Barring an unexpected end to their long-running dispute, the NFL Network will no longer be available to <ORG idsrc="NYSE" value="CCZ">Comcast</ORG> subscribers after April 30, when the network's contract with the cable television powerhouse expires.
At the core of the increasingly contentious stalemate: Comcast does not carry the NFL Network as part of its basic package, charging a monthly premium ($7.95 in the Boston area) to access the channel as part of its digital sports tier.
Comcast wishes to continue the agreement under the same terms. The NFL Network, however, will not agree to a contract that would keep the network on the sports tier.
"We have offered to carry the network under the agreement's current terms, but the NFL has not accepted the offer," said Comcast spokeswoman Sena Fitzmaurice. "We believe an extension of the current agreement is in the best interest of NFL fans so that they will have the same access they presently enjoy."
The NFL Network wants to become part of the basic digital package, which reaches a significantly larger viewership and would generate more revenue for the NFL. Comcast has approximately 2 million sports tier customers. The company reaches an estimated 40 million homes via cable and satellite television.
An NFL Network spokesman did not want to comment on the record, but said, "Comcast refuses to sit down and reach an agreement with NFL Network on a contract extension that would make the network more widely available to a larger number of subscribers on its cable systems without the extra monthly fee that Comcast now sets and collects."
Comcast counters by noting that the network is among the most costly channels in their lineup. Should it become part of a basic or digital basic package - ESPN, for instance, is among the former, while the recently launched MLB Network is one of the latter - the cost would be passed along to all Comcast subscribers on their monthly bill, even if they have no interest in the channel.
"Comcast believes that making the NFL Network available [on the sports tier] is the fairest way to provide what is rather expensive programming," Fitzmaurice said.
"The channel shows just eight regular-season NFL games per season. The rest is mostly analysis and filler, so its appeal is to the real diehard fan. Customers who wish to watch the channel can do so, while those who do not are not obligated to pay more money for something they are not interested in."
The NFL Network is skeptical of Comcast's suggestions of altruism. In a recent guest column in the Palm Beach Post, NFL Network president and CEO Steve Bornstein bluntly accused Comcast of playing favorites.
"Comcast discriminates against networks like NFL Network because we are independent. Do you know why you get the Golf Channel and Versus on a basic level of cable service? Both are owned by Comcast. Do you wonder why the . . . MLB Network is offered to fans without an extra monthly fee? Once again, Comcast has an ownership interest."
The disagreement began percolating in 2006, when the NFL Network added live game coverage, and reached a full boil a year later, when Comcast switched the network from the basic package - which it had been part of since the beginning of the agreement in 2004 - to the subscription-only sports tier against the NFL's wishes. The NFL filed a complaint with the New York Supreme Court and the Federal Communications Commission challenged Comcast's rights to make the move. The case is scheduled to be heard by an administrative law judge in May.
According to a recent report in Sports Business Daily, a group of NFL executives, including commissioner Roger Goodell and Patriots owner Robert Kraft, visited Comcast headquarters in Philadelphia in March to try to end the stalemate, with no success. If the contract with Comcast ends, the NFL Network would be available on just one of the nine largest cable providers, <ORG idsrc="NYSE" value="PRI">Cox Communications</ORG>.
As the May 1 deadline approaches, both sides have been ratcheting up the rhetoric while trying to make public their version of the situation. When Comcast customers turn on their televisions, they get a message informing of the potential loss of the NFL Network on May 1. Comcast has also sent the information via e-mail, newspaper ads, and customers' bills. A video on the NFL Network website also offers a similar warning, with anchor Rich Eisen solemnly explaining the circumstances.
Barring a last-minute Hail Mary, it appears the gamesmanship will, at least for the time being, result in one obvious loser - the Comcast customer in search of an NFL fix.
Boston Globe..
At the core of the increasingly contentious stalemate: Comcast does not carry the NFL Network as part of its basic package, charging a monthly premium ($7.95 in the Boston area) to access the channel as part of its digital sports tier.
Comcast wishes to continue the agreement under the same terms. The NFL Network, however, will not agree to a contract that would keep the network on the sports tier.
"We have offered to carry the network under the agreement's current terms, but the NFL has not accepted the offer," said Comcast spokeswoman Sena Fitzmaurice. "We believe an extension of the current agreement is in the best interest of NFL fans so that they will have the same access they presently enjoy."
The NFL Network wants to become part of the basic digital package, which reaches a significantly larger viewership and would generate more revenue for the NFL. Comcast has approximately 2 million sports tier customers. The company reaches an estimated 40 million homes via cable and satellite television.
An NFL Network spokesman did not want to comment on the record, but said, "Comcast refuses to sit down and reach an agreement with NFL Network on a contract extension that would make the network more widely available to a larger number of subscribers on its cable systems without the extra monthly fee that Comcast now sets and collects."
Comcast counters by noting that the network is among the most costly channels in their lineup. Should it become part of a basic or digital basic package - ESPN, for instance, is among the former, while the recently launched MLB Network is one of the latter - the cost would be passed along to all Comcast subscribers on their monthly bill, even if they have no interest in the channel.
"Comcast believes that making the NFL Network available [on the sports tier] is the fairest way to provide what is rather expensive programming," Fitzmaurice said.
"The channel shows just eight regular-season NFL games per season. The rest is mostly analysis and filler, so its appeal is to the real diehard fan. Customers who wish to watch the channel can do so, while those who do not are not obligated to pay more money for something they are not interested in."
The NFL Network is skeptical of Comcast's suggestions of altruism. In a recent guest column in the Palm Beach Post, NFL Network president and CEO Steve Bornstein bluntly accused Comcast of playing favorites.
"Comcast discriminates against networks like NFL Network because we are independent. Do you know why you get the Golf Channel and Versus on a basic level of cable service? Both are owned by Comcast. Do you wonder why the . . . MLB Network is offered to fans without an extra monthly fee? Once again, Comcast has an ownership interest."
The disagreement began percolating in 2006, when the NFL Network added live game coverage, and reached a full boil a year later, when Comcast switched the network from the basic package - which it had been part of since the beginning of the agreement in 2004 - to the subscription-only sports tier against the NFL's wishes. The NFL filed a complaint with the New York Supreme Court and the Federal Communications Commission challenged Comcast's rights to make the move. The case is scheduled to be heard by an administrative law judge in May.
According to a recent report in Sports Business Daily, a group of NFL executives, including commissioner Roger Goodell and Patriots owner Robert Kraft, visited Comcast headquarters in Philadelphia in March to try to end the stalemate, with no success. If the contract with Comcast ends, the NFL Network would be available on just one of the nine largest cable providers, <ORG idsrc="NYSE" value="PRI">Cox Communications</ORG>.
As the May 1 deadline approaches, both sides have been ratcheting up the rhetoric while trying to make public their version of the situation. When Comcast customers turn on their televisions, they get a message informing of the potential loss of the NFL Network on May 1. Comcast has also sent the information via e-mail, newspaper ads, and customers' bills. A video on the NFL Network website also offers a similar warning, with anchor Rich Eisen solemnly explaining the circumstances.
Barring a last-minute Hail Mary, it appears the gamesmanship will, at least for the time being, result in one obvious loser - the Comcast customer in search of an NFL fix.
Boston Globe..
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