ALL LOCAL BLACKOUTS LIFTED FOR SECOND TIME EVER
All 15 NFL games this weekend sold out in advance of the local blackout deadline and will be televised in the home-team market, the NFL announced Friday. It is only the second time that all NFL games on a weekend have sold out in advance of the blackout deadline.
The only other time in the 27-year history of the policy that all games sold out in advance of the deadline for local television was for the 15 games of September 6-7, 1998.
All NFL games have been televised in the visiting team’s market since 1962.
The NFL is on pace to top last year’s record number of home games televised in the home-team market. Blackouts on 85 percent of games (134 of 158) have been lifted so far this season. Blackouts were lifted in a record 84 percent of games in 1999 (209 of 248).
NFL paid attendance is also on a record-setting pace. Paid attendance through Week 10 of the season averaged 66,155 fans per game, compared to last year’s single-season paid attendance record of 65,349 per game.