by Scott Weiss

Chris Mannix of SI.Com reported on David Stern’s press conference in Las Vegas on Monday regarding his thoughts about the upcoming NBA labor wars.  “Basically where we are at is that we would like fundamental changes,” said Stern, “and the players would very much like the present system to continue.”  I could express my opinion on which side is right and which side is wrong regarding the looming collective bargaining negotiations, but that is not what is important to the fans.  The big problem here is that when Stern uses the word “we,” he is referring to the NBA owners.  The NBA Commissioner should be representing the best interests of the NBA, inclusive of not only the owners, but also the players and fans.

There is nothing wrong with the owners having a representative to trumpet their cause.  The players association has a leader, so the owners should have one as well.  So, let’s call David Stern what he is: the NBA owners rep.  Let me throw this radical idea out there for you to chew on: The NBA Commissioner should be jointly selected by the owners, players and fans (SFC).  This person should act solely in the game’s best interest, not just the interests of one party.  Do you think that work stoppages would occur if there was a neutral Commissioner?  My answer? No way.

Scott Weiss is the Local Chapter Chair for SFC-New York/New Jersey.  He has been involved in the sports fans advocacy movement since 2000.  He is a life long fan of the Mets, Jets, Knicks, and Rangers.

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In February, SFC board member Brad Blakeman testified before the Oregon General Assembly against Comcast’s decision to withhold games from fans in Oregon more than 3 years after promising to provide them access.  Now, the Portland Trailblazers have taken the next step in requesting that the FCC force Comcast’s hand in providing broadcasts to the multitudes of Oregon-based fans who are unable to subscribe to Comcast.

Let’s keep the pressure on Comcast to do right by Blazers fans and keep their promise to the people of Oregon.

Sign the petition to the Oregon General Assembly to give us our Blazers games.

Tell us your story.

Become a fan of SFC-Portland on Facebook.

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The FCC should protect fans from media conglomerates’ brass-knuckled business tactics and prohibit broadcasters from blacking out sports during TV distribution contract negotiations.

Sports fans have become pawns in contract disputes between TV companies.  When a broadcaster wants to gain leverage in a negotiation with a cable or satellite company, it threatens to take away games from sports fans.

FANS HAVE BECOME A POLITICAL FOOTBALL

When it comes to TV distribution disputes, the fans who are vital to the success of the game and who have contributed to its success through multiple public and private expenditures are treated like a fumbled pigskin.

Without sports fans, there would be no sports media economy.  The fans buy the tickets, watch the games, pay for their sports tiers, purchase their sports packages, and wildly support their teams.  That support is reflected in the public goods granted by government to keep the games going.  Broadcasters, who receive their FCC licenses from the public at no cost, acquire television rights from professional sports leagues, who negotiate those rights under a special federal antitrust exemption enacted just for that purpose, or collegiate leagues, who enjoy non-profit tax status and often federal and state subsidies.  The televised games often are played in stadiums and arenas built with taxpayer dollars or regulatory waivers.  In addition to the public goods spent on sports, the fans themselves pay for sports programming with the legitimate expectation that they will watch the games for which they pay. 

Despite fans’ public and private contributions to sports, however, they are rewarded with threats and gamesmanship during TV distribution contract disputes.  The recurring threat of blackouts during these disputes causes significant uncertainty, frustration, anxiety, and confusion for sports fans.  Fans must scramble to make alternate plans when disputes threaten to disrupt or block access to major sporting events.  For example, as the FOX disputes went down to the wire heading into New Year’s Day this year, fans did not know whether to go ahead with viewing parties.

Sports fans do not care who “wins” in these disputes or how they get resolved.  Fans simply want to avoid being held hostage as broadcasters battle over fees with pay-TV providers.

PROHIBIT BLACKOUTS OF SPORTING EVENTS

From the fans’ perspective, the best solution would be a rule that prohibits broadcasters from pulling their signals—and blocking access to sporting events—in the first place.  The FCC has a long history of laying down ground rules for what is and is not permissible behavior during a retransmission consent negotiation.  Cable providers, for example, may not take down broadcast signals during a Nielsen ratings “sweeps” period.  This rule is designed to protect ratings harm to broadcasters during a negotiation.  Why not protect sports fans, too?

