Sports Fans Coalition criticized News Corp.’s decision Saturday to take down its signal from Cablevision. More than 3 million customers in New York and Philadelphia will lose access to Game 1 between the Phillies and the Giants, and Sunday’s NFL and NASCAR broadcasts. Sports Fans Coalition called on News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch to return its sports programming immediately and resolve its differences with Cablevision and DISH Network behind closed doors.

“It is unfortunate that Mr. Murdoch has chosen to again engage in the outrageous practice of using sports coverage as leverage in contract disputes,” SFC Executive Director Brian Frederick said Saturday. “While both sides share blame for this mess, it is clear that Mr. Murdoch using the unique nature of sports programming — live coverage and passionate fan bases — as a negotiating tool. But sports are too important to play games with.”

Sports Fans Coalition-New York chapter chair Scott Weiss said: “The timing couldn’t be worse for Philadelphia and New York sports fans. Fans in both cities are captivated by post-season baseball and the NFL season is just heating up. When billionaires fight, sports fans always lose.”

Sports Fans Coalition is a nonprofit established in 2009 that is fighting to give fans a voice on issues like media blackouts, high ticket prices, stadium construction and college football playoffs.

Sports Fans Coalition opposes blackouts of any kind and has previously criticized News Corp for its treatment of sports as a negotiating tool and has done the same with Cablevision. SFC has also criticized the blackout rule, which hurts local broadcasters. SFC has previously met with FCC commissioners and written to the commission on behalf of sports fans regarding retransmission rules as they relate to sports coverage.

SFC Executive Director Brian Frederick can be reached at bfrederick@sportsfans.org.

Blinded by the Dark

By Arlen Blakeman

A city of 1.3 million, Jacksonville, Florida is well suited to support an NFL team. However, the terrible economic situation in this city has had a devastating toll on ticket sales of their only major professional sports team, The Jacksonville Jaguars. Jacksonville is one of the most industrial towns in the South. The backbone of its economy is the automotive parts industry. For the first eight years of its existence, the team was very successful.  They made it to the AFC Championship game in only their second year of existence and made the playoffs four times in their first eight years.  Not only was the team doing well, but also the economy was flourishing.  This led to ticket sales that were through the roof.  However, with GM going down and Toyota’s stock failing, thousands are out of work in this city. These struggling families obviously need to spend their 100 dollars on more important things than a ticket to see the Jaguars live. However, this is the only option they have to see their favorite team play on Sundays. The Jaguars, because of low ticket sales, did not televise seven out of eight of the their home games last season.

The NFL’s “Blackout Policy” has been enforced since 1973.  The policy states that if a home game of a team is not sold out within 72 hours of kickoff, the game will not be shown on local television.  The Jacksonville Jaguars organization, to help this problem, have closed off sections for advertising and even given fair package deals to fans wanting to see the team.  The team is not to blame for this problem.  It is the NFL’s ridiculous blackout policy that has cut ties between the team and its city.  Former governor of Florida, Jeb Bush, who brought the Jaguars to Jacksonville in 1995, stated that the city does rally around the team, but that in the current economy no one can afford to go.  So why should they be punished?

Watching sports used to be an activity any person, no matter race, wealth, or gender, could participate in.  But now the greediness of the NFL has put a limit to this freedom.  Plus, if you think about it, there are many who are too old to sit in the hot sun of Florida for three hours.  Also, there are people with disabilities who sometimes cannot make it to the game but still love to watch the sport and forget about the hardships of life for a few hours.  It’s not always about money Roger Goodell and I urge you to lift this ban and give America’s game back to the people of Jacksonville.

The following story is from a Sports Fan Coalition member in New Jersey caught between Philly, New York, and the sports-media industrial complex:

Manalapan in the Middle

By cdonn

I am a HUGE Philadelphia sports phanatic, I’m a senior in high school, and live in Manalapan, New Jersey, which is a part of Monmouth County. I live about an hour and ten minutes from NYC and an hour and twenty minutes from Philadelphia. So I am smack in the middle between cities and teams. Thing is, I can’t ever seem to get all of my Eagles on my television, because as I am zones, every station is basically New York.

My local cable company, Cablevision, is primarily based in northern Jersey and in parts of New York. Those who don’t know, Cablevision works in part with MSG which covers all local New York teams. So my primary sports channels are all New York coverage (CBS 2, NBC 4, FOX 5, ABC 7, SNY, MSG, ect.), and I am left with only three Philly stations (FOX 29, ABC 6, and NBC 10).

I am able to get 90% of Eagles games because FOX covers the Eagles most the year, so I can pick it up on FOX 29 when the Giants play on FOX 5 NY. CBS on the other hand gets 2-3 non-nationally televised Eagles games each year. This makes it impossible to watch these games from my home because I do not get CBS 3 at all. I either have two options, pull out a radio or drive a good half hour away to finally get a bar which broadcasts the game on TV.  This process becomes annoying after a while because as we all know sometimes we just want to sit back in the recliner and watch the game at home, but it is not possible. This usually wouldn’t bother me, but there is no such way for me to get these games from my home unless I switch over to DirecTV and NFL Sunday Ticket, which is not worth for the three games a year that I miss.

