Goodell defends blackout policy

When it comes to attendance issues and the blackout, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell didn’t offer much during his state of the league press conference on Friday. With the FCC opening up public comment to review the policy, Goodell offered his own defense of the rule which has been in effect since 1973. The rule states that if a game is not sold out 72 hours prior to kickoff, that it will not air on any stations within a 75-mile radius of the stadium and the team’s designated home markets. Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown has been a long time opponent against blackouts. Said Goodell about the policy: “We want our stadiums full and we want to remain on free television. It has to be balanced with driving people to your stadiums. The policy has served us well over the past four decades and it is a balanced approach. We will continue to go through the FCC process if they continue.” There were six blackouts of Bengals games this year as they averaged just 49,251 for eight regular-season home gam...