The Senator Posted July 14, 2012 Posted July 14, 2012 You make a good point. The NFL needs to look at more than just blackout rules. If you pay for ST you should be immune from blackouts. PTR Excellent idea, PTR - some sort of addressable set-top box for season ticket holders that would allow them to sit in the comfort of their homes and enjoy any blacked-out game on TV, since they already paid for a ticket anyway!
dbow Posted July 14, 2012 Posted July 14, 2012 Lets face it. The leagues attempt at relaxing the black out rule was a half a$$ measure at beast. If they really wanted to relax the rule they wouldn't have added the financial incentive to turn it down for the small market teams. I still think if your gonna have a black out rule it should be measured by the smallest stadium seating capacity.
Mr. WEO Posted July 14, 2012 Posted July 14, 2012 (edited) Facts are useful things, son - and you should try to obtain some next time you attempt to construct an argument here on TSW. First of all, the Bills make NOTHING off of television ad revenue. Zero. Zilch. Nada. (That revenue goes to the networks and the local affiliates that sell the airtime to the advertisers.) Second, of the $250M in improvements the Bills are requesting, the bulk of the funding is expected to come not from Erie County taxpayers but from the State of New York - which stands to earn far in excess of that $250M in the income taxes it collect on the Bills player and personnel salaries and various sales taxes on, among other things, concessions sales to ticket holders who attend the games! (And since NYS has contributed far more than that amount to professional sports franchises downstate, and also will be - from a tax revenue perspective - the major benefactor of having the Bills here, it is expected that NYS will willingly and eagerly pony up.) So the bulk of the tax revenue that will fund the stadium improvements will ultimately come from the Bills organization and the ticket holders who attend the game - making them even bigger financial stakeholders than the whiners who complain that they have a right to get for free what the stakeholders pay a substantial amount of good, hard-earned money to see. Nice try though, and thanks for playing...do come back and play again when you've got something. . First, I'm pretty sure you know that the advertising revenue is what pays for the massive TV contracts which provide each team with nearly enough money to cover the cap before one ticket is sold. Second, the tax money collected regarding the Bills .from tickets, concessions, salaries, etc. last year, this year, next year........ is already budgeted for and spent. Therefore it makes no sense to claim that those same tax revenues would also pay "far in excess of" the 250 million needed to fund the stadium renovations--unless you are claiming the renovations themselves would some how result in an extra 250 million in tax revenue from the Bills organization that doesn't now exist. This also makes no sense. Nice try though. Edited July 14, 2012 by Mr. WEO
Big Turk Posted July 14, 2012 Posted July 14, 2012 Actually, I will still watch the game on TV regardless if its blacked out or not, via my computer streamed to my TV with an HDMI connection. So it really doesn't make much of a difference, other than being slightly worse quality. And I mean slightly...most feeds are actually quite good.
BRAWNDO Posted July 16, 2012 Posted July 16, 2012 Well, Doug, I couldn't agree with you more; Since you pay taxes just like I do, you have every right to watch the game just like I do - all you have to do is BUY A TICKET...JUST LIKE I DO!!!! I'm sorry games get blacked out, but occasionally they do. That's life. In the last decade, during the Bills long drought, there were a couple of seasons when I did not renew my seats. And when other fans began voting with their feet as well, more games were subject to the blackout. I never whined about it, or proclaimed some 'right' to see the game for free on local TV in the days when I didn't (or couldn't) buy tickets. I started to miss seeing the games, so I bit the bullet and re-joined the fold. Do you think I would have ponied up for club seats if it was guaranteed that I could watch every game for free on local TV? Or maybe you think the ticket buyers pay all that money and make the effort to trek out to RWS on Sundays just so YOU can sit at home and watch for free? Last I looked, tax subsidies also fund the Buffalo Philharmonic, Albright Knox, Burchfield Penny Gallery, the Buffalo Zoo, Museum of Science, Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society, etc., etc. - yet only the most virulent communist (or complete idiot) would argue that they have a right to free access to those culturals simply because our local governments deem them worthy of funding, maintaining, and keeping here for the greater good of the entire area. And, btw, the county and state do not fund the Buffalo Bills - they fund (and own) the building where the Bills play, which the Bills then lease from the county. Local IDA dollars also fund virtually every strip plaza, fast food restaurant, big-box retail store, and corner drug store chain - so I guess, since your tax dollars funded those buildings, you feel you have a right to help yourself to some free products from the businesses that occupy them, operate them, and employ the local people who work there? Good luck explaining that logic to the local judge. Congrats on your new TV set. I'm sure it's very nice. Now, in the event that a Bills game is blacked out this season (which I doubt will happen), you are correct in claiming the right to watch the NY Giants or whatever other game-of-the-week is aired for free with all the others who have not paid anything to do so. (Though I should probably check and see if any of my tax dollars went to subsidize the company, facility, or jobs of the workers that manufactured your new TV - it may partially belong to me!) BTW, welcome back Doug - hope you and Wendy enjoyed your vacation youtube.com/watch?v=NiquICTxSlc Well put.
