No NFL games in Theaters, hear me?

This is one of the puzzling things. It’s okay for a Sports Bar to show every game on various TV’s on any given Sunday, right? What you cannot do however is show one game on a very big screen…like, say…in a theater, even if you don’t charge for it.

NFL officials confirmed Saturday that cease-and-desist letters were sent out to three business owners telling them they were violating copyright law by showing Packers games on the big screen. The NFL said letters were sent to the Potawatomi Bingo and Casino, operators of the Northern Lights Theater; the Marcus Corp., owners and operators of the AT&T Palladium in Brookfield; and the Rosebud Cinema Drafthouse in Wauwatosa.

Brian McCarthy, an NFL spokesman, said in an e-mail that the league recently became aware that the businesses were showing Packers games. “We let them know they are violating copyright law and longstanding NFL policies that prohibit mass out-of-town viewing of NFL games,” he said.

Apparently it’s because mass viewings take away ratings from local affiliates, according to Mr. McCarthy.

Maybe the readers can help me out here. Is there a cap on how many people a Sports Bar can have viewing games on a given day with NFL Ticket? I have been in some pretty big Sports Bars that are only showing one local game on several TV’s. I remember when I lived in Charlotte, NC and was in this huge Sports Bar. I asked if they show all the games on Sunday. Nope…just the Panthers.

What about those big projection screens? My local used one of those before shutting down. OOoooohhhh…they shut down. NFL Conspiracy?

One of the theater owners is planning on being the David to the NFL Goliath.

At the Rosebud, owner Larry Widen said that he had received no notification from the NFL that he couldn’t put the game on in his theater. “As far as I’m concerned, I didn’t get the letter,” he said.

“We have been showing the games for years,” he said. “We are not in violation because we are a licensed Class B tavern.”

There is a new theater here locally that is supposed to be opening soon. one of their main goals was opening in time for the Super Bowl so they could show it. Looks like this will put a damper on that.

Thoughts?

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