NFL NEWS
NFL Negotiating With Disney to Carry Games on ESPN
Published by MoonDog on July 10, 2008
A few weeks ago the NFL began talks with Disney, ESPN’s parent, according to an article published in The Wall Street Journal on June 23.
Those negotiations center around the possibility of the NFL Network and ESPN combining to bring eight regular season games into the homes of 56 million Americans who at present, don’t have the NFL Network.
For those of you that may not have been following the dispute between the NFL and the cable companies, here’s a quick history.
In 2006, the NFL decided to withhold eight games from its current broadcast partners, ESPN, NBC, Fox, and CBS and televise those games on the NFL Network. Since the NFL Network wasn’t carried by the major cable companies, Comcast and Time Warner, fans couldn’t watch the Thursday and Saturday night games.
The NFL rationalized that the league’s popularity would force the cable companies to carry the NFL Network as part of their basic programming package, passing along the cost to subscribers. However, the cable providers said no to that and a battle of attrition has taken place over the past two years.
Like millions of Americans, I don’t have the NFL Network because my local cable provider, Comcast, has refused to provide the channel in its basic package. And like millions of Americans, I cruised to the neighborhood bar to watch the games.
Last December the NFL made a decision to allow the originally scheduled NFL Network game between the New England Patriots and New York Giants to be simulcast on CBS and NBC.
The Patriots and Giants were playing the last regular season game of the season in which the Pats were attempting to become only the second team in NFL history to go through the season undefeated.
By giving in to the enormous outcry from the fans unable to watch the game on the NFL Network, the league weakened its bargaining position with the cable providers.
While no official word has come from the NFL, its apparent an agreement will be reached with ESPN to carry the broadcasts on one of their networks.
Cable subscribers will ultimately have to pay for the those games but it won’t be at the original cost the NFL Network was seeking.
In the end, its a win-win for everyone that loves the NFL. The league’s popularity came about as a result of the games being broadcast on free TV or readily available cable networks like ESPN or TNT.
And it isn’t like the NFL is losing anything by finally coming to the realization it could no longer withhold games from millions of fans or force the cable companies to carry the NFL Network in its basic packages. The NFL generates more revenue with its television contracts than all other major sports combined.
I certainly welcome the news because like millions, I really wasn’t crazy about watching the games in bars with a bunch of drunks. It most assuredly will increase the TV ratings of the league and thus will give them even greater bargaining power when the next TV contracts are negotiated.
Similar Posts:
- Economic Woes? Super Bowl Ads Cost $3 Million
- Cowboys Still Darlings of NFL Prime Time
- Favre Acting Like A Spoiled Child
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading ...120 views
None
tophatal on Thu, 10th Jul 2008 02:31
Moon Dog
Such are the woes of the NFL and their enterprising network. Now they’ll force ESPN to carry the games and one way or another and the consumer’ll still end up paying even more for the privilege through their cable provider. Such are the ways of the behemoths that are Disney, its sister companies and the NFL at large.
It’s never enough for them as I’d opined in a piece some time back regarding the NFL and their startup netowrk. Their coverage though good the analysis provided leaves a lot to bne admired. And Gumbel the itinerant pious a##hole who enunciates as if he’s got marbles in his mouth should indeed try learning doing his job more adroitly !
tophatal ………….
NESW Sports Headlines 7/10/2008 | NESW Sports, The Best Sports News on Thu, 10th Jul 2008 07:36
[...] The NFL is talking to Disney- Moondog Sports informs us [...]