Will the Bills Black Out a Game This Year?

[SpikedLemonade]

Season ticket sales are up past 50,000 which is encouraging.

Before you say we would sell out if we won, leave the obvious comments for someone else.

I could not find the history per season of how many and which Bills home games were not sold out over the past decade.

Last year there were only 2 Black Outs in the whole NFL and the Bills were one of them. The Toronto game was excluded from Black Outs. Russ said that 2 or 3 games of the 7 in Buffalo were "manufactured sell outs" despite the Bills having the 2nd cheapest tickets in the NFL.

Here is an article written before last season predicting which teams would have Black Outs...

5 NFL Teams Most Likely To Be Blacked Out In 2013Buffalo Bills
Number of blackouts in 2012: Two

...The Bills declined the NFL's offer to lift blackouts at 85% capacity, largely because doing so would require it to pay $90,000 per home game into the league's anti-blackout revenue pool. They needed a local restaurant owner to buy up remaining tickets to prevent a third blackout. Yet, despite all of this, folks in Erie County and New York State are going to shell out $226 million in tax dollars combined to renovate the Bills' Ralph Wilson Stadium. The Bills will kick in a scant $44 million.

This is a team that regularly asks Buffalo to fill its 73,000-seat-stadium with nearly a third of its population -- a tough task in late winter by Lake Erie -- just to keep games on television; the Chicago Bears require just 62,000 of that city's 2.7 million residents to do the same. It's a team that wouldn't commit to a future in the city beyond 94-year-old owner Ralph Wilson's lifespan. It's a team that celebrated its new stadium deal by blacking out the Bills' last home game of the season.


It's a team that's giving Buffalo only eight more years for its investment.


That's $28.3 million a year for a team paying only $800,000 a year in rent on its stadium....

http://www.thestreet.com/story/12011473/2/5-nfl-teams-most-likely-to-be-blacked-out-in-2013.html


Fear of relocation has caused an uptick in season tickets sales earlier this year. Please don't make a temporary thing. Please buy tickets and sell out all the games this year.

Go Bills!!!

[Mr. Pink]

There actually doesn't look like a game on the schedule that shouldn't sell out this year.

The latest home date is vs the Packers and people will want to see Aaron Rodgers.

Before that is the Browns and people will want to see the Johnny Football circus if he's starting.

I'd say the Browns game is the most likely game not to sell out IF Hoyer is still starting.

[Novacane]

Probably. So what?

[better days]

MANY teams have manufactured sellouts including the Jags that TARP their stadium.

Why do blackouts concern you so much?

[Ginger Vitis]

I could not find the history per season of how many and which Bills home games were not sold out over the past decade.












2004... The game against the Cardinals was blacked out. The Rams might have been too
2006... The Jaguars..Chargers.. Titans game were all blacked out
2011..I think the game against the Broncos where Tebow had his worst game was blacked out

[Skooby]

If we're winning, no.

[Night Train]

Some 10,000 Bills fans black out in the parking lots each home game.

[SpikedLemonade]

Here is an article about the attempt to make Black Outs illegal. Cinci, Tampa Bay, Oakland and San Diego have also had Black Outs over the past decade. Here is the argument from a fan pespective...

Sports fan lobbyist fights NFL blackouts, taxpayer-funded stadiums, and Comcast...“Cincinnati is a great example,” he said. “They had to float municipal bonds, they’re having trouble paying the financing on those bonds (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12-18/cincinnati-stadiums-bury-county-government-in-debt.html), so schools are suffering while the taxpayers of Ohio are paying to subsidize a stadium for the NFL. Oh and by the way a couple of years ago 75 percent of all home games at Cincinnati were blacked out. Let me get this straight: [Say] I’m from Cincinnati. I supported this team my whole life. My taxpayer dollars go to support the stadium, and what do I get in return, I can’t watch the game on TV. Oh and I want to go, but wait a minute, the ticket prices just went up and I’m unemployed so I can’t afford it.”

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/08/sports-fan-lobbyist-fights-nfl-blackouts-taxpayer-funded-stadiums-and-comcast/

[Novacane]

I don't think blacking out games accomplishes anything. I've never decided to go to a game because it was being blacked out.

