NFL Fans Forgo Playoff Tickets, Prefer the Couch

Well, at five below not counting the wind chill, is it any wonder?

At WSJ, "Packers, Colts, Bengals Struggle to Sell Seats Despite Soaring TV Ratings":

I can't imagine being at Green Bay today. God bless those dedicated fans.

— Madison Martin (@maddyemartin) January 5, 2014

The NFL enters the first round of playoff games this weekend with soaring television ratings, billions of dollars in network TV contracts in their pocket and a nation of football fans who can't wait to hop on their couch and watch a weekend of games.

The league has never been a more popular viewing option. There's just one problem: Fewer people want to actually attend the games.

In the latest evidence that the sports in-home viewing experience has possibly trumped the in-stadium one, ticket sales were slow for the first week of the National Football League's marquee stretch of games.

Three teams hosting games this weekend asked the league for extensions to sell more tickets for the games to avoid a television blackout in local markets, which is imposed by NFL policy if a game isn't sold out. The teams, the Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts and Cincinnati Bengals, needed large corporate assistance to ensure the sellouts.

"This wasn't just financial, this was emotional. This game needed to be on TV for the people of Wisconsin," said Jay Zollar, the general manager of WLUK, a Fox affiliate in Green Bay, Wis. His station, along with two other Fox affiliates in Wisconsin, as well as three local businesses, decided on Thursday to purchase any remaining tickets.

More at the link.