Fans Encouraged To Request NFL Network From Their Cable Syst

[Zero2Cool]

by Mike Spofford, Packers.com
posted 11/23/2006

On Dec. 21, when the Packers host the Minnesota Vikings at Lambeau Field, the game is being televised on the NFL Network.

For Packers fans in the Green Bay and Milwaukee markets, a local television station (CBS's WFRV in Green Bay and Fox's WITI in Milwaukee) will carry the NFL Network broadcast and they'll still be able to watch the game.

But what about Packers fans in the rest of Wisconsin, or for that matter, around the country?

If they subscribe to Time Warner or Charter Communications, they don't receive the NFL Network, and aside from venturing out to a sports bar with holiday visitors and other preparations pending, they aren't going to be able to see the game.

It's a game they aren't going to want to miss. It's against one of Green Bay's fiercest NFC North Division rivals. It could have NFC playoff implications, or it might be quarterback Brett Favre's last game at Lambeau Field, depending on what the future Hall of Famer decides to do in the off-season.

"We certainly understand our fans' frustration at the prospect of missing a big, late-season rivalry game like this," said Packers President/COO John Jones. "It's a tough situation while this gets sorted out."

"Packers fans in the Green Bay and Milwaukee TV markets will be able to see the game through local channels, but fans in the entire state of Wisconsin have an undying interest in the Packers, and legions of fans in practically every U.S. state follow this team. It's those fans who are anxious right now."

The NFL Network is encouraging fans to be heard. Fans can call their cable company directly by using their latest bill, or they can call 866-NFL-Network, which will route calls directly to local cable companies by using the caller's zip code. Or they can send a message directly to Time Warner or Charter Communications.

"Our fans need to let Time Warner and Charter Communications know they want the NFL Network," said NFL Network spokesman Seth Palansky. "They need to be vocal and ask them why they're being charged so much for cable yet not receiving a channel that they really want."

Of the six major television providers in the United States, Time Warner and Charter Communications are the only ones that do not offer the NFL Network. The major holdup between the two sides is that cable providers want to loop the NFL Network in a special sports package and charge customers an additional fee, perhaps $10 a month, for the NFL Network.

While Palansky believes that the average NFL fan would be more than happy to shell out the $10 per month for NFL Network's non-stop coverage of the nation's most popular spectator sport, NFL officials refuse to give in to the demand based on principle. None of the four other major providers charge an additional fee for the NFL Network, and the NFL doesn't see why Time Warner and Charter Communications should.



"They know NFL fans are passionate," Palansky said. "Time Warner and Charter Communications are trying to capitalize on that. We haven't done that deal with anyone else and we're going to continue on this path because we don't want our fans to be taken advantage of by the cable companies. You get all these other channels as part of your regular package and you should get the NFL Network as well."

What's more, lack of access to the NFL Network means Packers fans won't be able to watch other late-season games that could have NFC playoff implications, such as Dallas vs. Atlanta on Dec. 16, or the New York Giants vs. Washington on Dec. 30.

And that goes for Packers fans everywhere, including those in Green Bay and Milwaukee who subscribe to Time Warner, because they won't get a local feed on games involving other teams.

"We can't get through to Time Warner and Charter Communications that NFL fans are passionate about the League and want all the information they can get about it," Palansky said. "They think that NFL fans only care about their one team for their one game. We've tried to explain to them that these fans have interest in this sport, in their division, in their conference, and so on."

Another hang-up is that Time Warner and Charter Communications appear to only acknowledge the value of the eight regular-season games that will be carried on the NFL Network. But high demand exists as well for programs such as NFL Total Access, a daily news show which regularly features Packers players, as well as highlight shows, game replays, and unique access to special events such as the NFL Scouting Combine and the Senior Bowl.

"They believe this network offers only eight nights of programming that is of interest to our fans," Palansky said. "That's simply not true."

For fans who have the ability to get a satellite system, another option does exist. Both DirecTV and Dish Network do carry NFL Network and have it on their most affordable programming package without additional cost.

 

[Zero2Cool]

Re: Fans Encouraged To Request NFL Network From Their Cable

Chiefs and Broncos on TV? Only for some
By John Helyar
ESPN.com

Want a third helping of turkey on Thursday? If your stomach can handle it, you got it. Want a third helping of NFL on Thursday? Not so likely.

