
The NFL said no – and in a way I can’t blame them. If they show the games live for free, it might be a disincentive to people to buy tickets. Other leagues do it and still sell tickets, but there are fewer NFL games … blah blah blah.
The league's announced thought that it will make all games available online for a subscription fee at midnight on Sundays. If the game was blacked out, the game will be available for free for 72 hours.
Hoo hoo!
You get to stay up until midnight to watch your team play. And if you can’t stay up that late, you can watch on Monday – but not during Monday Night Football.
This might be seen as a kind gesture, but it’s also a way to drive traffic to the NFL’s internet sites, which allows it to sell ads, which brings in more revenue.
Too, the NFL seems to want to own every minute of every day. They have games on Sunday, Monday, Thursday, Thanksgiving and right through the Christmas holidays. They moved games back form Labor Day because TV ratints just weren't high enough, and they'd no doubt play a game the third Saturday after Easter if they could. They have their network. They have endless coverage on ESPN. Now they have the internet, where games will be available at ridiculous hours for 72 hours.
Then there’s an issue brought up in a column by AOL’s Kevin Blackistone. He quotes a Vanderbilt economics professor and former Kansas State football player, John Vrooman, who said: "This seems rather inappropriate in the current economy in that almost every stadium design in the last 20 years has sought to eliminate the everyday fan and charge half as many people [corporate clients] twice as much."
Right.
There is that little detail.
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