Cable compainies taking on the NFL I say next year it will be part of the basic cable package in most places. Im sure lots of calls being made tonight to cable compainies.
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NFL Network to carry first live game but many won't see it
.
Judd Zulgad, Star Tribune
Novemer 22, 2006
The NFL Network's first live telecast of a game is tonight, and many people won't be able to watch it. The battle between the league and cable operators is not something that will be decided soon.
So today the NFL Network will carry the first live regular-season game in its three-year existence when Kansas City plays host to Denver at 7 p.m. That will complete a new Thanksgiving Day tripleheader that will continue to feature games at Detroit and Dallas and then be followed by a prime-time contest from a different site each season. For the next six years, the NFL Network will have that game.
"I will tell you that we are putting the best product that we possibly can out there," said Steve Bornstein, the president of the NFL Network and a former top executive at Disney-owned ABC and ESPN. "It's going to be beautiful-looking cameras and High Definition, and we are sparing really no creativity and no expense in putting the best presentation we can on the air."
Limited distribution
But unlike today's first two games on FOX and CBS, not everyone will be able to see the nightcap -- at least this year. The NFL Network is available in about 40 million of the nation's 111.4 million households with TVs -- both DirecTV and Dish Network offer it -- but isn't carried by several major cable systems, including Charter and Time Warner.
The NFL is banking, literally, that by airing eight contests it can win a game of chicken with cable operators who have balked at putting it on anything other than a digital sports tier. Operators don't want to pay a per-subscriber fee that has jumped from about 25 cents to 87 cents because of the inclusion of these games.
The cable companies say if they pay that rate it likely will mean price hikes for everyone, including those who don't care about football. The NFL, meanwhile, wants broader distribution because that will mean more money in its pockets and thus more cash for each team.
A risky move? Not according to John Mansell of Kagan Research, based in Monterey, Calif. "What the NFL is doing is building a tremendous asset that very quickly is worth over 1 billion dollars," he said.
"They may have spurned the $400 million [a year] offer from Versus, but there is no question eventually they will be available throughout all cable systems and be able to generate really decent fees, tremendous advertising revenues and have one of the most valuable networks around."
The NFL Network also has obtained the exclusive rights to four college postseason games.
"This network is not going away," said Seth Palansky, who serves as communications director of the NFL Network. "We have the rights to 48 live NFL games [over six years]. So this problem is coming every year, and same thing with bowl games."
However, the NFL Network doesn't have this battle won yet. Congress has expressed an interest in what the league is doing. A recent hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee reportedly centered on how having live games could impact cable and satellite rates as well as whether this raises any antitrust issues in connection with the Sports Broadcasting Act.
"The NFL is trying to force cable companies to charge many consumers for programming they don't want," Comcast executive vice president David L. Cohen said in a statement to the Star Tribune. "Sports programming fees are out of control in general, and the NFL programming is very expensive."
Bornstein's hope is that viewers also will see that programming as essential.
"This isn't about eight games for us," he said. "This is about 365 days a year of what we think is the most popular cultural impactful programming that we can do. And we are spending a lot of time, effort and resources, putting on 365 days a year of good programming."
---------------------------
NFL Network to carry first live game but many won't see it
.
Judd Zulgad, Star Tribune
Novemer 22, 2006
The NFL Network's first live telecast of a game is tonight, and many people won't be able to watch it. The battle between the league and cable operators is not something that will be decided soon.
So today the NFL Network will carry the first live regular-season game in its three-year existence when Kansas City plays host to Denver at 7 p.m. That will complete a new Thanksgiving Day tripleheader that will continue to feature games at Detroit and Dallas and then be followed by a prime-time contest from a different site each season. For the next six years, the NFL Network will have that game.
"I will tell you that we are putting the best product that we possibly can out there," said Steve Bornstein, the president of the NFL Network and a former top executive at Disney-owned ABC and ESPN. "It's going to be beautiful-looking cameras and High Definition, and we are sparing really no creativity and no expense in putting the best presentation we can on the air."
Limited distribution
But unlike today's first two games on FOX and CBS, not everyone will be able to see the nightcap -- at least this year. The NFL Network is available in about 40 million of the nation's 111.4 million households with TVs -- both DirecTV and Dish Network offer it -- but isn't carried by several major cable systems, including Charter and Time Warner.
The NFL is banking, literally, that by airing eight contests it can win a game of chicken with cable operators who have balked at putting it on anything other than a digital sports tier. Operators don't want to pay a per-subscriber fee that has jumped from about 25 cents to 87 cents because of the inclusion of these games.
The cable companies say if they pay that rate it likely will mean price hikes for everyone, including those who don't care about football. The NFL, meanwhile, wants broader distribution because that will mean more money in its pockets and thus more cash for each team.
A risky move? Not according to John Mansell of Kagan Research, based in Monterey, Calif. "What the NFL is doing is building a tremendous asset that very quickly is worth over 1 billion dollars," he said.
"They may have spurned the $400 million [a year] offer from Versus, but there is no question eventually they will be available throughout all cable systems and be able to generate really decent fees, tremendous advertising revenues and have one of the most valuable networks around."
The NFL Network also has obtained the exclusive rights to four college postseason games.
"This network is not going away," said Seth Palansky, who serves as communications director of the NFL Network. "We have the rights to 48 live NFL games [over six years]. So this problem is coming every year, and same thing with bowl games."
However, the NFL Network doesn't have this battle won yet. Congress has expressed an interest in what the league is doing. A recent hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee reportedly centered on how having live games could impact cable and satellite rates as well as whether this raises any antitrust issues in connection with the Sports Broadcasting Act.
"The NFL is trying to force cable companies to charge many consumers for programming they don't want," Comcast executive vice president David L. Cohen said in a statement to the Star Tribune. "Sports programming fees are out of control in general, and the NFL programming is very expensive."
Bornstein's hope is that viewers also will see that programming as essential.
"This isn't about eight games for us," he said. "This is about 365 days a year of what we think is the most popular cultural impactful programming that we can do. And we are spending a lot of time, effort and resources, putting on 365 days a year of good programming."
