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For TV purposes, Bears need only 50,000 fans
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Bears President Ted Phillips declared this week that Bears games in Champaign would be considered a sellout in the 50,000-people range. It sounds like a case of having your cake and watching the Bears on television too.
The Bears and the NFL know they would have a huge fans revolt if the so-called home games at Memorial Stadium were blacked out in Chicago. Yet at the same time, they want to preserve the integrity of the league's blackout policy.
The answer is to set a ridiculously low sellout figure. Bet those Illinois athletic administrators were surprised to learn Memorial Stadium had so many obstructed-view seats.
This way they can virtually guarantee that Bears games will be shown in Chicago. Not only will that satisfy the fans, it also will appease the networks, which desperately need strong Bears ratings in Chicago during this period of falling ad revenue. Fox, CBS, ABC and ESPN would be way ahead of the fans in leading the charge if the games were blacked out.
Also, the Bears have extra incentive to make sure their exhibition home games are sellouts. They are the rights holder and sell the ad inventory for those telecasts on WBBM-Ch. 2. In the past the team has taken in as much as $400,000 per telecast.
If the games aren't sellouts, they would be aired on tape in Chicago. While Bears fans were watching a third-string quarterback at midnight, the team would be cutting rebate checks to advertisers.
At last check the Bears were said to be confident the home exhibition games against Denver and Jacksonville would be classified as "sellouts." So fans in Chicago probably won't miss a thing.
Let's all give thanks to that new magic number, 50,000.
For TV purposes, Bears need only 50,000 fans
--------------------
Bears President Ted Phillips declared this week that Bears games in Champaign would be considered a sellout in the 50,000-people range. It sounds like a case of having your cake and watching the Bears on television too.
The Bears and the NFL know they would have a huge fans revolt if the so-called home games at Memorial Stadium were blacked out in Chicago. Yet at the same time, they want to preserve the integrity of the league's blackout policy.
The answer is to set a ridiculously low sellout figure. Bet those Illinois athletic administrators were surprised to learn Memorial Stadium had so many obstructed-view seats.
This way they can virtually guarantee that Bears games will be shown in Chicago. Not only will that satisfy the fans, it also will appease the networks, which desperately need strong Bears ratings in Chicago during this period of falling ad revenue. Fox, CBS, ABC and ESPN would be way ahead of the fans in leading the charge if the games were blacked out.
Also, the Bears have extra incentive to make sure their exhibition home games are sellouts. They are the rights holder and sell the ad inventory for those telecasts on WBBM-Ch. 2. In the past the team has taken in as much as $400,000 per telecast.
If the games aren't sellouts, they would be aired on tape in Chicago. While Bears fans were watching a third-string quarterback at midnight, the team would be cutting rebate checks to advertisers.
At last check the Bears were said to be confident the home exhibition games against Denver and Jacksonville would be classified as "sellouts." So fans in Chicago probably won't miss a thing.
Let's all give thanks to that new magic number, 50,000.
