pimpin’ ain’t easy
skiSince the Bucs are facing the dreaded bye week (there’s always the possibility of a Tampa Bay love boat scandal, keep your fingers crossed), I will forgoe my typical game preview to instead engage in some much-deserved bashing of a local inksheet, one of the favorite activities of Buccaneer fandom.
I sure hope Rick Harmon received free Direct TV ’cause then at least one person received some benefit from his article in the Tampa Tribune. Harmon uses the Bucs bye week to pimp the benefits of Direct TV, when he could have instead pointed out how the NFL needs to do a better job offering a wider variety of games to local markets.
Out of market NFL fans (such as myself) are forced to buy Direct TV if they want to watch their favorite team. For a league supposedly interested in growing its fanbase, the NFL handcuffs itself by not allowing cable or even other satellite providers to broadcast out of market games. Direct TV is nice (I should know, I have it) but Harmon doesn’t have to throw the NFL’s money-grubbiness (that’s a real word right?). But then again, maybe I owe Harmon an apology. As Big Daddy Kane said, “Pimpin’ ain’t easy.”
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October 1st, 2006 at 1:43 am
The last I heard, the reason that the NFL doesn’t want to offer Sunday Ticket on cable is that many cablecos are either unwilling or incapable of restricting access to games. The blackout rules (that’s another discussion all together…) are important to the owners and their ticket sales. If there’s even a chance that some “unauthorized” viewer might see a game they’re not having it.
I don’t know if that’s still the case, like I said it was what I read when the last round of TV contracts were done last year or the year before. Up in Canada the cablecos carry Sunday Ticket because there is no need for blackout restrictions.
October 1st, 2006 at 2:22 pm
Blame Bright House for being slow to respond to their customers’ wishes. Ask them for anything and they’ll give you pages of excuses as to why they “can’t.” If you moved here from somewhere else and don’t particularly care about local news or issues, you’re better off getting a dish.