NFL Network Prolongs a Disconnect With Fans

[dkennedy]

NFL Network Prolongs a Disconnect With Fans

December 5, 2007

By Richard Sandomir, New York Times

The only way I could watch the NFL Network’s broadcast of the Green Bay-Dallas game last Thursday night was on NFL.com, which streamed parts of the game, but occupied users with extensive blather from a C-level, hyperbolic studio crew.

But the Patriots’ 12th straight victory Monday night — a stunning 27-24 comeback over the Ravens — was easily found on ESPN; those without cable or satellite in the Boston and Baltimore markets could watch on local broadcast stations.

Two important games, with the latter one serving fans appropriately.

The impasse between the NFL Network and major cable operators shows no sign of being resolved this season. The facts for customers: if you have a satellite, you are fine. If you’re a subscriber of Time Warner, Cablevision or Charter, you’re out of luck; if you’re a Comcast subscriber willing to pay extra ($1.99 a month currently for Eastern customers) for its digital sports tier, you’re O.K.

Given the dominance of those cable powerhouses, tens of millions of potential fans are disconnected from the NFL Network’s eight-game schedule.

The eighth game, on Dec. 29, is New England against the Giants.

The Patriots might be 15-0, seeking an undefeated season and playing on a channel that most fans cannot see. Because it’s on cable, local stations in the New York and Boston markets will get it, a rule created by the league and one that ESPN has long abided by. But ESPN is virtually everywhere. The NFL Network is not.

That is why the league must loosen the cable rule. It’s not enough to follow that 20-year-old rule, because it ill-serves fans living beyond primary markets like New York, which serves 7.4 million homes, and Boston.

Last week, it badly served Cowboys fans beyond the team’s natural Dallas-Fort Worth territory and Packers fans beyond the Green Bay and Milwaukee markets.

If the league adheres to its position, cable subscribers who follow the Giants in, for example, Albany, where the team trains and where Time Warner is the dominant carrier, will not be able to see the game on a local broadcast station. A similar pickle was faced by unhappy cheeseheads in Madison, Wis., during the Packers’ loss to Dallas.

Hartford, whether it is Giants or Patriots turf, will be denied a local broadcast option — as will Brady-lovers in Providence, R.I., which, like Albany, is not deemed by the league a primary market for the Patriots or the Giants.

But Comcast and Cox, the major carriers in Hartford and Providence, carry the league’s channel on their digital sports tiers.

“They can make it available to all their customers,” said Seth Palansky, a spokesman for the NFL Network. “They’d be doing the right thing.”

But if the cable operators don’t do the right thing, shouldn’t the league?

It could look at what CBS and Fox do on Sunday afternoons as a model for how to expand viewership for the remaining NFL Network games (where viewers will find Cris Collinsworth’s stellar analysis and Bryant Gumbel’s uninspiring play-by-play).

Fox and CBS routinely send their regional games well beyond the primary markets defined by the large urban markets teams play in. Fox sends all its Dallas games to every secondary and tertiary market in Texas, even if they prefer the Texans.

Giants games on Fox go all over New York except Rochester and Buffalo, and to Hartford and Burlington, Vt. The last time CBS regionalized a Patriots game, on Oct. 21, it was seen on local stations all over its core fan base in New England, not just in Boston.

Having inconvenienced viewers by using the eight Thursday and Saturday night games to build its network, the N.F.L. should work through any difficulty inherent in signing up local stations in the participating teams’ areas of strong natural interest.

“You’re assuming every market would take it,” Palansky said, “but it would be problematical in those secondary markets. Local stations have deals to carry programming that they don’t want to go back on.”

The 10.1 million viewers for the Cowboys-Packers game (and the 250,000 peak users streaming on NFL.com) was notable for the NFL Network. But its lack of broad distribution mitigated against big viewership. The game attracted less than one-third the season’s peak of 33.8 million for CBS’s Patriots-Colts game last month. An audience near that size might await the Patriots’ go at 16-0 if it were not on the NFL Network.

