Direct TV in Restaurants

[DaveO]

The high end...and even the medium end of costs for showing Direct TV at a sports bar can be extraordinarily high per this article.

Can the high end cost be accurate--> up to $120,000/year.  Its supposedly based on capacity and the capacity must be enormous...stadium sized???

Meanwhile there are many sports bars whose revenues simply soar during football season for college and pro football.

As a fan, and one who used to play fantasy football, I have to admit there is an enormous attraction to seeing every game at the busy Sunday 1 PM scheduling time when multiple games are going on at once and you could easily have the majority of your fantasy team all playing all in different games.

While it kept you completely up to date with scores, exciting plays and exactly how your fantasy team was doing...and how it might affect one's wallet that week....the physical impact of neck swiveling from TV to TV was something else.  

Meanwhile the above referenced costs are quite considerable, though I'm sure the very busy bars on football days more than justify the costs.

[DaveO]

And Steamers

One article describing the phenomena:

[Kev29]

I don't know anything about Steamers.  But if you speak to bar owners around the country, specifically sports bars or bars with enough TV's that they highlight sports they will tell you their businesses live and die with football season first and basketball second.   Without the extra business those sports bring in many would go out of business.

One article describing the phenomena:

That's interesting, seriously I am obsessed with sports media as well as the bar/restaurant business, and certainly relevant elsewhere. But the guy was running a seafood restaurant (ostensibly) - and poorly. Funny how you don't see many failed restaurant owners come out and say, "man we just did a shitty job of putting quality food and drink on the table. Our bad." The Redskins have basically sucked for 23 years now, a lot of bars and restaurants have managed to stay afloat. Also, was there really a recession in Bethesda?

The carnage in Bethesda these days is down to more concrete reasons. 1) Pressure from a DC dining scene at a multi-generational peak. 2) Burgeoning "North Bethesda" options keeping wealthy families in that area (plus parts of Potomac and Rockville) closer to home. 3) More fashionable chefs and groups (Weidmaier, Isabella, Taylor, Food Wine Co., etc) grabbing market share from older places. Bethesda was the safe option for tons of people in Montgomery and Upper NW through the 80s and 90s when many parts of the city and near-in suburbs were unfashionable or considered dangerous. Much different landscape now.

[DaveO]

That's interesting, seriously I am obsessed with sports media as well as the bar/restaurant business, and certainly relevant elsewhere. But the guy was running a seafood restaurant (ostensibly) - and poorly. Funny how you don't see many failed restaurant owners come out and say, "man we just did a shitty job of putting quality food and drink on the table. Our bad." The Redskins have basically sucked for 23 years now, a lot of bars and restaurants have managed to stay afloat. Also, was there really a recession in Bethesda?

The carnage in Bethesda these days is down to more concrete reasons. 1) Pressure from DC dining at a multi-generational peak. 2) Burgeoning "North Bethesda" options keeping wealthy families in that area (plus parts of Potomac and Rockville) closer to home. 3) More fashionable chefs and groups (Weidmaier, Isabella, Taylor, Food Wine Co., etc) grabbing market share from older places. Bethesda was the safe option for tons of people in Montgomery and Upper NW through the 80s and 90s when many parts of the city and near-in suburbs were unfashionable or considered dangerous. Much different landscape now.

@Kev29.  I suspect you are much closer to the truth on all the specifics.  In a general context, though, for many sports bars, fall and winter carry them through very slow money losing summers and specifically football game days can make or break their businesses.

In the DC area, with so many transplants from all over the country (and everywhere around the country), you will also see sports bars work to be known as being the host for college sports for one or more universities.  Its very big business.  The same goes for soccer or any other sport/team/nation they can sponsor.

BTW:  I have yet to see any failed operator explain things the way you did above and say "our bad".  Ha ha.