The NFL Network's first broadcast of a regular-season game -- the Denver Broncos vs. the Kansas City Chiefs, at 8 p.m. ET -- will be available to only about 40 million of the nation's 95 million homes with cable TV or satellite dishes. The network is at loggerheads with major cable operators, who've balked at its demands for a big fee hike and a spot on basic cable.

At Comcast, the nation's biggest cable operator (24 million subscribers), the network is available only to customers who pay for premium digital service. No. 2 operator Time Warner Cable (13.5 million subscribers) doesn't carry the NFL Network at all. Among the other top-five cable systems, Charter Communications and Cablevision don't carry the network, either, and Cox Communications relegates it to a premium "sports and information" digital tier.

What gives? The NFL has long had its way in TV matters. Broadcast and cable networks repeatedly have agreed to whopping hikes in rights fees -- a 53 percent jump in the latest round of deals, reaping $3.7 billion a year for the league. But in this case, the NFL met stiff opposition after its three-year-old network announced plans to televise eight Thursday and Saturday night games this season.

The network told cable operators it would have to hike its per-subscriber fee from about 20 cents to 70 cents. The cable operators told the network to take a hike.

"That fee would put them in the top five of our network providers," says Mark Harrad, a spokesman for Time Warner Cable. "We feel that's way out of whack."

This sort of standoff isn't unusual in the cable television industry. Six years ago, for instance, Time Warner and Disney went through a long, public stare-down over rights fees before coming to terms. In most cases, cable operators eventually find a way to make a deal with providers of valuable content. Steve Bornstein, chief of the NFL Network and former president of ESPN, knows how this game is played and won.

But this is a particularly rugged skirmish. The NFL Network has sued Comcast over the cable company's plans to put the network on a premium-priced sports tier in systems acquired from Time Warner and Adelphia. The network also is embroiled in litigation with Charter Communications. The third-largest cable operator (5.9 million subscribers) signed on as the NFL Network's first big cable provider in January 2004, but the network hasn't been on Charter since December 2005 because of a basic-versus-premium dispute.

The NFL Network's insistence on a presence on basic cable goes to the heart of cable TV economics. ESPN, for example, is a cable network that all systems carry on basic. That means ESPN can collect a fee for every cable subscriber, not just those who choose to watch ESPN. The NFL Network wants that kind of a deal, rather than one that confines it to a premium tier with far fewer subscribers. By being on basic, the network also can command more for advertising, based on the larger number of viewers.

The NFL Network schedule

Nov. 23: Broncos vs. Chiefs
Nov. 30: Ravens vs. Bengals
Dec. 7: Browns vs. Steelers
Dec. 14: 49ers vs Seahawks
Dec. 16: Cowboys vs. Falcons
Dec. 21: Vikings vs. Packers
Dec. 23: Chiefs vs Raiders
Dec. 30: Giants vs. Redskins


There's some further history. The cable operators feel the NFL has favored their satellite TV rivals by awarding them the popular "Sunday Ticket" package. (If not for DIRECTV and Dish Network, which account for about two-thirds of the NFL Network's exposure, its subscriber base would be even skimpier.) Comcast reportedly bid on the package of eight games, only to have the NFL Network decide to keep them for itself. Moreover, the increased cost of sports programming was already pushing cable rates upward, making the NFL Network's grasp particularly unwelcome.

"The NFL is trying to force cable companies to charge many consumers for programming they don't want," says David Cohen, a Comcast executive vice president, in a statement. "Sports programming fees are out of control in general, and the NFL programming is very expensive."

Seth Palansky, a spokesman for the NFL Network, argues that these are not stiff fees and this is not niche fare, to be consigned to the systems' premium channels. To the contrary, he maintains the NFL is TV's most valuable programming and says the cable operators will come around when the games start airing and subscribers start complaining.

"It's 2006, and [for fans] not to be able to see a live NFL game should not be a reality," Palansky says. "The big guys like to feel some serious pain before they're reasonable."

The NFL Network has been trying to apply public pressure to the operators for some time. Its Web site includes an "I want NFL Network" page, telling fans how to express their wishes to their cable provider. So far, Time Warner's Harrad says he hasn't heard a "significant outcry from customers" about the network's absence from his company's systems. But he expects "we'll hear from more" once the games start on Thursday night.

John Mansell, a cable-TV analyst with Paul Kagan Associates, notes that the NFL Network's leverage is reduced by one significant factor: The Thursday and Saturday games still will be broadcast in the home markets of the teams involved. But he adds, "There will be pressure [on the cable operators] if there are really good games and high awareness."

