Bucs Jump On Opportunity To End Blackouts
July 13th, 2012
Couch-potato Bucs fans can rejoice
Joe realizes cynical Bucs fans might say Team Glazer should have bought up every unsold ticket the past two seasons, like they did in 2009, so the Tampa Bay community could watch the Bucs home games on Sundays.
That didn’t happen, and if it had, it surely wouldn’t have been the wisest business move.
However, Team Glazer has been working to end blackouts the old fashioned way, slashing ticket prices, offering 10-month, no-interest payment plans and offering concessions and parking deals. But now the Bucs have moved all-in to seize the chance to get every home game on TV.
Today, the Bucs announced they will take full advantage of the NFL’s new rule to allow as few as 85 percent of non-premium tickets in Raymond James Stadium to be sold in order to get a home game televised. ProFootballTalk.com had previously reported that NFL teams had a deadline of this weekend to pick their new blackout threshold, as low as 85 percent. Teams like the Colts and Chargers and others hinted or outright said they wouldn’t budge to help curb blackouts, but the Bucs aren’t in that camp.
The penalty for selling more than the 85 percent or a team’s chosen threshold, per ProFootballTalk.com, is anything sold above that mark would require the home team to pay an additional 16 percent surcharge, per ticket face value, to the visiting team.
Joe’s glad that Team Glazer has adopted this fan-first opportunity. About 15,000 seats at home games are “premium” tickets, meaning club seats or luxury boxes. So given the new 85-percent mark for non-premium tickets and last year’s sales figures, Joe would be somewhat surprised if anything other than Bucs preseason games are blacked out.
July 13th, 2012 at 5:48 pm
Great news! I look forward to seeing the team on sundays in person and from home! GO BUCS!
July 13th, 2012 at 6:05 pm
This is a great move by the Glazers. I go to the games because I am fortunate enough to be able to afford it, but I hope this helps get more fans back on board, and get a few more fans in the stands.
I think we are going to have a competitive team and I think we have about a 50-50 chance or 8-8 to start with.
July 13th, 2012 at 6:35 pm
Smart move.
The Glazers have a reason to raise ticket prices, they got rid of RahRah.
We are now paying less for a NFL product when for three prior laughable years we were paying more for a non-NFL product.
Finally, the Glazers are competing again.
July 13th, 2012 at 6:36 pm
I think this is the biggest move they have made this offseason to show fans that they really want to reach out to the community and care about there fans.
July 13th, 2012 at 7:13 pm
Thank you Glazers. (from Sarasota)
July 13th, 2012 at 7:16 pm
Great move by the Glaziers. Joe, any way to find out how many of the games that were blacked out last year wouldn’t have been under this rule?
July 13th, 2012 at 7:58 pm
The Stadium seats around 66,000, and the non-premium seats are in the 50,000+ range. 85% should be somewhere in the 43,000 range. The stadium averaged around 10,000 unsold seats per game, so with attendance at 2011′ levels the team is borderline 85%. Getting the games televised should now either happen alone or the Glazers will only need to buy 1000 seats or so. I believe the NFL took these numbers into consideration when they set the 85% threshold, so I believe games will be televised.
July 13th, 2012 at 8:15 pm
I would like to thank the Bucs in advance since I can’t attend games. Living in Oregon, I’ll be able to watch the games live at 10:00 am on Sundays. That will be hard to get used to.
July 13th, 2012 at 8:55 pm
We all should give it up to the Glazers!! They are clearly doing everything possible to help bring the fans back. I for one appreciate the effort. Go Glazers…
July 13th, 2012 at 9:11 pm
2.2outof10 once again diminishes this site with his drivel. Whoever is responsible for this guy’s upbringing deserves to be slapped with a wet leather glove.–For months on end.
Joe, please consider getting rid of this parasite. This guy’s absence will make this “mother of all Bucs blogs” substantially better. The New Schiano Order doesn’t deserve to have this cancer bash their every move with his seemingly adolescent-fueled contrarianism.
“Sometimes you just gotta cut a man loose.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYBgQ6h6Fys&feature=related
July 13th, 2012 at 9:52 pm
I like Thomas.
July 13th, 2012 at 9:53 pm
Piratic:
Since you are new, and probably 13, let me educate you.
The weakest and least valuable participation on this blog is to ask the proprietors to ban someone because you don’t like their opinion. It’s childish.
If you have something of value from an analytical standpoint – we are all ears. Nobody has been more supportive of Schiano and co., DJ, Ronde, Mark Barron, Clayborn, the FA class etc than me.
