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Does anyone else have a hard time watching the Bills on TV?
When I lived in Rochester, the late season games were always blacked out, which is ridiculous. Buffalo has the 2nd or 3rd smallest market in the NFL but the largest stadium. If they sell 75,000 seats the game is blacked out. Meanwhile Chicago's old Soldier Field had only 55,000 seats while the city has 3 times the population of Buffalo. Perhaps the worst part is that the teams make far more money from TV advertising than from gate revenue and concession sales. Basically, they screw 2 million+ viewers in Upstate NY for an extra $50 grand (chump change compared to what they get from the networks and merchandising rights).
Now that I'm in Northern VA (near DC for the geographically impaired), they never show the Bills games. There have been 3 on local TV in the 3 seasons that I've been here (two were night games and one was the first game this season against the Fins). This week, they are not showing Bledsoe against his old team (the Super Bowl champs) in a game that could determine 1st place in the division. Instead, the local CBS affiliate is showing Baltimore vs Cincy (aka the "Who Cares" bowl) because Baltimore is considered local. This is despite the fact that everyone here is a Redskins fan (I don't even know any Ravens fans) and most of us can get the Baltimore CBS affiliate with local cable or a good antenna.
I'm hoping to get a mini dish hooked up this week- it's long overdue. I wish there was a less expensive way to watch the game than paying for satellite or sitting in a smoky bar eating overpriced food all afternoon.
I think the NFL should offer pay-per-view for non local or blacked out games. The networks could still have the game of the week and would get the advertising revenue from the PPV, and there would still be free football on for those unwilling to pay for it.
When I lived in Rochester, the late season games were always blacked out, which is ridiculous. Buffalo has the 2nd or 3rd smallest market in the NFL but the largest stadium. If they sell 75,000 seats the game is blacked out. Meanwhile Chicago's old Soldier Field had only 55,000 seats while the city has 3 times the population of Buffalo. Perhaps the worst part is that the teams make far more money from TV advertising than from gate revenue and concession sales. Basically, they screw 2 million+ viewers in Upstate NY for an extra $50 grand (chump change compared to what they get from the networks and merchandising rights).
Now that I'm in Northern VA (near DC for the geographically impaired), they never show the Bills games. There have been 3 on local TV in the 3 seasons that I've been here (two were night games and one was the first game this season against the Fins). This week, they are not showing Bledsoe against his old team (the Super Bowl champs) in a game that could determine 1st place in the division. Instead, the local CBS affiliate is showing Baltimore vs Cincy (aka the "Who Cares" bowl) because Baltimore is considered local. This is despite the fact that everyone here is a Redskins fan (I don't even know any Ravens fans) and most of us can get the Baltimore CBS affiliate with local cable or a good antenna.
I'm hoping to get a mini dish hooked up this week- it's long overdue. I wish there was a less expensive way to watch the game than paying for satellite or sitting in a smoky bar eating overpriced food all afternoon.
I think the NFL should offer pay-per-view for non local or blacked out games. The networks could still have the game of the week and would get the advertising revenue from the PPV, and there would still be free football on for those unwilling to pay for it.
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