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NFL Network carriage woes

Comcast here in New Britain, CT carries NFL Network on a digital tier. Too bad in my case that the TV with the converter at my house is not the one in my room. Good things the Dolphins are on CBS [in HD] this time around! :)
 
I'm not sure how long this NFL Network games will last. It's getting very bad press. I've heard negative comments by sports commentators all week on the radio. I really think that the NFL should let local stations buy syndication of these games. It's a real shame that while there are tons of fans of th Denver Broncos all over the Rocky Mountain region and only those that live right near Denver actually will get a chance to see the game on Thanksgiving night. I am sure some affiliates of CW, My Network TV, and/or i could really benefit (and the NFL as well) by syndicating these NFL network games.
 
Hmmmm, all of a sudden, people are talking about the NFL network. This deal was not cut last week, this was common knowledge when the schedule came out. Now all the casual fans can get their panties in a bunch because a game is on and they can't watch. I heard a sports show on the radio the other day and one reporter said he asked a league official if they are prepared for backlash, and the league official's response was, "buy a dish."
 
All this press coverage is fantastic for the NFL Network. They want football fans who have cable to realize what they are missing. I think cable will be forced to give in eventually.
 
All this press coverage is fantastic for the NFL Network. They want football fans who have cable to realize what they are missing. I think cable will be forced to give in eventually.
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BINGO! From what I understand, the Season Ticket program over the dish where you can buy all games has been a huge success. NFL is trying to get more fans on the dish (through NFL Network) who will then buy the season pass. The NFL is a marketing juggernaut and rarely take a misstep. This may look like bad pub right now, but wait & see how many folks go to the dish over the next few weeks so they can get "extra" games on NFL network.
 
jellyeggs said:
It`s the most powerful sports league vs. the most powerful cable operators! Who gives in 1st (if anyone)? Where do you football fans here stand? http://tv.yahoo.com/news/ap/20061121/116415978000.html
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Personally, I think it stinks all around.

I'm tired of cable monopolies allocating basic space to home-shopping and infomercial channels while channels with programming worth watching are left on digital tiers only, and I'm tired of sports leagues putting games which used to be on free TV (or at least channels like ESPN) on obscure channels that many cable companies don't even carry for whatever reason.

As a football fan, I find it kind of funny how the NFL's selection of teams in the traditional Detroit and Dallas Thanksgiving games (broadcast on CBS and Fox) seems to have gotten increasingly esoteric and confusing in the past couple of years, while the NFL channel gets a rivalry game with playoff implications for its debut in the Denver-Kansas City matchup.
 
Add in the fact that the two largest TV markets--New York City (TWC/Cablevision) and Los Angeles (TWC/Charter)--will be shut out of the NFL Network, unless you have a dish or go to a bar that carries the NFL Network. I'm not a fan of neither the Broncos and Chiefs, and there are plenty of fans of both in the L.A. area, but I would have look forward to watch this game, rather than Miami-Detroit on CBS or Tampa Bay-Dallas on Fox...two pretty uninteresting games.
 
Uninteresting to most people Thursday...but not all. Despite them being a whopping 4-6-0, I'm still watching Miami play Detroit.
 
Here we have Time Warner complaining that picking up NFL network would cause them to have to raise rates. Then they go ahead and raise rates $2.50 and add nothing. I'm listening to the game via Westwood One on Sirius Satellite Radio.
 
Will the local over-the-air rules be the same for the two markets involved each week as it is now for the ESPN games?
 
marko83 said:
In KC, the game is airing on FOX O&O WDAF. Are other local stations airing it too?
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The game would also be on local TV in the Denver market. All NFL Network games are carried OTA in the markets of both teams (just as all ESPN games have been).
 
Here's the problem for the NFL in a nutshell.

They could have sold this late season package of games to another network for about $400 million. Instead, they're gambling that they can make that much from subscriber fees and advertising revenue from the NFL Network.

I think anyone in the cable television business could have told the NFL owners in advance that this gamble would not work. The problem is that there is no value to the NFL Network beyond these 8 late season games. The NFL thinks they should command a subscriber fee on par with - or higher than - ESPN. That's just silly. ESPN has year-round programming that draws an audience. Cable companies are not going to increase rates and bump another higher-rated channel so they can put the NFL Network in a basic tier. NFL will have to settle for a high digital channel number and perhaps placement in a premium sports package tier in most cases. That will limit the number of homes NFL is in and keep the ratings for the games low. That means they're not going to get the kind of adverhising revenue they need to make this worth their while. There is almost nothing the NFL can do to change this problem.

The NFL would have been wise to lose money on the network for a while and offer it for next to nothing to cable operators so that they could build an audience and build value in their programming. It would have allowed them to get better channel placement on cable systems and would have allowed them to gradually increase their subscriber fees.

As it stands, I suspect these Thursday/Saturday games will be sold to another network in a few years. I wouldn't count on the NFL Network lasting too long after that.
 
In Houston, we too are also got snubbed because the city's provider, Time Warner refuses to carry The NFL Network, but It IS a high-priority/Must-Carry channel. The ONLY way to get NFLN is through DISH, DirecTV, or your neighborhood sports bar. I think it also a digital cable channel (Like SoapNET, GSN & G4Tech), and Serious football fans got completely snubbed because they have just missed their first game last Thursday night (KC won 19-10). This giant will wake up and realize this issue NEEDS to be resolved SOONER than later, because thank god Comcast will eventually take over TWC sometime in 2007, and It is preferred cabler to Atlanta, Detroit, Chicago, Philadelphia, and The Baltimore/DC area. Comcast HAS NFL network in their line-up, and besides NFL coverage (With Bryant & Cris doing play-by-play), NFLN will also get the Houston Bowl and the Senior Bowl (From Mobile, Ala.) and unfortunately Houston will NOT get to see either one. You DARN right, Time Warner SUCKS!!!!
 
FYI, the Denver-Kansas City was indeed carried OTA on KDVR. I watched it on that and at my brother's house, who have NFL Network thru Bresnan.
 
I thought American football teams used motor coaches and aeroplanes for transport. Why would they have problems with carriages?
 
Geb said:
I thought American football teams used motor coaches and aeroplanes for transport. Why would they have problems with carriages?
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R-I needs an animated ROFL emoticon. Until then, I'll use :D .

ixnay
 
Why would they have problems with carriages?
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If you're pretty lucky to live in NFL cities that are served by COX and ComCast (Including New Orleans), You're lucky to get NFL-But You'll be paying more money to get it because The NFL is on digital. 3 major providers (Including Time Warner) are still balking out. Houston will lose TWC to Comcast (In January), and that's going to be a sigh of relief-But don't look for the NFL just yet in H-Town because it will make its debut next August-and the only way to get it-is through digital.
 
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