Interesting notahomer. They may now have no choice on their control of blackouts.notahomer wrote: I chatted with Skulsky later and for all those fans who can't get out to the games (due to price and/or other reasons) apparently the new TV deal is making it even harder to do blackouts and they wonder if they really help anyways. I hear what they are saying. The BC Lions say its a special experience being at the stadium. I'd agree but at the same time, had I not HAD to buy tickets at one time a decade ago or miss the game, I'm not so sure I ever would have started being a ST holder. In a way I'm glad HDTV was not available because I doubt I would have bothered because I could watch at home but I'm glad I did.....
The Lions first two regular season home games start at 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. on Saturdays. At least it's better than a Thursday night like last year but Friday nights used be a fixture for summer games. Now just 2 of the 4 July/August games are.
Those early start times must be influenced by a TSN national audience as there is no way the Lions were asking for it. I guess when the dollar value triples for the new TV contract — to the point where it's almost bigger than ticket revenue — it gives TSN major leverage on start times.
Would love to know what the Lions "break even" attendance number is for home games with the new TV contract factored in.
Agreed David, that type of tarping is much better option than what the stadium provides. And yes there was definitely more than 3,000 on Sunday. I was watching Lions staff open up additional seats to accommodate everyone.David wrote: Check out these branded team tarps that have been used by: the Oakland A's, Oakland Raiders, Baylor football, and the Jacksonville Jaguars. If I owned the team this would be a no-brainer. Tarp the upper bowl endzones to about the 30 yard line on each side OR the end zones and the entire north side and leave the south side upper deck open (the TV side). Logo'd tarps would help "sell" a BC Lions experience as opposed to sitting in a generic, multi-purpose stadium, and more importantly, it would create a more intimate and dynamic atmosphere as fans would be packed in tight.