The Denver-Kansas City game on Thursday night, for example, is a more compelling matchup than the two traditional Thanksgiving contests to be aired earlier in the day. The Broncos (7-3) and Chiefs (6-4) are AFC West Division rivals with winning records. Miami at Detroit (CBS, 12:30 p.m., ET) features a host team with a 2-8 record. Tampa Bay drags into Dallas for the 4:15 p.m. ET Fox game with a 3-7 mark.

Looking ahead, several other NFL Network games also have playoff implications. The Baltimore-Cincinnati game on Thursday, Nov. 30 matches the current Nos. 1 and 2 teams in the AFC North. The Thursday, Dec. 14 game also matches two teams -- San Francisco and Seattle -- currently running first and second in the NFC West.

The implications and interest level could greatly change in other late-season NFL Network games, too, depending on on-field developments. The Saturday, Dec. 16 game between Dallas (now 6-4) and Atlanta (now 5-5) could be meaningful or ho-hum, depending on the fortunes of those two teams between now and then.

Palansky claims the cable operators are coming around and want to make deals with the NFL Network now. But even if hostilities end between the network and the cable operators, nobody is predicting they'll be doing business in time for more fans to watch the inaugural portion of the network's eight-game run this season.

John Helyar is a senior writer for ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine. He previously covered the business of sports for The Wall Street Journal and Fortune magazine and is the author of "Lords of the Realm: The Real History of Baseball."

 

[packerfan1245]

I have nfl network on regular cable. I think they should just have nfl games...every one of them world wide. Its become so popular

 

[Zero2Cool]

I have regular cable. I'm thinking about moving so I can get Dish Network though. Not soley for TV, but the area here is nice, except the 4,922,934,239 kids all over the place.

 

[net]

The NFL can take the NFL Network and pound sand as far up their rumps as the fans can pound it.

DON'T DO THIS! THIS IS PRECISELY WHAT THEY WANT YOU TO DO! IN THE LONG RUN, YOU ARE SIMPLY ******** YOURSELF!

I don't like monopolies,(like the NFL and the cable companies) so it pains me to have to defend the cable companies in this case. This is a case of high stakes extortion on some, not all, fans.

Either you pay to have a dish put in(ok for some, bad for others) or your cable company puts in the program THEN CHARGES YOU UNTIL YOUR EYEBALLS ROLL INTO YOUR HEAD.

Either way, dude, YOU PAY MORE. The NFL is trying to see how big of suckers football fans really are. Are you willing to pay ANYTHING to see your team?

If there was no system in place, I wouldn't be on a rant.

But friends, the broadcasters across the nation paid the Mean Giant billions upon billions of dollars so fans like me can see the game. Then the NFL tells THEM(AND US) that they can't get the contract unless they allow the NFL to COMPETE with them by allowing only EXCLUSIVE broadcasts. Then they tell us at home to pay up or go to hell. You can't put it in any other context.

AMERICA:love monopolies or leave it!

There are few things that set me off more than this hideous ripoff.

 

[PackerChick]

Simply put, its a real crock of whatever. its just like pay per view.

 

[Zero2Cool]

Re: Fans Encouraged To Request NFL Network From Their Cable

The NFL can take the NFL Network and pound sand as far up their rumps as the fans can pound it.

DON'T DO THIS! THIS IS PRECISELY WHAT THEY WANT YOU TO DO! IN THE LONG RUN, YOU ARE SIMPLY ******** YOURSELF!

I don't like monopolies,(like the NFL and the cable companies) so it pains me to have to defend the cable companies in this case. This is a case of high stakes extortion on some, not all, fans.

Either you pay to have a dish put in(ok for some, bad for others) or your cable company puts in the program THEN CHARGES YOU UNTIL YOUR EYEBALLS ROLL INTO YOUR HEAD.

Either way, dude, YOU PAY MORE. The NFL is trying to see how big of suckers football fans really are. Are you willing to pay ANYTHING to see your team?

If there was no system in place, I wouldn't be on a rant.

But friends, the broadcasters across the nation paid the Mean Giant billions upon billions of dollars so fans like me can see the game. Then the NFL tells THEM(AND US) that they can't get the contract unless they allow the NFL to COMPETE with them by allowing only EXCLUSIVE broadcasts. Then they tell us at home to pay up or go to hell. You can't put it in any other context.

AMERICA:love monopolies or leave it!

There are few things that set me off more than this hideous ripoff.