[SpikedLemonade]

2004... The game against the Cardinals was blacked out. The Rams might have been too
2006... The Jaguars..Chargers.. Titans game were all blacked out
2011..I think the game against the Broncos where Tebow had his worst game was blacked out

Thanks.

So 2013 -- 1 Black Outs out of 7 games

2012 -- 2 Black Outs out of 7 games

2011 -- 1 Black Outs out of 7 games

Can anyone help us with 2003 to 2010?

[SpikedLemonade]

Some 10,000 Bills fans black out in the parking lots each home game.

Haven't you been reading your bigot country men posts?

Apparently all of the 10,000 are Canadians.

[SpikedLemonade]

This is from Wiki...

Teams and year of last blackout/non-sell out



Giants (1975)
Jets (1977)
49ers (1981)
Packers (1983)
Bears (1984)
Cowboys (1990)
Patriots (1993)
Browns (1995)
Titans (1997)
Vikings (1997)
Dolphins (1998)
Eagles (1999)
Colts (2002)
Panthers (2002)
Seahawks (2002)
Saints (2004)
Cardinals (2005)
Falcons (2007)
Chiefs (2009)
Jaguars (2009)
Rams (2009)
Lions (2010)
Bengals (2012)
Buccaneers (2012)
Raiders (2012)
Chargers (2013)
Bills (2013)


As of the 2013 season, the Washington Redskins (last game not sold out was in 1965), Denver Broncos (joined the NFL in 1970 per AFL-NFL merger agreement; last game not sold out was in 1969), Pittsburgh Steelers (last game not sold out was in 1972), Houston Texans (founded in 2002) and Baltimore Ravens (founded in 1996) have never had a blacked out game under the post-1973 rules. However, there have been blackouts in the post-1973 era in the Houston market (1995) and Baltimore market with previous franchises.

[better days]

Spiked, if you think Toronto or LA would sell out after 14 years of LOSING, you are CRAZY.

[Novacane]

I'd love to know who's buying the tickets in Miami. I've been to 3 games there in the 15 years they've supposedly sold out. They may have sold all the tickets but the stadium was 20% empty and 25% of them fans there were Bills fans.

[SpikedLemonade]

I hope the new owner will do this...

...Any team also has the option to buy up any remaining tickets, at 34 cents on the dollar, enough to pay the visiting team’s share of the gate receipts.


That’s exactly what Wilson did for the Oct. 13 Cincinnati game. Three days before that game, the team had reported being 5,300 tickets short of a sellout.


Then last month, the team requested a one-day extension for the Nov. 17 Jets game before announcing that Wilson had agreed to buy any remaining tickets. The team reportedly had about 3,500 unsold tickets at that point.


But the remaining number of tickets this week is more than three times the number for either of those two games.
Not counting the Bills “home” game in Toronto against Atlanta on Dec. 1, which was televised here despite the presence of many unsold seats, the Bills had a tough time selling out three of its seven games in Ralph Wilson Stadium this season....

http://www.buffalonews.com/city-region/bills-game-will-be-only-second-nfl-blackout-this-year-20131216

[SpikedLemonade]

NFL Teams Are Realizing How Dim-Witted It Is to Black Out Games on TV
...While many NFL teams have no problem whatsoever selling pricey tickets (http://business.time.com/2013/10/06/fricking-ridiculous-nfl-stadium-seat-fees-cost-thousands-but-fans-pay-up/) for home games, other franchises struggle to win over fans and use the threat of a TV blackout to pressure them into buying tickets. Last year, a total of 15 games were blacked out in a host team’s region. Through the first six weeks of the 2013 season, however, there have been zero blackouts. Why? It’s not because fans have suddenly decided to literally take one for the team and start buying more tickets. Instead, it looks like teams have started realizing what a bad business move it is to not televise games where their best fans live.


Besides the Chargers, the Buffalo Bills were expected to have their home game blacked out this past weekend. A week ago, the Bills announced a $15 off promotion on tickets (http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/24057934/bills-offering-discounted-tickets-to-avoid-first-nfl-blackout-of-2013) to help sell some 7,000 seats and avoid a blackout. The Bills’ team owner wound up buying several thousand tickets (http://www.whec.com/article/stories/s3188967.shtml) so that the game wouldn’t be blacked out.


