I'm sure if any of you have heard about what's going on with the FCC and the NFL Blackout Rule but the FCC is currently considering a petition from fan interest groups and five US Senators to rescind the NFL television blackout rules. While many writers have disagreed with my stance that the NFL Blackout Rule serves a good purpose the FCC and the public interest groups behind may agree to end it pretty soon.
This is an excerpt from Ask Vic Former writer for Jaguars.com who's now spending his pre-retirement golfing days on the frozen greens of Packers.com.
Writer: "For those franchises that are having trouble filling their stadiums today, what happens if the blackout rule is lifted? Even lower attendance, which then results in lower revenue until the business economics dictate a change is in order, a change of venue to a bigger market. Is it possible that a move by some franchise to the LA market and the resulting increase in TV revenue offsets the loss of ticket revenue for most franchises?"
Vic: "You’re asking the right questions. I don’t have the answers for you, but I’m inclined to believe that if it plays out as you’ve suggested, and if termination of the blackout rule results in a decline in ticket sales in markets of limited revenue streams, then markets such as Los Angeles will become more viable. Miami is the perfect example. It struggles to sell tickets but there’s no chance of the NFL leaving Miami; it has too many people and too many revenue streams for the league to abandon it. Remember this: People are value. The more people in a market, the more disposable income that market has to spend. My concern, should the blackout rule be terminated, is that it might create a league in which success will be restricted to big-market teams and heritage franchises."
Many people didn't like Vic for his long understood stance on this subject but I actually agree 100%. I know many fans would agree that they would like to see the Jaguars on TV no matter the cost, but to what ends? What if, what if Mr. Ketchman is correct? Something would have to change to keep the team sustainable in this city, especially in these economic times. Either we would have to get a smaller (more reasonably sized) stadium to match our market size stick or find a way to grow the market asap (which I believe Mr. Khan understands fully well). Do we really believe that we can sustain a team in these economic times with our own homes and HD TV being the competition? What if, what if the cost of seeing our boys for free is actually losing our boys? Just stating the cold truth-we don't know the full economic scope of a game changer of this magnitude or how our new business man owner would adjust to those changes. We shouldn't want this rule lifted. The risk isn't worth the reward. Just my three cents.