The ongoing soap opera involving NFL television broadcasts in southcentral Pennsylvania takes another sordid turn Sunday. The much-anticipated AFC North brawl between the Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cincinnati Bengals will not be televised locally.
Instead, local cable viewers will get the following afternoon games:
---Washington at Houston, at 1 p.m. on WPMT-43
---Baltimore at Cleveland, at 4:05 p.m. on WHP-21
---Philadelphia at San Francisco, at 4:15 p.m. on WPMT-43
The only ways to see the Steelers-Bengals game in the area will be on DirecTV’s NFL Sunday Ticket, or at a local bar or restaurant that subscribes to the Sunday Ticket.
Longtime followers of this drama know by now not to blame the Ravens, the Steelers, the television stations or even cable providers such as Comcast.
The “blame� resides solely with the National Football League, which has historically considered Harrisburg (and thus WHP-21) to be a Baltimore Ravens secondary market. That means the NFL can (and does) mandate that the CBS affiliate carry all Ravens games that are part of CBS’ American Football Conference television package.
This, therefore, is one of those “perfect storm� weeks. Fox, the NFC broadcast network, has doubleheader rights, meaning only it can show 1¤p.m. and 4 p.m. games. And with the Ravens and Steelers both playing in CBS games, WHP-21 has no choice but to show only the Ravens — even though the Steelers and Ravens are on at separate times.
The NFL made its position on the Steelers-Ravens matter abundantly clear in 2004, when a similar conflict had local viewers up in arms. In a statement at that time, league officials said:
“Harrisburg, which is only 75 miles from Baltimore, has been designated as a TV market for Baltimore’s NFL team going back at least to the ’70s and the Bert Jones-led Colts playoff years. ... Our policies are designated to serve the fans of each team in its market area.
“Any station whose signal reaches within 75 miles of an NFL stadium must carry the away games of the NFL team in that market. M&T Bank Stadium, home of the Baltimore Ravens, is approximately 75 miles from Harrisburg. Lincoln Financial Field, home of the Eagles, is approximately 110 miles from Harrisburg. Pittsburgh is more than 200 miles from Harrisburg. We believe this policy is sensible, serves the overall interest of our fans and teams, and is important to maintaining the NFL’s success.�
These “perfect storms� happen a couple of times per season (the Steelers’ road games at Carolina and Cincinnati in December are also in broadcast jeopardy), and, when they hit, there’s nothing Steelers fans can do but find someone with DirecTV or be content to listen to the radio.
That's becuase the Steelers are overrated.
Actually, Comcast(Suscom in previous years)is to blame in some cases, although not this one. If they would include Baltimore's CBS channel 13 in the York area lineup, both teams could be shown when the Ravens are home.
The NFL should take into consideration that Pittsburgh, & Philadelphia are Pennsylvania teams. I don't care about Maryland's politics or their football team
It's hard to believe that Harrisburg would have to watch the 2-0 Ravens battle it out against the 0-2 Browns. Especially when you know that 100 miles away, in Philadelphia, Steelers fans will have the luxary of watching the Steelers/Bengals 1 PM matchup. Maybe the NFL should ask the fans of Harrisburg what they think about their decision. They should ask, Which team would you rather watch more often, Pittsburgh or Baltimore. I would not be surprised if they receive a 2:1 margain for Pittsburgh, despite the additional 125 miles. Harrisburg and Pittsburgh are in the same state, and there is great pride in supporting teams in the state you pay taxes and live under the same state laws. Why do you think that the Steelers Radio network extends into Harrisburg. It's extends even farther, almost the whole way to Philadelphia. But, why should the fans in Harrisburg be subjected to watch the Baltimore Ravens. Talk about an insult, the Ravens are NOT the former colts, but instead are a team moved down from Cleveland. Any Steeler fan can tell you that this is one of the biggest rivalries for the Steelers and one of the teams we most love to hate. So, not only do we miss out on the Steelers, but we also have to endure the watching a team we'd rather root against if we want our football fix. What a sham. Put it to a vote. Let the local fans decide, not the geography. We want representation!
Once again the NFL has proven that it does not have the fans interests at heart the real reason is money. I'll even wager that the next big NFL move will be pay per view for games so they can rip even more money from fans in a season.
If the NFL would check the fan base in an area such as ours they may come to a different conclusion about viewing zones. Let the mileage be damed this is Pennsylvania not Maryland.