A solution would be to let NBC deploy its flexible scheduling option, which has let it shed a lousy Sunday night matchup to carry a better one off CBS’s and Fox’s Sunday afternoon schedules. NBC will flee its obligation to show the Chiefs-Jets game on Dec. 30; the N.F.L. would reap goodwill against Big cable by stretching its flex rules to let the Patriots play the Giants on NBC before a maximum number of national viewers.

[lexplayer]

Goodell makes offer to Time Warner
By Don Walker
Thursday, Dec 20 2007, 03:14 PM

National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell on Thursday offered a new proposal to Time Warner Cable in an effort to break the logjam over the issue of carrying the NFL Network on expanded basic cable.

In a letter to Glenn A. Britt, president and CEO of Time Warner Cable, Goodell said the league would be willing to let a third party determine the price and tier for NFL Network distribution on Time Warner systems. In addition, Goodell said he would be willing to let Time Warner carry the network immediately, assuming Britt agrees to the third-party arbitration.

The offer, Goodell said, is good through Dec. 28. That date is important. On Dec. 29, the New England Patriots, seeking a perfect season, will meet the New York Gaints in the final regular-season game. That game has taken on importance because the Patriots appear headed for a perfect season.

Goodell's move is a big gamble for the network and the league, which had been in a long-running dispute with Time Warner and other major carriers.

Coincidentally, the state Senate Commerce Committee met in Madison today to hear testimony for and against a bill that would put the ongoing dispute between the NFL Network and the Big Ten Network and the major cable carriers to arbitration.

[lexplayer]

Time Warner Rejects NFL's Offer of Arbitration

By Mark Maske
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, December 21, 2007; Page E04

The NFL made a new offer to Time Warner yesterday in an effort, the league said, to resolve its dispute with the cable television carrier before the Dec. 29 game between the New England Patriots and New York Giants, which is to be broadcast on the NFL Network.

The league's offer to submit the dispute to binding arbitration was rejected by Time Warner, however.

The league has remained embroiled in disputes with Time Warner and other large cable companies, including Comcast, over pricing and distribution of the league-owned NFL Network, which reaches only about 35 million U.S. households and carries eight regular season games. The stalemate has received increased attention recently because the NFL Network is scheduled to carry the Patriots-Giants game, in which New England might be trying to complete an unbeaten regular season.

The league's new offer to Time Warner came a day after Sens. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) and Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) sent a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell threatening to reconsider the sport's exemption from federal antitrust laws if deals are not struck with the cable companies to make the games carried by the NFL Network available to more viewers.

Goodell wrote in a letter yesterday to Glenn A. Britt, president and chief executive of Time Warner Cable, that the league is willing to have the dispute resolved by binding, "baseball-style" arbitration. Each side would submit a final offer to an arbitrator regarding pricing and distribution of the NFL Network, and the arbitrator would choose one of the proposals. Because the arbitration process could be lengthy, Goodell wrote, the league would allow Time Warner to distribute the NFL Network to all its customers immediately if the cable carrier agrees to submit the dispute to arbitration. The NFL's offer will remain open through Dec. 28, Goodell wrote.

"The objective is to have a neutral third party determine the price and tier for NFL Network distribution on Time Warner systems, based on the fair market value of the NFL Network program service," Goodell wrote.

Britt responded to Goodell later in the day, writing that Time Warner remained willing to carry the NFL Network on a sports tier, or make games carried on the NFL Network available to its customers on a per-game basis with the league setting the price and collecting the revenue generated. Britt also urged Goodell to move the Patriots-Giants game to a different network.

"Over the years we've been able to successfully reach agreements with hundreds of programming networks without the use of arbitration," Britt wrote. "We continue to believe that the best way to achieve results is to privately seek a resolution and not attempt to negotiate through the press or elected officials."


An NFL official said the league did not make a similar offer to Comcast because the league's deal with Comcast already allows the company to carry the NFL Network on a basic or digital basic package if it chooses. The league wants the channel carried on basic or digital basic cable, while the cable companies have maintained their customers don't want that and the channel should be on a sports tier with an additional fee for interested customers.

Under NFL rules, all games are carried on over-the-air TV in the home markets of the two competing teams.

