Congratulations, Cablevision Customers: You'll Finally Be Watching The NFL Network This Season

If you’re a Cablevision customer who’s been languishing in a desert devoid of the NFL Network and RedZone channels, your oasis is in sight: The National Football League has finally reached a deal with Cablevision to carry the two channels in time for the upcoming season, which begins on Sept. 5. Starting tomorrow, customers will have the channels in their cable rosters. Time for a touchdown dance, perhaps.

NFL Network airs 13 prime-time games during the regular season, while RedZone shows game-day coverage of touchdowns and any important plays taking place inside the 20-yard line.

This is a big deal for the NFL, says an industry expert cited by Bloomberg News, and TWC will likely reach a similar agreement in the near-ish future.

“It shows that the NFL is methodically pulling together all the major distributors and has not given up equity or management control to an outside media company,” he said. “They own it all.”

With this agreement on the books, the only major cable provider without the channels is Time Warner Cable. Feel the heat, TWC. Feel the heat.

A TWC spokeswoman says the company is working on it, slowly but surely.

“But we have been close before only to have it fall apart, so we need to be cautious about predicting success,” she said.

That’s news to the NFL Media, said its chief operating officer — the two sides aren’t talking at this point, according to him.

“As a result, we’re obviously not close,” he said.

NFL Reaches Deal With Cablevision For NFL Network, RedZone [Bloomberg]

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