dancing_joker Posted July 16, 2012 Posted July 16, 2012 The Bills could play their games on the moon and have every single players contract paid for with the TV money they get. They need to change this rule.
CodeMonkey Posted July 16, 2012 Posted July 16, 2012 You make a good point. The NFL needs to look at more than just blackout rules. If you pay for ST you should be immune from blackouts. PTR I've been saying that for years. ST subscribers do pay to see the game and should not be blacked out for any reason. I suspect the NFL fears that bars who get the ticket will allow too many people who have the audacity to not go to the stadium to still see the game.
JeffNixonFan Posted July 16, 2012 Posted July 16, 2012 If the Bills felt this was better for their bottom line, then I'm OK with it. The more they maximize certain revenue streams, the less they'll need to feel like they need to get some new ones and the less creative they need to get the less likely they'll get to the point (or the next owners) will get to the point where they say "We can't do it in Buffalo anymore."
vincec Posted July 16, 2012 Posted July 16, 2012 (edited) If the Bills felt this was better for their bottom line, then I'm OK with it. The more they maximize certain revenue streams, the less they'll need to feel like they need to get some new ones and the less creative they need to get the less likely they'll get to the point (or the next owners) will get to the point where they say "We can't do it in Buffalo anymore." On the other hand, it says that they're basically all about money and not all that concerned with the Buffalo area fans. With that sentiment, why would a new ownership group not move the team to a more lucrative city? Do you really think that a few more game tickets are anything in comparison to what they could reap in a bigger market? Edited July 16, 2012 by vincec
Lurker Posted July 16, 2012 Posted July 16, 2012 Since you pay taxes just like I do, you have every right to watch the game just like I do - all you have to do is BUY A TICKET...JUST LIKE I DO!!!! I'm sorry games get blacked out, but occasionally they do. That's life. In the last decade, during the Bills long drought, there were a couple of seasons when I did not renew my seats. And when other fans began voting with their feet as well, more games were subject to the blackout. I never whined about it, or proclaimed some 'right' to see the game for free on local TV in the days when I didn't (or couldn't) buy tickets. I started to miss seeing the games, so I bit the bullet and re-joined the fold. Do you think I would have ponied up for club seats if it was guaranteed that I could watch every game for free on local TV? Or maybe you think the ticket buyers pay all that money and make the effort to trek out to RWS on Sundays just so YOU can sit at home and watch for free? Last I looked, tax subsidies also fund the Buffalo Philharmonic, Albright Knox, Burchfield Penny Gallery, the Buffalo Zoo, Museum of Science, Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society, etc., etc. - yet only the most virulent communist (or complete idiot) would argue that they have a right to free access to those culturals simply because our local governments deem them worthy of funding, maintaining, and keeping here for the greater good of the entire area. And, btw, the county and state do not fund the Buffalo Bills - they fund (and own) the building where the Bills play, which the Bills then lease from the county. Local IDA dollars also fund virtually every strip plaza, fast food restaurant, big-box retail store, and corner drug store chain - so I guess, since your tax dollars funded those buildings, you feel you have a right to help yourself to some free products from the businesses that occupy them, operate them, and employ the local people who work there? Good luck explaining that logic to the local judge.
KOKBILLS Posted July 16, 2012 Posted July 16, 2012 Lets face it. The leagues attempt at relaxing the black out rule was a half a$$ measure at beast. If they really wanted to relax the rule they wouldn't have added the financial incentive to turn it down for the small market teams. I still think if your gonna have a black out rule it should be measured by the smallest stadium seating capacity. Exactly... Arizona can avoid a black-out by selling 10,000 less seats than The Bills, even though they are based in Phoenix which has a City Pop of close to 1.5 million...Just make it the same for every Market...That would be a BIG step in the right direction IMHO...
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