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Correct, the local affiliates in your area prefer that you watch via their signal so you are forced to see the local ads. They claim that if you do not see those local ads you will not shop locally with those merchants! BS!

If I watch a ST delivered game from 800 miles away, I doubt I will drive to a San Fran car dealer to buy a car, furniture or whatever, as opposed to buying them say within 20 - 30 mins away from my home. These guys insult our common sense and it is a JOKE they have gotten away with this BS for so long.

charper1-

Do you know this is a fact? That the FCC requires they charge or do not charge for NFLST when they black out a game.
My knowledge of this was the blackout was a contractural issue developed USING DMAs as a guideline between the networks, their affiliates and in this case DirecTV as well, If this is so, then YES D* would be able to negotiate a contract that permitted them to 1. offer a refund for the game they blacked out and better 2. exempt them from blackout on the basis that it is a paid to watch game. If it is as you suspect, the blackout rule for DirecTV or any dbs service would be published in the CFR's and I should do some homework on that.

I really do see this as an issue where DirecTV is charging for a service and then not delivering it and offering no refund. I do not see it an obligation for DirecTV to lobby the FCC IF this is a regulation they have to charge and offer no refunds for blackout. If you bought a PPV movie and paid for it, then it was determined that your community had some regulation that forbid you to watch it ( as does some communities on adult programming)and they blacked it out, I'm certain you'd be on the phone requesting a refund EVEN IF in the tiny tiny print it said this movie may be blacked out in your community due to adult movie standards regulations.

Again, my goal is that I would like to see everyone who bought tickets to watch the games see it/ them, and second, if you were not permitted to see the game you bought tickets to at least D* would give you a refund for that. And third, I feel, since this is a contract between D* and the NFL to air the games in a closed Paid viewing, that DirecTV should negotiate to make blackouts exempt from the NFLST in the next contract.

So far the only valid argument I have seen to keep blackouts in place for NFLST was from Mr Kennedy, who claimed he was an owner. I suspect he means team owner, or at least someone who has a huge vested interest in the profitability of a team's stadium sales. From his perspective, the more money he can make the better it is for him. I can respect that, but don't have to accept that without a negotiation for a better deal for the fans on DirecTV.

Here's my "homework:

This is the original proposal for rule change


It was later passed and is described here:
The Sports Blackout Rule protects a sports team's or league's exclusive distribution rights to a local sporting event. The sports blackout rule applies only if a local TV broadcast station is not carrying the local sporting event. If a local TV broadcast station does not have permission to carry the local game, then no other broadcaster's signal displaying the game can be shown in the protected local blackout zone. The rule applies to a satellite carrier's retransmission of nationally distributed superstations and network stations. Id.

The new rules apply to both C-Band (large dish) and DBS (small dish) satellite service providers.

Understand the key point here is the NFL has control and the NFL is the one who triggers the permission or no permission. This is why the rule is applied differently in each community (that is another debate) But the FCC did rule in this decade that when the NFL forbids a local FREE TV station from carriage, that no other station or DBS or C Band service may carry it either.
I don't know how this allows certain sports bars to carry the game unless the sports bar had some closed circuit service or they were using a hacked D* card.

So, in conclusion to Charper1's point, this regulation would prevent D* from the negotiation with the NFL but there was nothing found so far that makes the revenue charged by D* for NFLST games blacked out a non-refundable charge.

At this point the FCC rule discovered would make the poll moot. ( I admit when I am wrong) However, not included in this poll is the question about DirecTV refunds for games they are required to black out. In effect, this leaves the NFL out of it as far as the way NFLST is sold, re blackouts. There would be no purpose in negotiation

Since the poll serves no purpose, I suggest it be closed.

Yes, I've never figured that out. I'm a Steelers fan. The two years that I had ST I would not get a game of theirs and then would find out it would be on at one of the bars down the road also using D*. What the heck is up with that?

charper1 said:

Correct, the local affiliates in your area prefer that you watch via their signal so you are forced to see the local ads. They claim that if you do not see those local ads you will not shop locally with those merchants! BS!

If I watch a ST delivered game from 800 miles away, I doubt I will drive to a San Fran car dealer to buy a car, furniture or whatever, as opposed to buying them say within 20 - 30 mins away from my home. These guys insult our common sense and it is a JOKE they have gotten away with this BS for so long.

Click to expand...

I'm sorry but its a little deeper than that. Fox pays the nfl for the game, your local station pays fox for the game, adver pay your station preminum prices for air time during the game because it is the only channel the game can be view on. Why would the local station give up thier exclusive rights to broadcast a game they paid for?

Thread closed at the request of the origional poster.