Back in December, I wrote about the difficulty that the NFL Network was having in getting off the ground. Last season, the network made 8 games available exclusively on the network hoping that it would spur fans to call their cable operators and demand the network. But it didn't happen.
According (subscription required) to The Wall Street Journal, Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) and Cablevision are refusing to carry the network. Comcast (NYSE: CMCSA) has pulled the NFL Network from millions of homes and the NFL sued, lost, and is appealing. The league has even set up a nice astroturfish website to make its case to the public.
The NFL has had a difficulty relationship with networks, who feel that they are being gouged. Many industry observers view the NFL Network as an effort to say to ABC, ESPN, FOX, etc. "We don't need you. We can do this ourselves if we want." This may be more about leverage in contract negotiations than actually establishing the NFL Network as a viable station.
Of course, that will plan will backfire wonderfully if they can't get cable operators to carry it.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-18-2007 @ 3:04PM
Bill said...
Switch to Directv. I'm so sick of cable companies telling me what I can and can not watch. They can't carry NFL Network but can carry 20 channels of crappy TV stars trying to sell us fake diamonds and almost real 16th century swords.
11-01-2007 @ 2:30AM
christian said...
I have mixed emotions about the NFL network's fight against the cable companies. I personally, would be glad to have the NFL Network added to my sports tier package that I pay extra for every month. The NFL Network however, is adamently against that option. They want EVERYONE with cable to have to pay .02 cents a day instead of a true fans paying $10 a month. That greed is conviently hidden in their media blitz against the cable companies. I am against the NFL's plan to broadcast games on their network. This essentially shuts out poor people, who can't afford even basic cable, from watching their home team on broadcast television.
Some of you won't believe this, but once upon a time, in a land far, far, away, one could watch every single NFL game if you had one of those big 8x8 satellite dishes in your yard. Then the NFL got the bright idea of the NFL sunday ticket and charging people $200+ dollars a year to recieve signals that used to be free.
I just have a feeling that the NFL ultimately wants every single NFL game broadcast on the NFL Network in the future. And if that happens, don't be surprised if your local team is only available on a pay per view basis, with portions of the pay per view sales being split with the home team's owner.
I may be sounding crazy to some of you right now, but then again, I thought the NFL Sunday ticket sounded pretty nuts 10 years ago.
Note to the NFL Network: Keep the games on broadcast television so that everyone with a pair of rabbit ear antenna's can enjoy their local team, especially on thanksgiving, and use the NFL network for more inside the league information. I would gladly pay for that, whether as a .02 cent incriment on my bill, or by adding it as part of a sports tier.