The league also has sought the intervention of the Federal Communications Commission. It was announced yesterday that 21 members of Congress had urged FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin to take action.

The dispute continues to draw scrutiny from Capitol Hill. In their letter Wednesday to Goodell, Leahy and Specter wrote, "Now that the NFL is adopting strategies to limit distribution of game programming to their own networks, Congress may need to reexamine the need and desirability of their continued exemption from the Nation's antitrust laws."

Leahy is the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Specter is the ranking member.

[adam]

This makes me very angry at Time Warner.

[shanedude]

They are both a bit greedy but it seems to me that NFL has a lot to lose. If they can't score some big audiences by making an agreement with big cable, then their advertisers might find better ways to spend their $$ next season.

NHL has sided with directtv on most things including the sunday ticket making exclusive deals to just directtv.

I dont give a hoot, will continue to enjoy the games via my pals hd slingbox. He lives down state and can just grab it right off the air

[xzi]

shanedude said:

I dont give a hoot, will continue to enjoy the games via my pals hd slingbox. He lives down state and can just grab it right off the air

All well and good, except the Pats-Giants game is not over the air on Dec 29th... DirecTV only unless Time Warner figures this out.

[Skaggs]

shanedude said:

I dont give a hoot, will continue to enjoy the games via my pals hd slingbox. He lives down state and can just grab it right off the air

xzi said:

All well and good, except the Pats-Giants game is not over the air on Dec 29th... DirecTV only unless Time Warner figures this out.

The NFL allows the "home" viewing areas to show the games Over-the Air so those without cable and/or sattelite can watch the game. Unfortunately, Albany is not considered within the "home" viewing area of NYC.

I believe shanedude is saying he will tap into his friend's HD Slingbox who lives in the NYC area and can use his OTA receiver to watch the game. The Slingbox transmits the TV signal over the internet. Unfortunately, there is only one allowed remote connection at a time.

[xzi]

xzi said:

admin said:

The NFL allows the "home" viewing areas to show the games Over-the Air so those without cable and/or sattelite can watch the game. Unfortunately, Albany is not considered within the "home" viewing area of NYC.

I believe shanedude is saying he will tap into his friend's HD Slingbox who lives in the NYC area and can use his OTA receiver to watch the game. The Slingbox transmits the TV signal over the internet. Unfortunately, there is only one allowed remote connection at a time.

I'm not sure the game is on in NYC, is it? I know there is a station in Boston that thinks they are going to carry it but I'm not sure they will be able to. A national blackout is just that--a game that even the local networks are not allowed to carry, and I believe with the NFL Network games, this is the case.

It does appear to be listed as WWOR and WNYW in NYC and on WCVB in Boston/Hartford so ya I guess it is in in their DMAs.

In that case, everyone is probably getting a little out of control considering the rules aren't any different than they are any other time.

It's not as bad as baseball where your local team is blacked out on Monday nights and if you don't have ESPN, forget about it. NFL is esentially one of the last sports you can still get OTA for that matter, and all this pissing and moaning is going to be on deaf ears considering baseball isn't even as popular as the NFL, but their TV deal is probably more lucrative to cable and satellite operators at this point. I think this is just the beginning of the end... get used to I guess.

Or get DirecTV.

[Skaggs]

Goodell Wants To Huddle With Time Warner Cable
In Wake Of Comcast-NFL Network Deal, Commissioner Looks To Score Other Carriage Accords

Mike Reynolds & John Eggerton -- [url=http://www.multichannel.com/article/...rner_Cable.php
]Multichannel News[/url], 5/19/2009 2:02:03 PM MT[/color]

Glenn Britt should expect a call from Roger Goodell soon.

The NFL commissioner figures to reach out to Time Warner Cable chairman in the wake of Comcast reaching a long-term deal with NFL Network, video-on-demand content and the pro football league's proposed Red Zone channel.

Goodell and Roberts shared a conference call with reporters announcing the top cable operator's pact, which both executives agreed was accelerated through personal discussions.

Asked if the NFL was currently negotiating with Time Warner Cable, which along with Cablevision, Charter and Suddenlink have been locked at the negotiating line of scrimmage with NFL Network over price and positioning, Goodell said "not to my knowledge. But I hope to open dialogue with Time Warner Cable."

