The NFL currently has a blackout policy in place where they prohibit the airing of games on local stations (anywhere within a 75-mile radius) if the city hosting the game has failed to sell out the stadium at least 72 hours prior to the initiation of the game. This policy has been in place for decades. The basic rationale for implementing a blackout seems financially sound - that consumers of football will be compelled to attend the game (and pay inordinately high prices for tickets) if they are unable to watch it from the comfort of their living room. In 2009, a record-high number of games were blacked out (8.6% in total). I'd like to argue that this approach is antiquated and in dire need of a re-assessment.
With the advent of high-definition television and the wide variety of alternative devices - that cater to viewing sports (smartphone, laptop, Slingbox, etc...) - at our disposal, sports in general is moving away from being something that necessarily needs to be seen in person. In fact, one can easily make the case that it's preferable to watch the game from home rather than attend the match itself. Just last week, I attended the Minnesota Vikings - NY Jets game at the Meadowlands in New York and, despite being a lifelong football fan, found the experience to be mostly lousy. The parking situation was atrocious (it took an hour to get to our spot and an hour to get back on the highway once the game finished), the weather was terrible (thunderstorms), the food was unspectacular and highly priced and the fans were raucous. I paid 150$ (per ticket) in order to endure that - rather than sit at home and watch the game on my sofa for free. I mention this simply to say that I do think more fans are going to soon realize, with such high-quality viewing, that it simply doesn't make sense to attend games. The NFL and the TV networks must know this as they signed deals worth over 20 Billion$ for the league's viewing rights. Additionally, the league's attendance figures have shown consistent decline over the past several years. Along these lines, the NFL needs to reassess what's most important - their TV revenues or attendance revenues. As I'm suggesting above, I think it's undoubtedly their TV revenues that should occupy primary importance - for that reason, they should care less about not being able to sell out games and more about ensuring as many people are watching their games as possible.
Additionally, in today's difficult economy, the NFL needs to be more sympathetic towards fans that are unable to afford tickets. The average ticket price rose nearly 5% in the past year to 76.47$ and fans that can't pay that price shouldn't be punished (by being unable to see the games). It may have been the case only 10-15 years ago that those fans would be simply unable to watch the game. Today, however, you likely force many of them to pursue alternate avenues for watching the game that the NFL will be unable to extract any money from - via the internet (through websites like Justin.tv) or illegal satellite. So, not only are they creating a disgruntled fan base - but they are also forcing that fan base to pursue questionable means (for watching the game) that may potentially ultimately backfire against the league.
I think the system needs to be re-evaluated. I can only hope the Commissioner's Office feels the same way and ultimately takes the necessary action to rescind this blackout policy.
References
Horrow R. "Technology: The NFL's Friend or Foe?." Businessweek Magazine. Sep 16, 2010. Retrieved online from http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/sep2010/tc20100916_068999_page_3.htm
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