The Jacksonville Jaguars

[tufsu1]

the ad sales are national folks...and based on #'s of people in a market....there isn't much thought given to blackouts...at least not yet

[JeffreyS]

the ad sales are national folks...and based on #'s of people in a market....there isn't much thought given to blackouts...at least not yet

I don't believe you.  My guess is advertisers look at the ratings for when and where their ads ran, study why the numbers are what they are and adjust accordingly.  If the game is blacked out in Tampa the Bud ads don't run and the league would not be paid.

[Tacachale]

^You're both right. The NFL makes more money on the national broadcasts than the local ones. That money is shared; market size and local blackouts matter very little for it. For instance, in the Tampa Bay area, even if the Bucs home game is blacked out, the rest of the games will still be on TV (generating revenue) there, and the Bucs game still airs and generates ad revenue in other markets. Angelinos are still watching the NFL and generating ad revenue for it even without a team - though clearly less than they would if they had their own home team to watch.

Where the blackouts matter is advertising within the local market. When the Bucs have a blackout, the NFL doesn't make money off the primary game in one of its stronger mid-sized markets. It can become a downward spiral, as happened here; advertisers see less reason to advertise for that team's future games, and without the exposure the team has an even harder time building enthusiasm in its fan base (and therefore selling out games).

[copperfiend]

Good point; I forgot about that. 

Of course, in the early 90s people were also talking about the Patriots as a candidate to move (St. Louis being the main apparent contender) and they had only 17,000 season ticket holders.  I remember that every time some 2003-ish convert to Patriot fandom acts like New England invented football.

Had it not been for Robert Kraft owning the old Foxboro Stadium, they probably would have moved to St. Louis. The owner at the time was from St Louis and had just bought the team from Victor Kiam. The owner tried to buy the stadium from Kraft so he could move to Missouri. Kraft balked and instead bought the team from him.

Thanks!  I didn't know that part of the history.  Orthwein was the owner, right?  I seem to recall he was one of only two who voted against Jacksonville as an expansion city.  What happened with that whole episode where the Patriots considered moving to Hartford - was that also pre-Kraft?

I read somewhere that the Barnett Bank CEO, Rice, tried to buy the Patriots from Kiam and move them to Jacksonville, but the NFL told him it didn't want anyone taking a team out of the New England market.

Kraft was trying to get help for a new Foxboro stadium. After that failed, he was going to move the team to Hartford and actually had everything in place to get a new downtown stadium there. In the 11th hour, the funding came in for their new stadium and they remained in Foxboro.

Kraft has proven to be a wonderful owner. He was the first Pats owner to really spend money. First on Parcells and then giving up a first round pick for Belichick.

[ben says]

Chargers are the best candidate for LA.

+1

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

the ad sales are national folks...and based on #'s of people in a market....there isn't much thought given to blackouts...at least not yet

Sure they are.  Currently, the Jags are a 'C' rated team - not likely to generate much interest outside of the local viewing area, while the Bucs are a 'B' rated team - they have some viewership around the country.

The more games that the Bucs have blacked out, then more than likely that will translate into a lower rating, per the networks, based on the actual viewership.  I would assume that there are escalators and benchmarks in the TV contracts that stipulate the NFL maintains a certain quality of football.  So the under-performing franchises will be looked at more closely for relocation into the markets that the NFL wants to be in, namely LA. 

Even though we're a 'C', we still sell enough tickets for broadcast, add in a few wins and Jacksonville becomes quite a viable market. 

Not that I'm rooting for any team to move, but if Tampa were to leave, that could possible allow us to include Orlando as a major secondary market, which would add a ton more TVs to our part of the pie.

[duvaldude08]

Drreeewwwwwww!! Oh Im sorry I had a moment. This is going to be a long off season

[duvaldude08]

Eww..Kansas City interviewed Del Rio! What the hell?? IMO, Del Rio is on the " do not coach ever again list". I dont know what their thinking.

[downtownjag]

the ad sales are national folks...and based on #'s of people in a market....there isn't much thought given to blackouts...at least not yet

Yes, we know(no sarcasm intended). Just like most other sports/franchises, if the local market doesn't support the team, neither will the other markets or national media, right? I would guess that the lakers get more coverage and ad dollars than the clippers

[I-10east]

Chargers are the best candidate for LA.

Yup. Maybe it's the 'Super' jinx; The Seattle 'Super' Sonics relocated to OKC to become the Thunder, and the San Diego "Super' Chargers is more than likely gonna take a short trip up Interstate 5 North to their original home in Los Angeles.

[I-10east]

Do yall think that WR Justin Blackmon will still be available for the Jags to pick at number 7? I'm praying like hell that he will still be there to pick; The two teams ahead of us who scare me concerning picking him is CLE, and TB.

[downtownjag]

I wish he will be, but doubt it. Last i read has us taking Dre Kirkpatrick, which I am happy with. Blackmon is great but I also think Wheaton makes him look good

[duvaldude08]

Damn Bengals. They were supposed to win! 

And Saint+Lions= Good ass game!!

[ben says]

http://abovethelaw.com/2012/01/how-to-get-fired-from-you-job-a-general-counsel-to-an-nfl-team/?show=comments#comments

[duvaldude08]

Article's like this get under my skin. When Tebow was drafted, WE WERE NOT LOOKING TO DRAFT A QB!!! That was not on our agenda.