The moment of truth may be coming in the NFL Network/Cable showdown. This Thursday the NFL Network scored what is arguably the most interesting regular season game of the year (at least in the NFC): The 10-1 Packers vs. the 10-1 Cowboys. The trouble is, not a whole lot of people are going to be able to watch it outside of Dallas and Wisconsin.
Comcast, which recently sent a cease and desist letter to the NFL demanding that they stop encouraging customers to switch to their competitors (even though Comcast does offer the channel, albeit on a “sports tier” and not on basic cable like the NFL Network demands), has issued a statement condemning the NFL Network for “enriching themselves” at the expense of their fans.
David L. Cohen, Executive Vice President of Comcast says:
“Comcast offers the NFL Network to all of its interested customers today and they can watch every NFL game the league makes available on cable television. The fact is that the vast majority of our customers have elected not to receive NFL Network. Under our agreement with the NFL, which the league negotiated and signed, we offer the NFL Network as part of our Sports Entertainment Package. This is the best and fairest way to provide the NFL’s expensive programming to customers, because viewers who want to watch the channel will be able to see it, while others who prefer not to receive it will not be forced to pay.
While the NFL claims that it wants its games to be seen by the widest possible audiences, it’s actually their rules that limit which games fans can watch. It’s the NFL that designates which cities can have over-the-air broadcasts of specific games. It is also the NFL that decided to take these eight games off of free broadcast television and to try to enrich themselves at the expense of their fans by creating a multi-billion dollar asset called the NFL Network.”
Those are fighting words. As far as we can tell, most of the public doesn’t want their cable rates to go up so a few people can watch a few out-of-market NFL games, but feel free to let us know if we’re wrong.
Comcast Statement About NFL Network Carriage [CNNMoney]
(Photo:*Jame*)
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BG:
You make a good point when you say the NFL Network poached what would likely have been a 1pm regional start (Georgia + Indiana viewership) and placed it on the national television stage for potential viewers with NFLN access…
The problem obviously is that they poached a game from FOX that would have been nationally televised and heavily promoted for their doubleheader weekend on free TV.
I wouldn’t have that much of a problem with the NFL Network and their current fiasco if they had not re-upped the Sunday Ticket sweetheart deal with DirecTV (which means even less viewers) and just allowed cable to carry it also…CBS/FOX/NBC probably threw their weight around because they’d lose viewers as more people with cable would sign up for the Ticket rather than be stuck with a network OAK/MIA game or whatever.
the problem with what comcast is saying is that it was a normal channel on the basic package up until football season started this year. They made it a special package channel to make more money, and that is what the NFL is angry about. Comcast took it away without telling customers, and unless you watched those stations you didn’t realize the change. This is comcast playing games to make more money.
The NFL (NO Fun League) and cable suck! I live in So. Illinois and get stuck watching the pathetic Rams, even though I would rather watch the pathetic Bears! I hate regional programming. Down with the NFL and down with cable.
@sleze69:
Last I heard, the NFL wanted Comcast to pay somewhere between $3-4 BILLION for the Sunday Ticket thing that DirecTV has. Just to give you an idea what dealing with the NFL is probably like.
@scoosdad: I understand where you’re going with that line of reasoning. Of course I can pay more or go to another provider.
I simply think the word ‘elected’ in his statement is curious, and implies some sort of active choice by the consumer about where the channel exists (basic vs tier), when obviously consumers weren’t ever consulted on any decision of that sort.
Comcast actively made the choice for us to put it there, customers obviously don’t like it (since the company is bleeding subscribers), and now the Comcast knaves are blaming everyone else for their own bad business decisions.
Personally, my Comcast bill went up 14% last month, and I did not get a single additional service or channel that I could notice. No NFL, no B10, no ESPNU. I’ll bet they added 400 more C-list movies from the 70s on OnDemand. Yeah, that’s what consumers want.
Which is why when I get some time to be home during December for an install, I’ll be switching to DirecTV. I’ll gladly pay more to a company that actually gives you more.
The biggest problem with the NFL Network is it’s only real asset is the games it broadcasts in late November through December. I used to have the NFL network before Comcast started showing it, and all it was the same 3 programs repeated over and over again. You would turn on the guide for NFL network and it would be “In Their Own Words: Jon Gruden” aired 5 times a day.
