NFL Network Blasts Cablers Yet Again
Nation's two biggest cable operators still haven't reached agreement on type of carriage
By P.J. Bednarski -- Broadcasting & Cable, 11/11/2008 9:31:00 AM
The NFL Network is once again venting its displeasure at Comcast and Time Warner Cable, the nation's two biggest cable operators that either haven't come to carriage terms with the network (Time Warner) or whose terms are not accepatable to the NFL (Comcast)..
As a result, fans who get cable from either of those outlets won't see the important AFC game this Thursday between the New York Jets and the New England Patriots--tied for first in their division-- unless they live in the New York or Boston area, where the games will be shown on local stations.
In an letter NFL Network President and CEO Steve Borenstein has sent to local publications nationwide, he blasts the two cable giants, which he says "continue to turn a deaf ear to football fans, blocking or charging extra for our most popular programming on TV. We in the NFL have been trying without success for months to negotiate with these companies for broader coverage."
The situation has its similarities to a game last year between Patriots and the New York Giants. That time, the NFL Network also ran into the same problems and at the last minute allowed the game to be shown on broadcast television nationwide. But NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said recently the NFL Network isn't likely to do that this time, in large part because the game isn't as momentous. Last year's disputed game featured the unbeaten Patriots playing the playoff bound Giants in the last game of the season, making the match-up extra dramatic. (The Giants lost to the Patriots, but went on to beat them a few weeks later in the Super Bowl.)
A spokesman said there are no ongoing negotiations with Time Warner, and that it continues to fight to have Comcast offer the NFL Network on its basic tier rather than its sports tier, for which consumers pay an extra monthly fee. Cable operators balk at offering the expensive network on basic because they would have to either raise rates for all customers or eat the monthly charge. The NFL Network is available in 42 million homes nationwide.
"Large cable companies discriminate against networks like NFL Network because we are independent," Borenstein wrote. "Have you ever wondered why you get the Golf Channel but not NFL Network? The Golf Channel is owned by Comcast, which makes the channel broadly available. Networks like NFL Network, Wealth TV, and a group of other sports and specialty programming options are not owned by the cable giants. Instead of negotiating with independent programmers, the cable giants discriminate against them in favor of their own."
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It all quite simply reall Direct TV the satalite company owns NFL network. The cable companies don't want to give their competition money. (begin sarcasm)Because the cable companies don't make enuff.(end sarcasm)
Kevin :-P - 3/28/2009 4:42:51 PM EDT -
This dispute is unbelievable. I don\'\'t understand why the cable companies don\'\'t charge an additional $5.00/mth (like a live On Demand type option) for those that want to purchase the channel. For the real football fans who don\'\'t have satellite, that should cover all the costs that the cable companies being charged. It\'\'s amazing that Canadian residents can watch the games for free, but a majority of US residents are unable to do so from the comfort of their own homes. The solution is quite simple, and just like our government and CEO\'\'s of large companies, there stupid people making decisions that effect so many innocent people. Like everything else going on with our financial markets, I suppose we should expect no different from these leaders either.
