Thursday, January 2, 2014

NFL Blackout Rule Is Not So Dark


 

By Jeff Simpson

The NFL Blackout policy states that you have to sell out your stadium 72 hours before the game or the game will not be shown locally on TV.

 In the NFL, any broadcaster that has a signal that hits any area within a 75 miles (121 km) radius of an NFL stadium may only broadcast a game if that game is a road game (also known as an away game), or if the game sells out 72 hours or more before the start time for the game.[12][13] If sold out in less than 72 hours, or is close to being sold out by the deadline, the team can sometimes request a time extension. Furthermore, broadcasters with NFL contracts are required to show their markets' road games, even if the secondary markets have substantial fanbases for other teams (like in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, officially a Baltimore Ravens secondary market, but home to many Pittsburgh Steelers fans). Sometimes if a game is within a few hundred tickets of selling out, a broadcaster with rights to show the nearly sold out game will buy the remaining tickets (and give them to local charities) so it can broadcast the game. Other teams elect to close off sections of their stadium, but cannot sell these tickets for any game that season if they choose to do so.[14] As a result, if the home team's game is a Sunday day game, both networks can air only one game each in that market (until 2001, this rule applied whether or not the game was blacked out, however, this was changed because some markets virtually never aired doubleheaders as a result). Usually, but not always, when each network can show only one game each in a market, the two stations work out between themselves which will show an early game and which will show a late game. This only affects the primary market, and not markets in a 75-mile (121 km) radius, which always get a doubleheader each Sunday.

Unless of course you do not sell out then there will be exceptions to the rule:


With significant progress made in selling the initial 40,000 tickets available, the Packers have received an extension from the NFL on the TV blackout deadline. The current deadline to sell all non-premium tickets and lift the blackout is now Friday, Jan. 3, at 4 p.m. CST.
Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster, either online or in person at Ticketmaster outlets. No phone orders will be transacted. No limit exists on the number of tickets that can be purchased. Those purchasing tickets online will be required to use Ticketmaster’s “print at home” feature to obtain their tickets.
Prices, set by the NFL, range from $102 to $125, depending on location.
 So NO exceptions to the rule, unless of course your not putting money directly in the owners pockets.

 Browner’s suspension is a more complicated story than is typical. When he first came into the league in 2005, he failed a drug test while in the Denver Broncos’ employ. The Broncos released him in 2006. After that, according to a source familiar with the situation, Browner ran low on money and was sleeping on friends’ couches to stay solvent while he waited for another shot at pro football. He was automatically placed in Stage 3 of the program because he missed multiple notifications for drug tests when his cell phone service apparently lapsed.

There will not even be any leeway if  you are a player and want to wear a pair of shoes that commemorates a charity that is near and dear to you.

 LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Chicago Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall says he has been fined $10,500 by the NFL for wearing green football shoes in the Oct. 10 game against the New York Giants.
Marshall had said before last Thursday's game he was wearing the shoes to attract attention to Mental Health Awareness Week. Marshall has been treated for a personality disorder in the past.
Marshall posted the league letter informing him of the fine on Twitter and wrote: "Football is my platform not my purpose. This fine is nothing compared to the conversation started & awareness raised."
Marshall said he had planned to match any fine with a donation to his foundation, which supports mental health awareness. He said he also plans to auction off the shoes and donate the proceeds to charity.
 







2 comments:

  1. Does anyone else remember the Packers ever having trouble selling out Playoff tickets before? Is there just a little less money floating around in Wisconsin for $100 tickets? What could be the cause of that? We're number 37 !

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