From what Peter King wrote last week on SI, Comcast offered the NFL the chance to air the games as pay-per-view events, but the NFL network scoffed at it. They want everyone to subscribe to a 24/7 sports channel that only airs a total of 8 games a year.
Here’s one consumerist that thinks Cable TV as a whole is not worth the money. I cancelled it years ago and haven’t missed it since.
I think the NFL wants $0.61 per subscriber per month. I would never watch NFL Network, so I would be happy to save $7.32 in a year. -Michael [theplaz.com]
I wish Comcast had this backbone when negotiating with the YES network. Newsflash – not everyone in NY/NJ/CT care about the Yankees – yet we all have to pay for the network – on basic cable.
I don’t care who’s fault it is – I’m pissed at everyone that I have to go to a bar Thursday to see what is potentially the Packer’s best matchup of the season.
For everyone whining about how they have to pay for shopping channels, chances are that you probably do not. I believe that QVC, for example, charges nothing in order to get on basic cable. In return for getting on basic cable, they pay commissions to the cable company for sales from their viewers.
Hey folks it called BUSINESS. I get NFL network in HD on satellite, cable blows…
@ThePlaz:
I think you are right about the price that Comcast pays the NFLN being about $.60/month (that is 60 cents for you verizon employees) As I understand it that is several times what other channels charge on a monthly basis to Comcast. I would wholeheartedly support the NFL if it allowed Comcast to pick up the channel during the season and charged them extra for not making it a full year network. but charging $.60 during the spring and summer is ridiculous for a network showing cheerleader competitions and black and white rebroadcasts of games that no longer have any living players, much less fans. However, during the season I certainly get much more than $.60 worth of entertainment from the channel since they replay 4 games per week in an edited format that gets the game down to about 90 minutes.
their is FTA “Free to Air” it’s widely used. A site such as [www.freetoairreceivers.com] will help w/your selection of receivers. You can search for other sites, You’ll need a dish as well. The only hangup is you’ll need to “refresh” your receiver software from time to time depending on the receiver and your source of signal. this might help as a “how 2″ [www.prlog.org]
and yes for you naysayers out there, you can also watch NFL as well as other “channels” w/the correct software
Good take your games off of free cable. There’s no way I’m paying a dime to see these overpaid drug dealers, rapists and murderers run around in tights and grab each other’s asses and complain about how 50 million dollars a year isn’t enough money for them. F those people. I hope their greed kills them all.
@MYarms: Are you talking about CEO’s, Congressman, or football players?
Here in Wisconsin, Milwaukee and Green Bay are considered the home market, so a local channel can broadcast the game. The poor saps in Madison or Eau Claire are SOL. Time-Warner has regrouped their sports channels recently and 4 that were part of the basic package will become a separate tier Jan 1st at $4.95/month. NFL Network will be included in this package, so if I want ESPNews or OLN, I’ll have to pay for it along with NFL Network.
The NFL network is randomly available in my area (Arlington, VA – near DC). On Thanksgiving day, we were on the phone with comcast “support” for 30 minutes trying to figure out why NFL network was suddenly “not authorized” for our account, only to have it magically appear 25 minutes into our call. The next day? We were suddenly not authorized again.
At least they gave us a $20 credit (how they arrived at $20, I have no idea, but money’s money)
Most people dont want to pay for the “sports tier” either just to watch 8 football games per year. A lot of people are like me in that they enjoy football but dont like or even hate basketball, baseball, tennis, golf, and any other sport that would be on the “sports tier” so essentially we would have to pay $15 per month or whatever it is to watch 8 football games a year. What a ripoff. Put it on regular cable
@OldSpinDoc:
NFL network IS in hi-def at least on my Directv service
@kimsama:
Or could it be that people dont want to watch a bunch of guys kick a ball around for an hour and only get to see 1 goal. Soccer is the most boring thing known to man next to NASCAR. Who wants to watch cars drive on circles for 4 hours. And there is no skill involved, just turn the steering wheel to a 45 degree angle and wait for your gas tank to empty
Comcast VP of screwing customers and lying to reporters, speaking about NFL network:
“because viewers who want to watch the channel will be able to see it, while others who prefer not to receive it will not be forced to pay”
I’ll bet this is the same scumbag who told congress and the FCC that al a carte cable would bankrupt the company.
@guevera: read this article: [www.nytimes.com]
It talks realistically about ala carte. It simply will not work as people think it will.
Everyone sits here and whines about cable prices and how they want Ala Carte pricing/programming yet when cable tries to offer the Ala Carte idea with the NFL Network and other sports channels everyone cries and complains about it. Make up your mind people. It’s either they add it to the regular package and your monthly cost goes up or they add it to the sports package and your price will only go up if you add the channel. Which would you rather have? If you want my opinion, they should throw ESPN on the sports tier too so they can start to manage the cost of the basic packages.
I see this more from the perspective of the shift the NFL has taken since Roger Goodell became commissioner. The NFL before was all about being accessible and friendly to the fans. Goodell is all about greed and doing what he can to make money for the league rather than furthering the sport and continuining the goodwill fans and the league have shared (something Baseball lost long ago.)
Beyond his extreme stances on league discipline and his trying to force the fledging NFL network down cable customers throats Goodell has had a shaky start.
It may not seem like it’s to occur right now, but if the NFL doesn’t change it’s arrogant ways, then they will no longer hold the coveted title “national pastime”. Alienating fans with provider-exclusive packages and limiting your audience with your very own cable network is going to send a very bad message to fans. I wish the NFL would be a little more flexible in their choice of airing their games. I know it’s all about the money, but sooner or later if they don’t stop being greedy, you will lose the fans trust and will simply stop watching or going to the games.
Just get on your Comcast high-speed internet connection and download a bootleg stream of the game off a torrent!! Problem solved!!
Comcast does packet shaping, delaying or preventing the transmission and receipt of BitTorrent data. Without a bit of tech know-how (encryption), the Comcast customer is screwed.
I love football, but the NFL really are a bunch of greedy pricks.They are ruining the game. There is money pouring in from every conceivable angle, and the game is overloaded with advertising. How much more can you possibly want?
What really blew it for me was when they required sideline photographers, which pay to attend the games and are not NFL employees, to wear jackets festooned with advertising slogans which they would sell ad space on. Must have more MONEY!
Wow. It’s really pathetic how all the football fans want everyone else to subsidize you watching your craptacular “sport”. It’s bad enough I have to pay for ESPN, ESPN 2, and the farking Golf Channel so you idiots don’t have to get off the couch.
solution for non-sports-fans who have good internet:
1. turn off cable.
2. watch local news on over-the-air HD.
3. bittorrent everything else
4. …
5. profit! (with all the money you didn’t throw down the chute subsidizing other people’s expensive sports habits).
@swalve: Indeed — I forgot about the Ravens (haha, try not to read too deeply into that ^_~). You’re right, makes it much harder to ever see a non-local game.
Go ahead and leave out all us poor people. We the pigeons that stand and wait in line to buy the next hat or sweatshirt or maybe a jersey with our favorite players name and number. Take away my ability to watch my games, I bet I stop buying your merchandise. When is the last time you seen an executive bearing an NFL ball cap, or waiting in line to get an autograph.
@quentinr: See, I see this the other way. Think about baseball – I don’t have a sports tier package there are days in the spring when there is a game on ESPN and ESPN2, plus FoxSports Detroit and WGN. You can watch MLB every freaking day of the week. Same deal with the NBA.
The NFL has made themselves more “exclusive”. Everyone can watch on Sunday (unless it’s a blackout market). Only basic cable subscribers can get the Monday night game and typically only “sports tier” and viewers in the team market can get Thursday games. NASCAR is similar – if you can only see it once a week, more people pile on to that.
If I can only afford one premium sports package a year and I equally enjoy MLB and NFL, I’m much more likely to go with the NFL package because it’s easier to see MLB on TV.
It’s a good marketing plan for longetivity. I won’t argue the greedy point.
I have ATT Uverse and the NFL network is standard programming! I don’t know much about Comcast other than it has poor customer service. The best thing is the NFL network is broadcasted in high def as long as subscribe to the HD package.
Both Comcast and the NFL are way too greedy. Comcast for not putting it on the regular HD tier (which I already pay a premium for)and the NFL for only putting it on their NFL Network channel. They don’t seem to understand that it is going to be their loss.
They also showed it for FREE on NFL.com. I watched the entire game last night. The same as my 120″ HD projector? No. But it worked. Not hardly the usual tactics of a company trying to grub more money. Maybe they were trying to help break out of the DirecTV NFL Ticket monopoly and open up some prime games?
Look, I am not happy about the situation either, but there are two sides to this story. Do you guys really think Comcast is the good guy in this situation? Why won’t they just offer the channel for FREE like the NFL wants?