I thought in year 1 of the caretaker era, Bob said explicitly that any televised game is 3 hours of free advertising. Why has the club dangled blackouts and used them occasionally in the last couple years?
I hope it’s a ploy to encourage ticket sales only to actually televise the games.
i'm against blackouts period. i really don't think they will work for the cfl as they work in the nfl,but if they are going to blackout games tell us now which games will be blacked out not 1 or 2 weeks before. what about the fans who buy flex packs and buy a ticket for a game that is televised and not for the game that's blacked out,if they know now maybe they can choose the game thats blacked out instead of the game thats not.
The league should step in and mandate no blackouts. It's an 8 team league in an 18 game schedule, for crying out loud no blackouts. I understand every market is different with different needs and concerns but really, promote, promote, promote this league, do not black out. If a team like the TiCats is that desperate for bums in the seats over the overall league concern of exposing the league more and more, maybe it's time the TiCats move to another city. Really, I'm sick of any blackout policy and it the league mandated no blackouts then the league should be getting a better deal from BellGlobeMedia. Next negotiations I hope this happens. :x
This is the first time I've said this Bob but this would be a mark agains't you should you ever try and be the commish of the league in the future if you allow your team here in Hamilton to blackout games any more. Personally, I would consider that a huge mark agains't anyone trying to be a commish of this league. I would rather you sell the team to someone who would never black out a game again to be quite honest. And if the TiCats do black out any games, I might consider cancelling my season tickets to be quite honest. :x
Idiotic idea. In TO, 25,000-28,000 fans went to see an extremely boring, 3-15 team and they want to reward them with blackouts. Thanks for nothing Argos.
Everyone has their opinions on blackouts, but is there any hard evidence about the net long term effect of using blackouts? Some fans get grumpy and say they won't go because of the blackouts, but that's just spite (it also exacerbates the problem, no matter what the effect). Have there been any studies which concluded "Local residents are X percent more likely to go to a game if blackouts are used" or "blackouts result in a smaller fan base"? Blackout advocates and opponents both make plausible arguments. But which has the stronger effect on the number of people going to games, wearing team clothing, flying team flags in their car windows, etc.? I can't tell.
To me, it comes down to the bottom line. What will make the (still money losing) Tiger Cats more money in the long run? If it's blacking out every local game, then do that. If it's making every single game available on television, then do that. If it's somewhere in between, figure out where the sweet spot is and do that. I've not been able to find evidence to support any strategy, however. Until I get some, I'm reserving judgment on the matter.
I think blacking out games is silly, you are literally throwing away TV revenue and free advertising, you not only alienate your team's fan-base, but also fans across the entire league who wanted to see their team play if the blackout isn't regionally restricted.
If some teams are struggling with attendance/profits what should be done (as much as Saskatchewan would hate the idea) is have the league do a little bit of revenue sharing. All teams have lean years, and all teams have profitable years and a little equalization isn't the worst idea for a league as small as the CFL with very few potential places to move a team should it flounder. Just my two cents though.
As a fan, I don't like blackouts because sometimes, I just can't get to the stadium due to work/family obligations (But I can still PVR the game and watch it later). However, I can see the ownership's point of view that empty seats lose money so why allow purely couch-sitting fans to watch the game at home for free when it could be an incentive for them to go buy a ticket?
I don't understand the mentality that we, as fans, have a absolute right to see every down of Ticat football for free. We are really fortunate that one, TSN broadcasts every game of every team, and two, that with the exeception of a couple of blacled out games, fans in Hamilton can see fifteen or sixteen Ticat games for nothing more than the cost of basic cable or satelite.
The CFL is a gate driven league...The Ticats are a gate driven team. Guess what when a fan watches a Cat game from home, he didn't buy a ticket. He isn't buying a tee shirt or a hat, he sure isnt going to buy a hot dog or a beer and as a result, Caretaker isnt making any money. The Cats signed possibly the best kicker in the league during the off season...what they going to pay him with? If you want the Cats to hang around for a few more years you have to put some money in Mr. Young's pocket, simple as that.
Im sure that there are those who will say that not all fans can afford tickets...Im sure thats true....and that truly is sad because in a perfect world everyone could go to IWS and cheer the Cats on. Its not a perfect world....the cats have tried to accomodate low income fans by pricing endzone tix at 120$ per season , but there still will be fans who can't afford it...its sad but thats the way it is. There are other fans who work during games or who aren't well enough to travel and thats sad too, but the fact is that the Cats, TSN and the CFL make about 140 CFL games (including 15-16 Ticat games)available for free or close to it.
Caretaker has saved football in Hamilton. He has taken a nearly bankrupt franchise, and a crummy football team and has turned it around to being a contender. He has invest large chunks of money, and by all reports is still operating at a deficit. IWS isn't built on Sesame Street (Hey, how bout that for the new stadium location!) It takes real money to pay KG and Cobb and Bruce et al. It takes money to keep them here. Sitting at home doesnt help the Cats.
For those of you who for whatever reason can't or wont buy tix, be glad that you can still watch a ton of football in your pj's.
This is the most populous region in the country. A blackout makes no sense in Southern Ontario . We’ve lost an entire generation of fans due in part to the previous era of blackouts. I thought we were supposed to learn from history? :roll: