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Post by Skaggs on Nov 9, 2007 13:50:30 GMT -5
History beyond our reach
By MARK McGUIRE, Senior writer
First published: Friday, November 9, 2007, Albany Times Union
With the New England Patriots-Indianapolis Colts midseason Super Bowl behind us, one remaining game potentially looms above all:
Saturday night, Dec. 29, Pats vs. New York Giants, prime time from the Meadowlands.
The Pats could be on the cusp of 16-0. The Giants likely will be playing for playoff seeding. A great game, maybe even historic.
Too bad you won't be able to see it, at least in your family room, unless you have a satellite dish.
That's because the game is on the league-owned NFL Network, which in many markets such as this one is available only if you have a satellite dish. And only one in seven TV homes here has satellite service.
More importantly, the game is not more widely available locally because in the eyes of the NFL, the training camp home of the Giants is not the Giants' "home market."
That would be New York City; fans in the Metropolitan Area will see the NFL Network telecast via a local broadcast station. It doesn't matter whether those fans get the NFL Network or not.
There's no such exemption for upstate fans. You don't rate. Even if you regularly hit the Thruway to go to Giants Stadium 135 or so miles away. Even if you call where your TV is The Big Blue Room. Even if you can recite the career stats for Phil McConkey.
Sorry, you're not a "hometown" fan.
This exemption rule goes back to 1987, when ESPN started carrying games. The idea: Local fans would not miss games if they didn't have cable.
But since ESPN is carried on basic with standard cable service, most fans here didn't kick when the Giants (or Jets) were on; it didn't matter if they watched on Channel 24 or, say, Channel 13. The impact of the broadcast blackout seemed minimal at best.
This whole, lamentable situation is wrapped in the larger issue of why the NFL Network is not available on cable here, part of a long-standing nationwide dispute between the NFL and operators such as Time Warner Cable.
The impasse stems from the NFL wanting to be on the same tier as ESPN or as a digital channel; Time Warner wants it as an extra, part of a sports tier package.
Time Warner and Comcast and Cablevision argue the NFL Network and its paltry eight games is a niche channel. "The NFL Network only appeals to a small segment of customers on a year-round basis," said local Time Warner vice president Peter Taubkin.
The argument is sound, to a point. The counter-argument: There are many channels on lower tiers that can be labeled the same way. Count the channels you never watch.
There's no love in this space for these cable companies, leery of adding programming that may compete with their own. But blame for the Pats-Giants game being virtually blacked out in Capital Region homes rests with the NFL.
Of course, the NFL could broaden the home-market exemption to include a reasonable number of adjacent markets such as Albany. That way Pats fans outside metro Boston's market and Dallas Cowboys fans in San Antonio and fans of other teams not considered "home" fans wouldn't get shafted.
Too bad it will never happen.
"If you don't make a line, a delineation, there is no line at all," NFL Network spokesman Seth Palansky said. "You have to stick to where the local broadcast reaches."
The reason is leverage.
The NFL wants this confrontation, wants the fans to be outraged over missing their favorite team. The league wants to stoke that ire, to get you kicking and screaming.
Go get a dish, they tell you. They want you to dump cable in an effort to get these companies to cave.
Both sides are wrong in different ways, and likely will take years to dig themselves out of this trench warfare.
In the meantime, you may want to go to a bar to watch the game. If not, there's always a "Cops" rerun on.
McGuire can be reached at 454-5467 or by e-mail at mmcguire@timesunion.com. Visit his blog at http://blogs. timesunion.com/mcguire.
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Post by tom1178 on Nov 10, 2007 1:29:21 GMT -5
Wow they are starting early this yr with letting everybody know how much TW sucks. The first thing I am going to do when I own a house is install my satellite dish....I urge anybody out there that own their property and have a clear view of the southwest sky to do the same.
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Post by dkennedy on Nov 10, 2007 6:47:54 GMT -5
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Post by bruces on Dec 1, 2007 12:47:38 GMT -5
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Post by Hootster413 on Dec 8, 2007 13:54:08 GMT -5
We have TWC here in Northern Berksire County. We put up a fight last spring with TWC to keep channels 4 and 5 from Boston. The game is scheduled to be carried by channel 5 from Boston meaning that we will be able to watch the game in standard definition. I guess it's better than not seeing the game at all!!!!
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Post by Skaggs on Dec 9, 2007 16:18:57 GMT -5
We have TWC here in Northern Berksire County. We put up a fight last spring with TWC to keep channels 4 and 5 from Boston. The game is scheduled to be carried by channel 5 from Boston meaning that we will be able to watch the game in standard definition. I guess it's better than not seeing the game at all!!!! I'd bet that Albany TWC blacks the games out, as according to NFL rules. |
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Post by Hankster on Dec 26, 2007 17:51:20 GMT -5
I just heard that CBS & NBC are gong to simulcast this. What are the chances this will be in HD for us?
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Post by Skaggs on Dec 26, 2007 19:05:12 GMT -5
AlbanyHDTV member rdf8585 posted this link in the "General" board. I have removed that post and added it below:
Patriots' historic game to be available to all of America, after allNEW YORK -- After weeks of insisting they wouldn't cave in, NFL officials did just that Wednesday. Now all of America can see the Patriots' shot at history. Saturday night's game between New England and the New York Giants on the NFL Network, which is available in fewer than 40 percent of the nation's homes with TVs, will be simulcast on CBS and NBC. The Patriots could become the first NFL team to go 16-0 in the regular season. "We have taken this extraordinary step because it is in the best interest of our fans," commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement after the league announced it was reversing course. "What we have seen for the past year is a very strong consumer demand for NFL Network. We appreciate CBS and NBC delivering the NFL Network telecast on Saturday night to the broad audience that deserves to see this potentially historic game. Our commitment to the NFL Network is stronger than ever." NFL Network spokesman Seth Palansky said officials would have no further comment Wednesday. The NFL had claimed that the onus of making the game widely available fell on the major cable providers with which the league has bitterly feuded. Companies such as Comcast and Time Warner have declined to carry the network as part of basic packages. But lawmakers have pressured the NFL to ensure more viewers could see the game. Last week, two prominent members of the Senate Judiciary Committee sent a letter to Goodell threatening to reconsider the league's antitrust exemption. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., who co-wrote the letter with Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., said he was "delighted" by the NFL's concession. "I think it was a smart move on their part," he said in a phone interview. Leahy expected to speak with Goodell again next month about the ongoing question of how many fans will be able to see games on the channel. Saturday's matchup wraps up the NFL Network's second season of airing live contests, with eight per year. This one and a key Thursday night game between Green Bay and Dallas last month drew widespread complaints about the lack of availability. "I never completely gave up hope, but I was getting a little discouraged Christmas afternoon when we still had not gotten a positive answer," said Leahy, who added that his staff members were talking with NFL officials during the holiday. Local TV affiliates in the Boston, Manchester, N.H., and New York areas that were already set to simulcast the game under NFL policy will still air it. That means viewers in those markets will have four channels to choose from if they get NFL Network. This will be the first three-network simulcast in NFL history and the first simulcast of an NFL game since the inaugural Super Bowl in 1967, when CBS and NBC televised the meeting of the champions of the newly merged National Football League and American Football League. "We're happy to accommodate the NFL's request for a joint national simulcast of this potentially historic game to make it available to the widest possible audience," said thingy Ebersol, NBC Universal's chairman for sports and Olympics. NBC was scheduled to air "Dateline NBC" and a repeat of "Law & Order: SVU" during the time slot. CBS was set to broadcast the movie "Good Night, and Good Luck" and "48 Hours: Mysteries."
No word on if NBC & CBS will have the game in HD, although I'll bet it will be. |
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Post by Skaggs on Dec 26, 2007 19:17:44 GMT -5
Thread title changed from:
Dec 29th: Giants vs. Patriots only on satellite
to
Dec 29th: Giants vs. Patriots will be on NBC & CBS
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Post by Skaggs on Dec 27, 2007 7:40:10 GMT -5
For once, fans are winners
First published: Albany Times Union, Thursday, December 27, 2007 So the NFL gets CBS and NBC to run a three-hour prime-time advertisement for the league's network and in return gets praise for its altruism? Man, is the NFL good at the PR game or what? In its pitched public relations battle against cable companies not carrying the NFL Network, the league has fired this latest salvo: It's allowing both CBS and NBC to simulcast the NFLN feed Saturday night of the potentially historic New England Patriots-New York Giants game from the Meadowlands. One could say the NFL caved to pressure from fans and Congress and even the cable companies to put this game on network TV. The pressure was real. But in reality, the NFL gets a multinetwork platform to show off its product, while sticking it to cable companies like Time Warner, Cablevision and Charter that won't carry the NFL Network on the league's terms. (An NFL Network spokesman could not provide the financial specifics of the one-game broadcast deal.) This triplecast game is not so much about appeasing the masses as it is about leverage. millions, this will be their first chance to see the NFL Network. Less than half the country could watch this game at home via satellite, phone carriers and select cable outlets. Now the Pats-Giants game -- and NFLN -- will be available to anyone for this one night. Expect the NFL to use the telecast as one big commercial: See what you're missing, football fans? Better put more pressure on the cable guys to give in or -- better yet -- buy a satellite dish. The NFL and cable companies are battling over carriage issues: The league wants to be on the same tier as the ESPNs and CNNs of the world, while cable carriers want to put the NFL Network in extra sports packages. "NFL Network is a programming service of great interest to fans and should be broadly distributed by the cable industry," NFL Network President and CEO Steve Bornstein said in a statement. He added his network should not be "relegated to a poorly promoted, pay-extra sports tier that takes advantage of our fans' passion for the NFL." With several team and individual records poised to fall Saturday, the uproar over most fans being shut out from the game at home had grown in recent weeks. Only fans in the "home" markets of the Pats and Giants -- and, no, Albany is not a home market, even if it's the Giants' training camp home -- would have seen the NFL Network game on network TV. Now all fans can be witness to the first NFL triplecast and the first nationwide simulcast since CBS and NBC both aired Super Bowl I in 1967. (Officials from WNYT-13, the local NBC affiliate, and CBS station WRGB-6 said they plan on carrying the game.) Time Warner vice president Peter Taubkin said the NFL's decision regarding the Pats-Giants game has no long-term effect on negotiations. The cable company maintains that with the exception of eight regular-season games and a handful of college contests, NFLN is a niche channel for much of the year, undeserving of prime channel placement. "I don't think it changes our position," he said. "The game is available, as it should be, as it was urged by members of Congress and even our own company." Expect the NFL to spin it a slightly different way -- over and over and over. "We have taken this extraordinary step because it is in the best interest of our fans," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. The Patriots are trying to be the first team ever to go 16-0 in the regular season as well as win 19 regular-season games in a row. New England is six points away from breaking the 1998 Minnesota Vikings' record for points in a season (556). Quarterback Tom Brady needs two touchdown passes to break Peyton Manning's record of 49, set in 2004. And if Brady throws two TDs to Randy Moss, the wide receiver will break Jerry Rice's 20-year-old record for TD receptions in a season (22). The NFL Network is devoting -- and, no, this is not a typo -- 65 hours to this final-week regular-season game that will have no impact on the playoffs. Meanwhile, a pair of broadcast networks are dedicating three hours to helping a business partner in its fight with some cable companies. For one night -- and one night only -- fans are not hurt by being caught in the middle. McGuire can be reached at 454-5467 or by e-mail at mmcguire@timesunion.com. Visit his blog at blogs.timesunion.com /mcguire.
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Post by Skaggs on Dec 27, 2007 7:48:57 GMT -5
Historic deal for big game
Three networks to show Pats-Giants
By NEIL BEST, Newsday
First published: Albany Times Union, Thursday, December 27, 2007
Facing mounting pressure from frustrated fans and agitated politicians, the NFL announced Wednesday a startling solution to the prospect of limited distribution for a potentially historic game.
The league opted not to limit Saturday night's Giants-Patriots game to its fledgling NFL Network but rather open the event to the widest possible audience: a simulcast on both CBS and NBC.
"We have taken this extraordinary step because it is in the best interests of our fans," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said.
Without the move, less than half the nation's homes would have been able to see the New England Patriots pursue a perfect regular season.
New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin said Wednesday he would use his starters in the game.
"Our objective is to win," Coughlin said. "That's what we work for; that's what we prepare for; that's what we practice for. And it will be no different this week."
The last time CBS and NBC showed the same football game was Super Bowl I in January 1967. There never has been a three-network simulcast.
All three networks will hear the NFL Network announcing team of Bryant Gumbel and Cris Collinsworth.
Only two weeks ago, USA Today quoted a network spokesman saying there was "zero chance" the game would move to NBC or otherwise be more widely distributed.
It had been considered the last, best chance before the start of another off-season for the network to exert leverage on the big cable companies that have refused to carry it in basic packages.
Goodell insisted there has been "very strong consumer demand" for the channel and said the league's commitment to the network is "stronger than ever."
Why CBS and NBC and not Fox? NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said they were the "only two networks that expressed interest in it" in advance of Goodell's decision.
Beyond that, the game normally would have been on CBS as part of the AFC package, and NBC is the league's broadcast network partner for prime time.
A Fox spokesman said the network was not invited to participate. ESPN, another NFL partner, is set to show the Alamo Bowl that night.
The Dolphins' final regular-season game in 1972, in which they improved to 14-0 with a victory over the Colts, was seen nationally on NBC as part of the long-time, late-season Saturday NFL package.
The NFL Network slate that debuted last season erased those games from the schedule.
In a news release, NFL Network CEO Steve Bornstein called on cable companies, such as Cablevision and Time Warner, to "do what's right for their consumers and negotiate agreements for NFL Network that make sense for everybody."
Aiello said the league still would like Congress to get involved in its dispute with the cable industry.
"I give the NFL a lot of credit on this one," Collinsworth said. "It would have been very easy for the NFL to hold out this bargaining chip in the negotiations with the cable companies. ... I thought it was a major step for the NFL to come forward and say, 'Hey we understand this is a unique situation.' " from The New York Times was added to this report.
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Post by Skaggs on Dec 27, 2007 7:59:50 GMT -5
All fans will have access to Pats game
By RACHEL COHEN, Associated Press
Last updated: 6:52 a.m., Albany Times Union, Thursday, December 27, 2007
NEW YORK -- After weeks of insisting they wouldn't cave in, NFL officials did just that Wednesday. Now all of America can see the Patriots' shot at history.
Saturday night's game between New England and the New York Giants on the NFL Network, which is available in fewer than 40 percent of the nation's homes with TVs, will be simulcast on CBS and NBC.
The Patriots could become the first NFL team to go 16-0 in the regular season.
"We have taken this extraordinary step because it is in the best interest of our fans," commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement after the league announced it was reversing course. "What we have seen for the past year is a very strong consumer demand for NFL Network. We appreciate CBS and NBC delivering the NFL Network telecast on Saturday night to the broad audience that deserves to see this potentially historic game. Our commitment to the NFL Network is stronger than ever."
NFL Network spokesman Seth Palansky said officials would have no further comment Wednesday.
The NFL had claimed that the onus of making the game widely available fell on the major cable providers with which the league has bitterly feuded. Companies such as Comcast and Time Warner have declined to carry the network as part of basic packages.
But lawmakers have pressured the NFL to ensure more viewers could see the game. Last week, two prominent members of the Senate Judiciary Committee sent a letter to Goodell threatening to reconsider the league's antitrust exemption.
Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., who co-wrote the letter with Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., said he was "delighted" by the NFL's concession.
"I think it was a smart move on their part," he said in a phone interview.
Leahy expected to speak with Goodell again next month about the ongoing question of how many fans will be able to see games on the channel. Saturday's matchup wraps up the NFL Network's second season of airing live contests, with eight per year. This one and a key Thursday night game between Green Bay and Dallas last month drew widespread complaints about the lack of availability.
"I never completely gave up hope, but I was getting a little discouraged Christmas afternoon when we still had not gotten a positive answer," said Leahy, who added that his staff members were talking with NFL officials during the holiday.
Local TV affiliates in the Boston, Manchester, N.H., and New York areas that were already set to simulcast the game under NFL policy will still air it. That means viewers in those markets will have four channels to choose from if they get NFL Network.
That did not make officials at WWOR in New York happy.
"The NFL is in clear violation of their agreement with WWOR/My9," the station said in a statement. "We fully expect the league to honor their commitment to My9 as the exclusive free over-the-air broadcaster for Saturday's telecast of the New England Patriots at New York Giants game."
In a statement, NFL Network spokesperson Seth Palansky said: "We are in the process of reviewing the situation as it relates to Channel 9."
According to Palansky, there have been no complaints from the Boston market.
Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., who had urged cable and NFL executives to settle the dispute, had a much more positive reaction to the league's announcement.
"I couldn't be more thrilled that as the Patriots rush toward an historic undefeated season, football fans everywhere have won a victory of their own," Kerry said. "With today's announcement, the NFL showed their loyalty to the sports fans who made the NFL an empire in the first place.
"The best news of all is that now no die-hard Pats fans will be shut out from watching their team take aim at football history," Kerry said in a statement.
This will be the first three-network simulcast in NFL history and the first simulcast of an NFL game since the inaugural Super Bowl in 1967, when CBS and NBC televised the meeting of the champions of the newly merged National Football League and American Football League.
"We're happy to accommodate the NFL's request for a joint national simulcast of this potentially historic game to make it available to the widest possible audience," said thingy Ebersol, NBC Universal's chairman for sports and Olympics.
NBC was scheduled to air "Dateline NBC" and a repeat of "Law & Order: SVU" during the time slot. CBS was set to broadcast the movie "Good Night, and Good Luck" and "48 Hours: Mysteries."
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Post by Skaggs on Dec 27, 2007 19:02:10 GMT -5
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Post by MasterFX1 on Dec 27, 2007 21:41:03 GMT -5
The game is scheduled to be produced in HD by the NFL network. The NFL Network announcers will call the game. Both WRGB and WNYT should get the game directly from their normal network satellite feed. It's assumed that it will be in HD. It will be interesting to see how CBS' 1080i multipass stat-mux will compare to NBC's fixed bit rate softened picture. (Do you ever notice that NBC's picture goes soft whenever there is action and then pops back to sharp when the action stops.
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Post by adam on Dec 27, 2007 22:54:21 GMT -5
The NFL Network announcers? Greeeeeat. I can't wait to be put to sleep by Gumbel's boring, emotionless play-by-play.
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