The Indianapolis Colts indicated earlier this week that they would not take advantage of the new blackout rules that would allow games to be aired on local television if they sold 85 percent of that game's seats.
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The decision created a furor, but it was actually a sound business move by Colts management. Accepting the lower threshold means sharing more of the ticket revenue with the visiting team, and that's not something the Colts (or San Diego Chargers, who are also expected to pass on the new policy) are eager to do, especially when they're confident that their 79-game sellout streak will continue.
The Colts' decision had an added, and perhaps not unexpected benefit as calls to the ticket office have increased, Phil Richards of The Indianapolis Star reported Wednesday.
"There were three times the number of calls this morning as opposed to the last couple days," Colts vice president of ticket operations Larry Hall said.
According to Richards, Colts homes games are 97-percent sold out and fewer than 2,000 season tickets remain. If the Colts are looking for another bump in ticket sales, maybe getting Andrew Luck under contract would help.