Broadcasters have an obligation to serve the public interest, and the FCC can enforce that obligation by preventing them from withdrawing, or threatening to withdraw, popular sports programming from the cable or satellite services at the expense of sports fans, who do not want to be dragged into these fights.

If a broadcaster is willing to broadcast a game over the air for free, there is no reason why it should block access for fans who pay for a cable or satellite subscription.  If sports fans can look forward to big games without the stress of wondering whether payment disputes will disrupt access, they will reward the television networks and distributors by being loyal viewers.

Sports fans across the United States ask that the Commission bring an end to the personal fouls imposed on fans during retransmission consent fights.  Let’s put the fans on a level playing field for once and keep the games on.

 by Scott Weiss

An article in the Newark Star Ledger on Friday gave Jets fans a reason to worry.  As the Jets are getting ready to move into their new $1.6 billion stadium that they will share with the Giants, approximately 17,000 PSL’s appear to be unsold.  The Jets billionaire owner, Woody Johnson, is getting nervous.  He is also digging in his heels.  Johnson said he will not sell tickets on a game by game basis for the seats that require licenses because that corrupts the value of the licenses.  The problem for fans is that if seats remain unsold for games, the NFL’s TV blackout rules go into effect. 

It was not bad enough that many families who had season tickets for generations, were priced out of the seats by the PSL fleecing, now these same fans may not even get to watch the games on TV.  What an outrage!  Knowing the character of Jets fans (does fireman Ed ring a bell?) they will not take to this abuse very well.  However, when fans anger is expressed in an unorganized way, it is just noise. All you hear from the media is that the situation is really unfair, but there really is not anything that fans can do about it.

An organization like SFC can take the collective anger of fans over issues such as these, and present a united voice to battle the injustice.  I don’t know about you, but I will not be able to stomach not being able to watch my Jets on TV because a greedy billionaire did not get enough money from the team’s followers.  Let’s end the insanity people, and let Woody know that he ain’t gonna push us around.

Scott Weiss is the Local Chapter Chair for SFC-New York/New Jersey.  He has been involved in the sports fans advocacy movement since 2000.  He is a life long fan of the Mets, Jets, Knicks, and Rangers.

Become a fan of SFC-NY-NY on Facebook.

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Join SFC today!

A telling moment occurred when Dave Zirin’s co-host, NBA center Etan Thomas, asked Smith how he is handling the misinformation campaign which suggests that the players will strike rather than the reality that NFL owners are on the verge of deciding to lock out players from participating in the games they want to play.

Note: The owners stand to make $4 billion from their TV contract even without actual games on the field. This kind of hijinx is awfully reminiscent of the BCS payouts for bit players milking the cash cow, but I digress.

The truth is that the players are willing to negotiate while the owners only care about the fans to the extent that they want to keep secure the revenue streams already established from ticket sales, parking, merchandise, and concessions. It’s nice to know that a man of DeMaurice Smith’s stature recognizes that the fans are important.

Enough of the analysis of the conversation. Listen to it here.

by Jeremiah Tittle

Amongst a plethora of sports-related three letter acronyms, CBA which stands for Collective Bargaining Agreement – typically negotiated between sports athlete unions and the sports leagues employing their labor – could end up providing fans the best opportunity to voice their concerns about the four major sports as each finds its deal expired in 2011.

While SFC has detailed many of the implications of the NFL’s CBA reaching maturity, Players Association President DeMaurice Smith warned that the threat of work stoppage is real on SFC board member Dave Zirin’s sports radio show “Edge of Sports”. Furthermore, the NBA Players Association executive director recently made headlines when providing intel to the press on the union’s CBA proposal to arrive on Roger Goodell’s doorstep come June.

The bottom line is that 2011 is a time of great uncertainty. But it is also an exciting time to be a sports fan as change is in the air. Would any of us like to see our favorite sport take a year off due to the owners locking out the players? Hell no. But the fact remains that now is as good a time as any for sports fans to get involved and make a difference while all the chips are still on the table.

The founding principle behind Sports Fans Coalition’s formation is that fans deserve a seat at the table. Smith says fans should ’stay informed’. Certainly, education is a start. Without it, we don’t know that there’s even a problem with the sports industrial complex and where fans fit into the equation. However, following that realization, we might ask, ‘What’s next?’