The entities that fail to perform – I call then out for it – and I don’t pull punches for the undeserved but protected sons like Gerald. Period.
July 13th, 2012 at 9:55 pm
I am glad they did it, but it’s the least they can do.
After the bs they have pulled since 08…..
July 13th, 2012 at 9:59 pm
For how much Team Glazer has done for this ball club and community, as in historically since the first day they t00k ownership, this last free agency splash they made, this article Joe just put up, concession stand price drops, and so and so on……If we STILL face black-outs, the Tampa community and so called Tampa sports fans/Buccaneer’ fans are truly pathetic and will have taken the word LOW to an extremely new level.
July 13th, 2012 at 10:37 pm
I think some of you guys are typing on a public computer from a communist country. Just because the Glazers FINALLY give us a reprieve and hand out rations, you are bowing down and kissing their feet. By opening day, we better have more talent on Defense or it’s an 8-8 season.
@ Thomas 2.2 <—– you need to "educate" yourself because I've never seen so many puncuation errors and fragmented sentences in my life:)~
July 13th, 2012 at 10:44 pm
Thomas 2.2 for president. Without 2.2 we would just have a bunch of cheerlearders around here. And good for the Glazers to make this apology for the last three years.
July 13th, 2012 at 10:59 pm
Thomas sound like a Mitt Romney…
July 13th, 2012 at 11:04 pm
On topic, I’m hoping to actually make it to games but it depends on how long it takes me to recover from surgery. Just got worked on yesterday, more coming soon.
July 14th, 2012 at 1:13 am
Dini,
Your opinions are ludicrous especially this comment about the Glazers. I have always been fond of the Glazers and have proved to me they are one of the better owners in the league. The main reason they chose to spend this amount of lucrative $ and not before was because the plan of strictly building through the draft and FO (in particular Mark Dominik) thought we had better talent than we actually do meaning we could build through the draft and avoid having to spend so much. However 2011 proved we don’t have enough talent on this roster to compete at an above average level to where we can strictly keep to the “build through the draft” plan, Dominik came to realization as in (damn we suck so bad that the draft is not enough to compete at an even average level we have to dig into FA).
Conclusion:
The previous method/plan failed and Dominik was practically forced to sign big name free agents in order to compete in this division.
If you follow the Bucs closely like you pretend, you would know this already. You would understand not only the plan that has been in place since Dominik took over as GM, but would understand his thinking of building a competitive ball club. He has not been perfect, he has made mistakes however I am glad to see that he has learned from those mistakes rather quickly and is addressing them better than most GM’s would.
On another note, I knew prior to this off-season since around 2002 to be exact that Team Glazer is/are not cheap…An owner that coughed up the cash for Gruden to acquire him and fire him is not what a cheapskate would do, not to include FA’s we had signed during that period.
Nearly all the rumors about the Glazers are false and there is more information/facts out there that support the Glazers as a good owners than bad owners.
You are a typical Tampa fan that complains about ANYTHING and EVERYTHING. You will find some reason to rather gripe than cheer when there is more to cheer than gripe about.
You are the type of fan that does not see the specific problem in why a team is losing and where there problems are. The Glazers are not an ownership that takes total control, they give complete power to there GM and coaching staff to make the moves for there ball club to which you couldn’t ask for a better way of building ball club. The problems have been with the decisions that were made from the Gruden era and are still facing the reprecussions. Glazers have done everything they could to help Dominik get us out of it and not that Dominik has been perfect but is doing pretty well in getting us out of it and putting us into a path of success unlike some of these other ball clubs that have had losing seasons consecutively.
July 14th, 2012 at 1:25 am
Also, about how I mentioned Team Glazers gives total control to there GM and staff…..Plug in, when our staff is failing they see it very clearly and very well know when to fire and rehire before it’s too late and drags on
What else is there too gripe about?
…and before you speak about how they made a mistake in retaining the Rockstar, he wasn’t fired because he’s done a pretty darn good job. (In particular finding gems in the later rounds)….This year is a critical year (in his eye for evaluating talent) that will either spark Dominik’s resume or flush it down the toilet and from what it looks like it’s gonna be the 4th of July for us all year!
July 14th, 2012 at 2:26 am
The Glazers continue to impress me this off-season. They are making every effort to please Buccaneer fans. As a season ticket holder I am happy about the blackout situation, it’s apparent elimination for three reasons.
It give those who cannot afford to go a chance to share in the fun by watching the home games live.
