Goodell Q-and-A Part III: When did L.A. become S.D.?

A third part to the Q-and-A with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, this, about what determines games the L.A. audience receives on a weekly basis:

From an L.A. TV perspective, do you get a sense that when there's talk of a team coming to this market, that fans fear they won't be getting the best game available every Sunday and it is one of the reasons fans here may resist having a franchise brought here after all these years? Is there a benefit of not having a city locked into a team, especially with L.A.?

Goodell: "I've heard that theory and have seen it written before, but it's not backed up by the facts. First, our policies have been very pro-consumer and allowing people to see high quality football. You look at the local markets and see a significant bump when a home team plays. Clearly that is a plus and I believe that would be the case here in Los Angeles if the city had a franchise. Plus as technology develops, Sunday Ticket is an example so people can see more than just what's on broadcast television and that's another benefit of the current policy."

The other part of the policy is that L.A. is considered a secondary market to San Diego, so that when the Chargers find their way to L.A. TV even if they aren't doing so well. I hear complaints from people asking, 'Why do we have to see that game? We're not part of the San Diego market.' Do you hear complaints as well about that?

Goodell: "That happens around the country. The networks regionalize most of our games on Sunday afternoon so they make determinations as to what games would be the most popular. Frankly, those are decisions that the consumer doesn't have the choice to make. But I go back to our policies being very pro-consumer."

The final Part IV coming up shortly ...