BY EVAN WEINER
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
THE BUSINESS AND POLITICS OF SPORTS
It has been years since the New York Giants and New York Jets home games have not been seen on local TV. Both National Football League franchise sell out their home contests annually if we take the team's ownership at their word. That's important to CBS, NBC, FOX and ESPN because they know home games will be available in the New York market. In southern New Jersey, it has been a long time since Philadelphia Eagles home games have been blacked out as Eagles fans have filled the stadium.
The Giants last home blackout was in 1975 when the team played at Shea Stadium in Flushing, Queens. The Jets last blackout was in 1977 when the team was still in Flushing. Philadelphia's last blackout was in 1999.
Still New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg along with Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Tom Harkin of Iowa and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan have written a letter to the Federal Communications Commission asking for the end of the National Football League's blackout policy. The Senators referred to the 1973 NFL-Congressional agreement which allowed teams to continue blackouts if a stadium was not sold out 72 hours prior to kickoff "a relic of a different time" and added "it is time for [it] to end."
The Senators also contended that "these blackouts are ruining the experience of rooting for the home team and are unjustly hurting fans."