It will increase the fan base simply by being viewed more often, thus eventually selling more tickets.
ALL fans can DVR the games (or VCR) to view again later if desired.
All good.
Buccaneers in 2012?
Can’t WAIT!!!
July 14th, 2012 at 3:21 am
@2.2
In typical fashion, you spew idiotic falsehoods delivered with a sense of righteousness. Charming.
Falsehood #1: “Since you are new…”
You are obviously unaware (I’m used to that from you, your narrow-mindedness can’t be missed) that I’ve been here essentially from the beginning. I’m here every day. I simply choose to post far less than you’ve chosen to do. That’s your prerogative, but by doing so in the manner in which you’ve done it, you’ve made yourself the laughing-stock of this site, an embarrassment. Consider it analogous to The Raheem Morris Era: We were better off before you were here, and we’ll be better off when you leave.
Falsehood #2: “…and probably 13…”
Oh man, that is a really good one. Really good. You accuse me of adolescent behavior, yet what I’m attempting to do is to eliminate YOUR constant I-told-you-so-you’re-a-sheep-move-on-ladies garbage that comes from your keyboard. How ever do you find the time in your assuredly busy schedule as a lawyer to comment so incessantly on JBF? Surely you’re all about billable hours, right counsellor?
Falsehood #3: “…let me educate you…”
These just keep getting better and better! Please understand, and I ask that you never forget, there is very little indeed that you could educate me about, thank you very much. Very little indeed.
Falsehood #4: “The weakest and least valuable participation on this blog is to ask the proprietors to ban someone because you don’t like their opinion. It’s childish.”
I understand your frustration at being called out, but I would venture to say that the weakest and least valuable types of participation are of the ilk that you have chosen to poison this site with. What you consider to be childish is done with gravity and sincerity in attempt to be rid of a TRULY childish and boorish individual. It is you who constantly condescend your fellow Bucs fans and make troll-like statements, not I. Understand, it’s not your opinion that I’m taking exception to, it is the manner in which you chose to express it. You act in the way that you do because there are no repercussions for your behavior. You certainly know, along with all the rest of us, that THERE IS NO WAY YOU WOULD EVER DARE SPEAK THIS WAY FACE-TO-FACE. Don’t talk to me about being childish until you understand, and take responsibility for, your behavior.
“If you have something of value from an analytical standpoint…”
Another gut buster from you, 2.2. You call me out regarding analysis, yet your “analysis” is nothing more than He’s-a-bust-I’m-a-lawyer-and-y’all-are-sheep-so-listen-to-what-I-have-to-say drivel.
And finally…you just HAD to mention Gerald, didn’t you? Only you know for sure why you have such a hard-on for #93, but it sure does motivate you. Wow.
July 14th, 2012 at 5:04 am
It’s a nice move. It goes to show that the Glazers decided that it was a wiser investment to get the team on TV even while forgoing some of the revenue (by sharing). It also tells us that these owners ARE NOT nickel and diming like everyone said last year.
July 14th, 2012 at 8:41 am
Nice post Amar!!! Couldn’t have said it any better.
July 14th, 2012 at 8:57 am
Dang, Amar! That was a fierce combo. TKO!
July 14th, 2012 at 8:57 am
@Piratic,
Your final paragraph is off base. A rapscallion eunuch like Thomas 2.2 has little chance of getting a hard on.
C’mon BigMac. We don’t need to go there. –Joe
July 14th, 2012 at 9:54 am
@ Amar—Good post, Good Sir. Though I didn’t agree whole-heartedly on retaining Mark Dominik after last season’s debacle. BUCS “fans” tend to forget or just don’t know that most owners let their GM’s make roster decisions and watch the money. Most people seem to think that every team is run by the type. Simply not true.
July 14th, 2012 at 9:56 am
***Most people seem to thin that every team is run by the Jerry Jones type. Simply not true.
July 14th, 2012 at 11:00 am
Joe,
I didn’t feel that Eunoch was much worse than his favorite word of Sheep. What goes around eh.
Most Humble Apologies Dominus.
July 14th, 2012 at 12:36 pm
Smart move Glazers, now just fire the rockstar and we’re all set. Joe your meatloaf is getting cold but I got PBR in the fridge for ya when you get home sweetie.
July 15th, 2012 at 7:23 am
I think we should have a power ranking of the best joebucsfan.com arm chair generals. Seems like there are feverous egos here, and not a defined “number one”. Who chugs the most beer? Who is the highest? Diabetes levels? How long does it take you to spew out four paragraphs of uneducated football banter?