From 2010 to 2012, only five of the 24 home games for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were televised locally because not enough tickets were sold. But earlier this year, team ownership announced that it was stepping up to ensure that there would be no blackouts. “If fewer than 85 percent of nonpremium seats — the NFL’s threshold — are sold, the Bucs will write a check to the league to keep games in local living rooms,” the Tampa Bay Times (http://www.tampabay.com/sports/football/bucs/all-of-bucs-remaining-home-games-will-be-televised-locally/2144017) reported. The Jacksonville Jaguars (http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000062224/article/jacksonville-jaguars-president-no-home-blackouts-in-2012) made a similar move last year to avoid TV blackouts....

http://business.time.com/2013/10/15/nfl-teams-are-realizing-how-stupid-it-is-to-black-out-games-on-tv/

[SpikedLemonade]

List of Blackouts in 2012
(please credit SportsFans.org for this research!)
Week 1
Tampa Bay (Carolina)
Week 3
San Diego (Atlanta)
Week 4
Tampa Bay (Washington)
Week 6
Tampa Bay (KC)
Week 10
Tampa Bay (San Diego)
Cincinnati (New York Giants)
Week 12
Tampa Bay (Atlanta)
San Diego (Baltimore)
Week 13
Oakland (Cleveland)
San Diego (Cincinnati)
Buffalo (Jacksonville)
Week 15
San Diego (Carolina)
Week 16
Tampa Bay (St. Louis)
Week 17
Buffalo (N.Y. Jets)

[YardRat]

I didn't realize Tampa and San Diego struggled so badly.

[WagonCircler]

Finally, the Canadian TROLL's true colors come out.

Guess what, Little Elvis. Buffalo has an NFL team. Toronto doesn't. And so it shall remain.

Suck, Trout Boy.

[BuffaloRedleg]

You have a serious obsession with trying to prove to everyone that Buffalo is not a viable franchise location.

Come to Buffalo and I would seriously give you a tour. I think I would change your opinion on Buffalo being a growth location with plenty of strength moving forward.

[feldspar]

This is from Wiki...

Teams and year of last blackout/non-sell out



Giants (1975)
Jets (1977)
49ers (1981)
Packers (1983)
Bears (1984)
Cowboys (1990)
Patriots (1993)
Browns (1995)
Titans (1997)
Vikings (1997)
Dolphins (1998)
Eagles (1999)
Colts (2002)
Panthers (2002)
Seahawks (2002)
Saints (2004)
Cardinals (2005)
Falcons (2007)
Chiefs (2009)
Jaguars (2009)
Rams (2009)
Lions (2010)
Bengals (2012)
Buccaneers (2012)
Raiders (2012)
Chargers (2013)
Bills (2013)


As of the 2013 season, the Washington Redskins (last game not sold out was in 1965), Denver Broncos (joined the NFL in 1970 per AFL-NFL merger agreement; last game not sold out was in 1969), Pittsburgh Steelers (last game not sold out was in 1972), Houston Texans (founded in 2002) and Baltimore Ravens (founded in 1996) have never had a blacked out game under the post-1973 rules. However, there have been blackouts in the post-1973 era in the Houston market (1995) and Baltimore market with previous franchises.

Like I said in the other thread:

Well, the Bills might have been one of only two teams to have a blackout/non-sellout last year, but LOTS and LOTS of other teams had a much lower average attendance.

...and we're talking about a cold-weather, small-market team that hasn't made the playoffs in 14 years. Oh, and lots of other stadiums have less seating capacity as well; in fact, I think only something like 10 stadiums have a larger seating capacity. Jacksonville puts tarps over their seats so they can "sell-out," for Christ's sake...they don't have to sell those tickets. Other teams have done something similar to reduce the number of tickets that need to be sold to broadcast the game locally. Oakland has one of the smallest seating capacities in the league, and they eliminated almost 10,000 seats last year to avoid blackouts. Their friggin' seating capacity was 53,250. Wowee.

I could go on.

I know you hate Buffalo Spiked, so go fly a kite.

In addition, go take a long walk off a short pier after you put things in context.

Buffalo likes you about as much as you like IT. So stay out already, asswipe.

[Historian]

I think Cleveland will be a hard sell.

One of the things the Bills do that is really nice, is that they allot so many tickets to the cold weather games to the little leagues for 20 bucks apiece.

Then the little league sells them for 25 or 30.

It helps the Bills, and it also helps families that would otherwise not be able to afford to take a family. Makes money for your league too.

Win-Win.

[cookie G]

The Toronto game was excluded from Black Outs.


LOL!!!! What a shock!!!

Give Toronto a franchise and that will be a standing rule in the NFL.

PS..



This is a team that regularly asks Buffalo to fill its 73,000-seat-stadium with nearly a third of its population

It is hard to take an author seriously who doesn't know that Buffalo has suburbs.

[stuckincincy]

I think Cleveland will be a hard sell.

One of the things the Bills do that is really nice, is that they allot so many tickets to the cold weather games to the little leagues for 20 bucks apiece.
Then the little league sells them for 25 or 30.
It helps the Bills, and it also helps families that would otherwise not be able to afford to take a family. Makes money for your league too.

Win-Win.

Probably so re CLE.

It's game 9 and at that point, CLE would have played several stronger clubs...NO, CIN, ATL, BAL, toss in 2 games against PIT and an improving TB. So, doubtful that CLE fans would be inspired to travel to the BUF game.

BTW, nice to hear about the Little League thing... :grouphug:

[better days]

Probably so re CLE.

It's game 9 and at that point, CLE would have played several stronger clubs...NO, CIN, ATL, BAL, toss in 2 games against PIT and an improving TB. So, doubtful that CLE fans would be inspired to travel to the BUF game.

BTW, nice to hear about the Little League thing... :grouphug:

If the Bills are in contention for a playoff spot at the time of the Browns game, I think it would sell out.

If the Bills are out of it, the game will most likely be blacked out.

[stuckincincy]

Note:

CIN opts into the relaxed blackout scheme...no blackout if 85% of non-premium seats are sold. For sales in excess of 85%, the visiting team pool rises from 34 cents to 50 cents on the dollar.

http://www.bengals.com/news/article-1/Bengals-Opt-In-To-Relaxed-NFL-Blackout-Rule/4b8c016c-daab-44cf-b2b1-8114a4a0a191

[SpikedLemonade]

Note:

CIN opts into the relaxed blackout scheme...no blackout if 85% of non-premium seats are sold. For sales in excess of 85%, the visiting team pool rises from 34 cents to 50 cents on the dollar.

http://www.bengals.com/news/article-1/Bengals-Opt-In-To-Relaxed-NFL-Blackout-Rule/4b8c016c-daab-44cf-b2b1-8114a4a0a191

And the Bills have not opted in.

[stuckincincy]

And the Bills have not opted in.

No. IIRC, MIA and TB opted in last year.

[Fletch]

Season ticket sales are up past 50,000 which is encouraging.

Encouraging? ****, that's a record isn't it? More than encouraging.

If the team can sell seasons like this I guess they don't have to worry about being competitive.

[stuckincincy]

Encouraging? ****, that's a record isn't it? More than encouraging.

If the team can sell seasons like this I guess they don't have to worry about being competitive.


I don't know that season tix figures are around the league, but 50K seems a decent number for a smaller market and population base. That they sell out such a large capacity stadium is notable.

CIN owner Brown is noted for wielding a sharp pencil. Says he:

..." “We’re proud to be one of only five teams in the playoffs each of the last three years,” Brown said, “but the fact is that sales are not as strong to date as we’d like. Even under the 85 percent plan, we will need a strong sales from this point to get games on TV. But the option is helpful, and we are continuing with a maximum sales effort."...

It's no secret that many folks' disposable income has taken a pretty big beating the past several years. The NFL, like golf, knows that attracting new, younger customers is going to be an uphill battle.

With that extra 16 cents per ducat given to the visitor on tix over 85%, I'm a bit surprised that BUF hasn't gone the relaxed route for the exposure to potential customers. That thought falls flat on its' face if the club isn't halfway competitive, of course.