Tuesday, September 1, 2009

NFL keeps blacking out


Whether you're a football fan or not, the NFL is one of the strongest brands around. Just look at how Fantasy football has become such a big business (I've been in a league for 17 years now) so much so that the NFL has gotten in on the action with its own fantasy game to further generate interest in pro football. There's a disconnect however as far as the NFL's policy of blacking out games in local markets if a particular game hasn't sold out as pointed out in a recent posting in Tech Dirt. Game blackouts might have made some sense back in the day when there was no cable TV and internet and the media wasn't as everywhere as it is now. However, by restricting fan's access to seeing their favorite teams - then and now - is the NFL increasing or decreasing interest in its product? With ticket sales down this year, the league seems to be shooting itself in the foot by continuing this outdated policy. Let's face it, the NFL is a sport that has evolved based on television anyway, with instant replays and its use by the game officials to make close calls, breaks in the action for commercials, etc. There will always be fans that enjoy going to games and ones that would rather watch the action from home or a bar with friends. Rather than fight this reality, the NFL should embrace it and find ways of getting people to games other than depriving those who want to continue their team loyalty via TV, mobile or the web.