I think black-outs are a product of over pricing. Years ago I went to at least one game a year and loved it greatly, but now it’s just crazy money to see a game and the Stadium I go to sucks. When a new one is built I’ll go even if the price is nuts though.

I will never pay to see a game on my TV. If it ever came to that, football will be over. You can only bite the hand that feeds to a certain percent.

Since they were supposed to be taken down about 30 years before they finally were, yes i’d say that was an issue, for I don’t know….maybe 30 years…

He got it done when so many others didn’t even try.

Being that the NFL is such a big business, local governments have to buckle and payup or risk losing a team. Right or wrong, it is what it is. Since we have invested dollars in them, who then would be our representative? Brian Higgins is a local State senator doing exactly what I would want him to do.

The NFL has a right to blackout their games, and I think I have just as much right to ask my local state senator to try and peel away at their power and give us 2 games so that I don’t have to pony up my hard earned CA$H to see them when it’s fricking 8 degress out AND they haven’t made the playoffs in 12 cold years AND their record is 3-9…

You the man Brian Higgins, keep on em!”

Yes, toll booths are clearly a hot button issue.

Sooner or later the NFL will do away with blackouts…and change to a pay per view model. They’ve already started with Sunday ticket, redzone, and rewind. Its a business, not a right.
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Agreed that the NFL is a business and can do as they wish, however when their current business model depends on getting a new publicly funded stadium in each city every 20 years, pragmatism is key. Lessened fan base due to blackouts=less support for stadium bills. Quite frankly there are not that many US cities left with the potential to even be considered for an NFL franchise-LA of course, possibly San Antonio, Vegas but would never happen due to gambling inluence concerns-simply not much left out there

If the NFL required each franchise to fully foot the bill for their stadiums then I would agree with you fully, but this is not the case.

For congress to get involved is ludicrous. Hey, I’d like to drive a nicer car, but I don’t want congress to get involved to make luxury cars less expensive. If one supports such nonsense, then one supports congress sticking their nose in one’s business. I’d prefer my congressman and Senators focus on the problems of government and keep their noses out of private business.

You’d think congressmen would have higher priorities than games being on television. Bread and circuses?

Like getting rid of toll booths illegally placed on the I-190…. Oh yea, he did that….

You the man Brian Higgins, keep on em!

Neither is an anti-trust exemption. Broadcast networks are OURS, not the NFL’s. Publicly funded stadiums are the domain, at least in part, of the municipalities and taxpayers who paid the bills to build them.

Blackouts are going bye-bye soon unless the NFL leaves free TV (which they will never do – waaaaaay too much $$ out there for a nominal cost of doing business).

The NFL is the biggest con artist we all love. Whether it’s using college football as a minor league system for free, or preventing the same people that paid for a stadium from watching their favorite team, it’s a complete travesty.

What’s hilarious is your stupidity. The money the public puts into the stadium is meant to keep a billion dollar business in their neighborhood – nothing else. Wanna see the game?, buy a ticket!

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No joke, but it is going the other way, Pay per View or subscription service only is the way this is heading.

That said, the state or federal government has no authority to make them do anything. You could make the argument that the local government would have the authority if the venue is funded by tax revenue and the local government structured the deal to give them this authority.

I don’t agree with the common argument I hear others make that just because they play in a publicly funded venue they automatically have to televise the games. When U2 plays in Raymond James Stadium I don’t think anyone is demanding that they air the concert on television locally.

Ironically, I’m a Bucs fan who was able to afford season tickets for this season so this really doesn’t impact me anymore but let’s just say I didn’t have a hard time watching the games in decent quality even if they were blacked out last season.

In regarding a multi-billion dollar business that seems like chump change to me. Every team who has a hard time selling tickets should be all over this to show their love to their poorer fans.

I also think the ohio democrats have way bigger problems to deal with then saving their favorite football team a little under $4000.

Why should anyone miss a Packers game just because the local franchise is given special privileges because they can’t market their loser franchise?

Let them move to Los Angeles.