What also gets on my nerves is that I do not have the option to switch to Comcast which gets all these channels and games. In this case I feel something needs to be done in which I can catch all my Eagles games, without switching over to satellite.

SFC Responds:  This is a good example of how the sports and media industries write the rules, without the best interests of fans at heart.  Our SFC member in New Jersey is a victim of how the Nielsen rating company defines local television markets.  These boundaries make jerrymandered political districts look logical!  What you think of as “local” might be totally different from what the broadcast industry thinks of as local.  Also, it would be interesting to see if the people who can’t see their games had their taxpayer dollars used to build the stadium where those games are being played.  Hmmm…. And to think, all this guy wants to do is watch his team from the comfort of his own recliner.  Too much to ask???!!!!

THE FOLLOWING PRESS RELEASE IS SFC APPROVED:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.), Chairman of the Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet, today sent a letter to both FOX and Time Warner urging for a swift resolution to current negotiations in order to stop consumers, and football fans, from waking up without College Bowl games on New Year’s Day.

“Fox and Time Warner need to strike a deal – millions of football fans are depending on it,” said Sen. Kerry.  “Having screens go dark because two parties couldn’t come together in time is no solution.  New Year’s Day and football are synonymous in households across the nation.  Private industry negotiations cannot disrupt a fundamental American tradition.”

The full text of the letter is below:

Mr. Chase Carey

President and Chief Operating Officer

News Corporation

1211 Avenue of Americas

New York, New York 10036

Mr. Glenn Britt

Chairman and CEO

Time Warner Cable

60 Columbus Circle

NY, NY 10023

Dear Sirs:

I am aware that FOX and Time Warner Cable have been involved for some time in negotiations regarding the terms of carriage for FOX-owned broadcast television stations, as well as FOX-owned cable channels.

These are private negotiations, and I hope that the parties reach a mutually acceptable resolution before the existing agreement expires on December 31.  If you fail to do so, I suggest that FOX allow Time Warner Cable to continue transmitting programming through the College Bowl season either under current terms and conditions or under terms and conditions that will be retroactively applied once an agreement is reached, or under some third option.  I also suggest that both parties strongly consider entering arbitration rather than having consumers lose access to programming.

If I understand correctly, at midnight on December 31, 2009, FOX content may be removed from cable systems Time Warner Cable owns.  This means that, in January, millions of Time Warner Cable customers around the country could lose access to the Sugar Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Fiesta Bowl and Orange Bowl, as well as NFL playoff games.  Prior to the digital transition, many consumers were able to put up rabbit ear antennas to receive programming. However, digital receivers are more expensive and complex to use.  We do not want consumers waking up on the first day of the New Year wanting to watch football and instead finding that they have to take a trip to the electronics store to purchase a digital receiver in the hope that they receive a clear over the air signal.

As the Chairman of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Communication, Technology, and the Internet, I have sought to place the interests of consumers at the center of our work.  If both parties conclude that the best alternative to a negotiated agreement is to have screens go dark for consumers, then they will have neglected the core interests of the millions of households that subscribe to Time Warner Cable in affected markets.  As leaders of major companies that are FCC licensees and are obligated to serve the public interest, I hope and expect that you will resolve this matter consistent with those obligations.

Sincerely,

John Kerry

God Bless you, John Kerry, for working on this issue so near and dear to the SFC faithful’s hearts during this holiday season.  We need more politicians to speak up and speak out, advocating for the sports fan.

We emplore you to follow up Senator Kerry’s letter with your own using the addresses above.  Let’s put the pressure on the networks to give us our games.  Let’s start the new year off with a victory!

The NFL has reportedly relaxed some of its rules for a franchise to achieve ‘sellout’ status on any given week to escape a blackout of their local TV broadcast.  Now, ticket giveaways en masse can be counted as sold tickets to reach each team’s magic number in relation to its stadium’s max capacity.  It is, literally, the least that Roger Goodell and company can do for sports fans who cannot afford to go to the game themselves.

While relaxing the rules on ticket giveaways has helped some teams like the St. Louis Rams (who have narrowly avoided blackouts all this season despite a 1-7 record), others haven’t been so lucky. 

The Jacksonville Jaguars have not broadcast one home game on local TV this season.  As of yesterday, we can add this weekend’s matchup with the Bills to that list of the ‘unavailable to the viewing public’ section.  In an area of the country that has been hit hard by the economic downturn, the good people of Jacksonville aren’t able to enjoy watching their favorite team on TV from the comfort of their own home. 

This issue is obviously deeper than wins, losses, and marketing techniques.  According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “season tickets are down 15 percent leaguewide.’  We are in the midst of a recession, and this antiquated rule that the NFL has imposed on local media markets is really an example of backwards thinking.  While those in power feel it should motivate a fan to purchase a ticket, it’s actually much more like a penalty for not buying the ticket in the first place. 

It is really a sad state of affairs.  Deadspin reports (with typical tongue-in-cheek flair) on Touchdown Jacksonville’s return to the spotlight.  The same grassroots organization that lobbied to bring the team to Jacksonville 16 years ago is fighting to avoid a blackout in the final home game of the season. 

While we at SFC wish you luck, Touchdown Jacksonville, it is obvious that the system is flawed.  Sports fans deserve to be able to watch their games LIVE no matter what magic number of seats ’sold’ is reached.  We deserve better.