NFL vs Big Cable

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.

Comet 17P/Holmes

Although it has nothing to do with television, you really should take a peek at this extraordinary sight. You don't need to know any of the science to enjoy it and a quick search of "comet holmes" at Wikipedia will furnish you with enough information to locate it in the night sky. With any old pair of binoculars you'll easily identify Comet Holmes when it enters your view.

For the more scientifically curious, I highly recommend you also look at a few of the photos taken by Chris Peterson of Comet Holmes. From his observatory near Guffey, CO, Chris does outstanding work. And he's a really nice guy, too.

What is this tool?

A quarter is shown for scale.

HD-DVD $99

The high definition war between Blu-ray and HD-DVD wages on. Walmart offered the Toshiba HD-A2 HD-DVD for $99 this weekend while the cheapest Blu-ray HD-DVD players is still selling for ~$400. (Note the Toshiba HD-A2 player does not do 1080p - only 720p or 1080i.)

JupiterRsearch says neither format will win.