Goodell went on to say that with the availability of the RedZone Channel, which showcases scoring opportunities and touchdowns, there is "a new way to create value and open up opportunities, similar to the arrangements with Brian."

Comcast, which has been engaged in various legal disputes with NFL Network, will move the service from a sports tier, where it has attracted about 2 million subscribers, to its Digital Classic service by Aug. 1. The upgrade will make NFL Network available to some 10.8 million Comcast subscribers, according to Goodell.

The deal, terms of which were not disclosed and were not specified by the executives on the conference calls, also means an end to their program carriage dispute currently before an FCC judge, and legal action in New York.

Sources put the term at 10 years with a monthly subscriber fee in the 40-50 cent range.

Roberts, who noted that if Goodell had not gotten personally involved that this would have "taken longer," said both sides made compromises, with Comcast looking to balance making the service broadly available, while keeping costs at long-term, predetermined, sustainable rates. "We didn't want to have discussions every few years," he said

To that end, Goodell said no determination had been made yet about adding two more games to the NFL regular-season slate (the league's owners are currently meeting in Fort Lauderdale) and if such an addition would trigger NFL Network ultimately presenting a full-season's worth of games.

As to the RedZone Channel, Roberts said Comcast was planning to position it on the sports tier. "In our view [RedZone Channel is] a logical replacement for NFL Network on the sports tier," he said. "We'll look to make a decision on that before the season."

During the conference call, Goodell said that with deals in place with DirecTV and now Fox and CBS, under two-year extensions through the 2013 season, the league could push ahead with the RedZone channel. He said the NFL wants to deploy the service "in the most effective ways to our fans and we want to stay on free TV in an effective way for our Sunday partners."

The service doesn't figure to have the ratings impact on the Sunday carriers on a sports tier that it could if it were made more widely available.

As part of new rights deals, CBS will televise Super Bowl in 2013, with Fox carrying the NFL championship game in 2014.

[Skaggs]

NFL Network releases statement in regard to Time Warner
September 9, 2009 at 3:34 pm by Pete Dougherty, Staff writer

The NFL Network released the following statement this afternoon in regard to carriage on Time Warner:

“We are extremely disappointed that Time Warner is unwilling to reach an agreement to carry the NFL Network on terms that are fair and reasonable and consistent with other distributors. We don’t expect to reach a deal with them anytime soon.

“We have deals with hundreds of other distributors including four of the five largest distributors. We are surprised that they continue to reject our offers and deny the fans the only network dedicated entirely to football as well as the exciting new NFL RedZone channel that we are launching this season.”

[mattbanks]

From what I've heard, the NFL is still asking an absurd amount of money to carry the channel and refuse to allow Time Warner to put it on the Sports Tier. I know I would get the Sports Tier if they added the NFL Network.

[Skaggs]

Time Warner: No NFL Network For You
TVPredictions.com

(September 11, 2009) -- Time Warner Cable will not carry the NFL Network again this season, according to an article by The Kansas City Star.

The network, which is owned by the league, airs eight regular season games in high-def as well as studio and highlight shows.

However, Time Warner has balked at carrying the channel because the NFL wants it included in a basic programming package which can be seen by more viewers. The cable operator wants to include it in a sports package, seen by fewer viewers, which would require Time Warner to pay less to carry it.
“We are extremely disappointed that Time Warner is unwilling to reach an agreement to carry the NFL Network on terms that are fair and reasonable and consistent with other distributors,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement released Thursday. “We don’t expect to reach a deal with them anytime soon. We have deals with hundreds of other distributors including four of the five largest distributors.”

There was no statement from Time Warner as of Friday morning.

Both DIRECTV and Dish Network carry the football channel in HD, as does the top Telco TV service, Verizon FiOS.

Swanni's Take:
I agree with the NFL here. Time Warner is being pound foolish to ignore a channel like the NFL Network, which has developed a strong following in a short amount of time. If DIRECTV, Verizon and Dish Network can find a way to carry the channel, Time Warner should, too.