A great article on how passionate Seattle Seahawks fans are and to what means they will go to watch their team on TV. Again, HD antennas score with a win.
KENNEWICK, Wash. – TV antenna sales are up and workers at electronic companies are saying it’s because of the Seattle Seahawks.
“All three Radio Shacks in the Tri-Cities are sold out and it’s mainly because of DirecTV customers. Just a couple weeks ago the company cut off the local FOX affiliate because they couldn’t negotiate a contract and that goes for KNDU/KNDO as well. If negotiations are not met soon we could be off the air for DirecTV customers this Saturday.
In fact, Jackson’s Sports Bar in Kennewick say they’ve been inundated with phone calls. “The phones have been ringing off the hook with people that have DirecTV at home, wanting to know where they can watch the game,” said Suzie Collinson, Jackson’s manager.
And it’s the Seahawks playoff game that has many people upset at the satellite company. “We pay several thousands of dollars to have the NFL package all season long through DirectTV. As business owners it’s a lot more expensive than someone trying to get it for their home and then to find out at playoff time we are not going to be able to show all the games, you know it’s a big hit,” said Collinson.
But everyone has their own solution and TV antennas seem to be a big hit. All three Radio Shacks in the Tri-Cities are sold out and Best Buy only has a few left. It’s even causing some satellite customers to look elsewhere. “Yeah I’m a Seahawk’s fan and DirecTV doesn’t carry FOX anymore so we had to go to a different cable company. We had to argue to get a good price, but we wanted FOX because all the sports are on there, especially the Seahawks,” said Sharon Encs, a former customer.
But for those fans who don’t want to buy an antenna or switch companies they’ll be hitting the sports bars. “I expect to see them and the other 50-60 phone calls I’ve had so, we are looking for a lot of new faces and hopefully the game goes well and we can do it again next weekend,” said Collinson.
DirecTV continues to negotiate with Northwest Broadcasting, but at this point no agreement has been made and by Saturday KNDU/KNDO may no longer be available to DirecTV customers either.”