Even lowering the blackout threshold from 100 percent to 85 percent this year wasn't enough to keep the Bucs game on the air in the Tampa Bay area, as the team has confirmed that their pre-season game with the Tennessee Titans on Friday will be blacked out:
Bucs preseason game Fri vs Titans is blacked out locally, team confirmed.
— Rick Stroud (@NFLSTROUD) August 14, 2012
All eight of their home games last year weren't available on TV, a rarity in the modern NFL, where many teams have waiting lists for season tickets that stretch back for years.
The good news is that a Tennessee offense headlined by Matt Hasselbeck and Jake Locker is hardly can't-miss TV. Chris Johnson, their star RB, was off his game for most of the year and he isn't likely to play much on Friday.
However, the inability to hit even the lower blackout threshold isn't an encouraging sign for the rest of the 2012 season.
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