Umm, I really wanted NFL Network for the 24/7 NFL action. Not because Cable doesn't have it. lol

edit, i work for Dish Network

 

[Zero2Cool]

Re: Fans Encouraged To Request NFL Network From Their Cable

A little bit more on the subject.

DIRECTV PLAYING DIRTY?

We'll admit that we haven't paid much attention to the ongoing feud between the NFL's in-house network and cable companies like Time Warner because, well, we've got NFLN, so the issue doesn't affect us.

We're being facetious. (Sort of.) The issue is also pretty boring, with the main issue being NFLN trying to leverage the most possible money out of the cable companies by placing itself within the "basic" package and the Time Warners of the world wanting to put it on a higher tier, which necessarily would place it in less households.

So with NFLN preparing to air its first regular-season game on Thursday night, millions of American homes still don't have access to it.

This reality has prompted DirecTV to make a pitch for its satellite service via a full-page ad in Wednesday's USA Today.

"Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks," the ad proclaims in large letters, followed by this: "You can thank Time Warner cable and Cablevision for not carrying NFL Network."

The ad then lists the eight regular season NFLN games that won't be available on cable systems that don't carry the station. (And, by the way, the package of NFLN games looks better to us than the balance of the MNF slate.)

But the thing that caught our attention was a very misleading comment appearing at the bottom of a paragraph of text that appears at the bottom of the page. "Playoffs are coming up," the ad reads, "so make sure you see them."

Huh? Playoffs? We're talking about playoffs? On NFLN?

We know, we know. The "them" to which the ad technically refers are the eight regular-season games to be aired on NFLN. But to a casual observer, the "them" could be judged to be a reference to the word "playoffs."

Oh, crap. Playoff games will be on NFLN? I'd better get a satellite. Dish. Thing.

Most people, we hope, will realize that playoff games have not yet been held back by the league for broadcast on its own network. But some of them will be confused, and some of the confused will blindly dial up DirecTV to make a purchase and/or commence hassling their local cable provider.

At a time when Congress is already sniffing around the decision of the NFL to start its own television operation and to include within the content games that ordinarily would be available via broadcast networks or cable channels to which 99 percent of the country has access, we think it's incredibly stoopid for DirecTV to stoke the fire by making disingenuous suggestions in its print ads.

 

[Cdnfavrefan]

I guess for once it pays to be Canadian. We get the game on TSN (our ESPN) After tonight I'll go back to wishing I was an American. LOL

 

[net]

Re: Fans Encouraged To Request NFL Network From Their Cable

The NFL can take the NFL Network and pound sand as far up their rumps as the fans can pound it.

DON'T DO THIS! THIS IS PRECISELY WHAT THEY WANT YOU TO DO! IN THE LONG RUN, YOU ARE SIMPLY ******** YOURSELF!

I don't like monopolies,(like the NFL and the cable companies) so it pains me to have to defend the cable companies in this case. This is a case of high stakes extortion on some, not all, fans.

Either you pay to have a dish put in(ok for some, bad for others) or your cable company puts in the program THEN CHARGES YOU UNTIL YOUR EYEBALLS ROLL INTO YOUR HEAD.

Either way, dude, YOU PAY MORE. The NFL is trying to see how big of suckers football fans really are. Are you willing to pay ANYTHING to see your team?

If there was no system in place, I wouldn't be on a rant.

But friends, the broadcasters across the nation paid the Mean Giant billions upon billions of dollars so fans like me can see the game. Then the NFL tells THEM(AND US) that they can't get the contract unless they allow the NFL to COMPETE with them by allowing only EXCLUSIVE broadcasts. Then they tell us at home to pay up or go to hell. You can't put it in any other context.

AMERICA:love monopolies or leave it!

There are few things that set me off more than this hideous ripoff.

Umm, I really wanted NFL Network for the 24/7 NFL action. Not because Cable doesn't have it. lol

edit, i work for Dish Network

LOL-the joke will eventually be on you when the NFL dictates you pay $30 bucks to see every Packer game...just like Pay-Per-View.
I see the advantage for putting in a DISH system...and I was until I realized DISH AND DIRECT were being used as the club to beat me on the head. I'm absolutely no fan of Charter cable...but the real problem is NOT THE MEDIUM...it's the MEAN GIANT ...who thinks fans can be played like a bad accordian.

 

[Zero2Cool]

Jus by chance net do you wear tinfoil on your head in fear of the Aliens?