The answer is action. We must take action to stop the bloodflow. We must use our power as the fuel that feeds leagues putting money in the pockets of the already rich. We must organize, and fight for what we believe in. Affordable seating in stadiums. A college football playoff. No more tax breaks for billionaires. TV coverage of our home team’s games.

Join SFC today to start being part of the solution.

 by Scott Weiss

To tell the story of the NFL Network not being broadcast on Cablevision, you need to know a little about James Dolan.  Mr. Dolan took a controlling stake in Cablevision in 1999, and subsequently, took control of Madison Square Garden, the New York Knicks, New York Rangers and the MSG Network.  What a disaster his reign has been.  The Rangers missed the playoffs from 1997 to 2004 (includes two years prior to him taking over) and the once proud Knicks have missed the playoffs for the past six seasons.  New York fans have been treated to the Isaiah Thomas debacle and more “fire Sather” chants than I choose to remember.  The magical year of 1994 when the Rangers won their first Stanley Cup in 54 years, and the Knicks came within one win of their first NBA Championship since 1973, is a distant memory.  You would think that this is enough pain for fans in the New York/New Jersey area, but unfortunately it is not.

The NFL began to broadcast games for the first time on the NFL Network in 2006.  This was great news for pro football fans, but not those whose cable carrier was Cablevision.  Big Jim and the powers that be at the NFL could not come up with an agreement to share the fan’s millions.  It looked like cooler heads would prevail when Cablevision and the NFL Network reached an agreement to televise the Rutgers vs. Kansas State Bowl Game in December 2006, which was being televised exclusively on the NFL Network.  Once this short term agreement was made, it could not be much longer before the longer term agreement was made to televise the NFL games.  That was December 2006. It’s May 2010, and sports fans still can’t watch their NFL games.

In May 2009, the NFL Network reached a 10 year agreement to televise games with Comcast, the largest cable TV carrier.  Speculation was that other holdout cable carriers including Cablevision would soon follow suit.  It is now one year later, and James Dolan and Cablevision still have not been able to come to an agreement to televise the NFL Network.  November 11, 2010 will be the start of the fifth season that Cablevision customers will not be able to view games on the NFL Network if an agreement is not reached. 

This nonsense will continue as long as sports fans do not have a united voice to challenge this incredible abuse of power.  Sports Fans Coalition is the hope that we have been waiting for to finally put sports fans first.

Scott Weiss is the Local Chapter Chair for SFC-New York/New Jersey.  He has been involved in the sports fans advocacy movement since 2000.  He is a life long fan of the Mets, Jets, Knicks, and Rangers.

Become a fan of SFC-NY-NY on Facebook.

Follow SFC-NY-NY on Twitter.

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.

TV viewers in New York City found themselves unable to watch the beginning of the Oscars as content was cut off from Cablevision subscribers as of midnight Saturday night because they were playing hardball with the Disney-owned affiliate.

The standoff was not unlike what Sen. John Kerry feared would threaten sports fans’ ability to watch the BCS Bowl Games on TV in the recent News Corp./Time Warner Cable dust up. Luckily, it didn’t come to that, and we were able to watch our inequitable BCS Bowls without issue.

The real question here is ‘How long are we going to put up with this?’ Cablevision has no problem holding sports fans hostage with the MSG Network providing games exclusively to their subscribers despite the FCC mandate which pronounced this activity illegal.

Cablevision, with the support of Comcast, has also tied up the FCC’s decision in court while it continues to keep High Definition sports broadcasts from reaching millions of fans who happen to use an alternate provider.

To many, this is not a surprise. These companies used cut-throat tactics to get where they are today. So, they’ll keep on taking advantage of consumers until they get caught red-handed.

Well, it’s time for New Yorkers to speak up and share their story.  Start a Local Chapter of the SFC to take the power back in the big apple. Let’s push Cablevision and their cronies to treat consumers fairly.  SFC will continue to ask: WHERE ARE MY GAMES?

Check out the full list of media appearances made by Brad while in Oregon testifying in an Oregon General Assembly hearing in which he tried to convince lawmakers to step in and do something about the Trail Blazers’ deal with the proverbial devil, Comcast, prohibiting so many Oregonians from watching their team play on TV.

More to come on SFC’s efforts in the Pacific Northwest to help sports fans who find themselves victims of big business.  Stay tuned.