As you know by now if you care, the 10-1 Dallas Cowboys will host the 10-1 Green Bay Packers on Thursday night but not everyone in West Texas will be able to watch the game. Grande and Ridgewood will show the game but CableOne and Suddenlink, the two largest providers locally, will not because the game will be shown on the NFL Network. Satellite subscribers can see the game but there will be no over-the-air broadcast of the game locally.
The NFL Network and the large cable companies are disputing how the NFL Network should be carried. The NFL Network wants the cable companies to carry the network in their basic digital packages. The cable companies want to put the NFL Network in a premium package.
Personally, I hate to see this game (and the other seven this year) on NFL Network. NFL football is the most popular sport in the U.S. and many people do not subscribe to cable or satellite television. I suspect the NFL would like to move more and more games to their own NFL Network and maybe even eventually put all NFL games on it. This would allow them to enjoy all the advertising revenue and not have to negotiate with the other networks.
Sure, the NFL is in the entertainment business. And I don't begrudge them making a profit but I think they're getting a bit too greedy. Not unlike the cable companies themselves who are under fire from the FCC and looking at additional federal regulation because they have gotten a little too greedy themselves.
For a pretty good balanced view of the NFL vs Cable issue, see this Chicago Tribune article.
Also, note that the NFL will offer live updates of the game, including video, at NFL.com.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
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8 comments:
Les, I never thought I'd be sympathetic to the cable companies on any issue ..... but I am on this one. To me, this is about greed - with the football league's greed first-and-foremost.
And I think you may have hit on something with your suggestion on where the league might take this.
To insist that cable open up their basic tier for a sport that is only up, live, for part of the year, is ludicrous.
I might change my mind, though, if there is a chance of getting the All-Steeler-Network on basic-tier cable!
Gee whiz, Jeff. The Steelers are so 70's.
LOL ... true, true ... but so am I!
And Lets not forget Super Bowl XL!
Speaking of Super Bowl ex el... Did you realize the coin toss for that game was performed by Tom Brady?
Weird. And just because you're a good guy, Good luck to the Steelers. I hope they finish just behind the Super Bowl ex el eye eye Champion Dallas Cowboys. (I ain't bettin' no money on the Cows though.)
Heard of Jumping the shark? The NFL has done it with this crappy manuever.
Screw 'em, Animal Planet, here I come!
A perfect label, Rob.
And on a completely unrelated note... good luck with the adoption. I 've been watching the blog but have failed to leave a note there.
I'm in San Angelo and will miss the game tonight beacuse of the NFL Network. I am siding with Suddenlink on this one, because they have made several offers to the NFL for 100% of the profit and the NFL has refused demanding their outrageous $100 million.
Thanks Les! We're actually in Moscow now!
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