Comcast wins lawsuit against NFLN; other cable operators could follow

[FirstAndGoal]

I'd switch to DirectTV except that I've got 7 TVs in this house. I only have two of them on cable boxes and the othere 5 get straight cable but the cost to go to DirectTV is greater than keeping my cable. I also have internet access through them. I think I'm S.O.L.

 

[spacecrime]

What those of you that have comcast need to do, is call them up and threaten to leave thier service if they make the move. It won't do anything if only a small amount of people do this, you have to get everyone you know that has comcast to call in.

650 million people have the digital package with Comcast, and most of them don't give a rat's patootie about NFL Network.

 

[spacecrime]

As long as they keep broadcasting games that are on the NFLN to network TV in the local markets, I'll be happy. It would be a problem though if I didn't like in Massachusetts.

Yeah, but you know, us older fans remember times when we watched all the away games and some of the home games. When the pats didn't sell out, the game was blacked out. We survived, listend to the radio.

 

[patsfan55]

I'd switch to DirectTV except that I've got 7 TVs in this house. I only have two of them on cable boxes and the othere 5 get straight cable but the cost to go to DirectTV is greater than keeping my cable. I also have internet access through them. I think I'm S.O.L.

im sol too
its impossible for me to get a dish, cuz im jumpin from apartment to apartment every 12 months (jus graduated college a yr ago)
i guess ill hafta suck it up
thing that sux is that i know my new roomate starting in sept(old friend from hs), as well as my current roommate (who only watches soccer) wont want the package so ill hafta pay it all
exactly what else is on it?

 

[BradfordPatsFan]

im sol too
its impossible for me to get a dish, cuz im jumpin from apartment to apartment every 12 months (jus graduated college a yr ago)
i guess ill hafta suck it up
thing that sux is that i know my new roomate starting in sept(old friend from hs), as well as my current roommate (who only watches soccer) wont want the package so ill hafta pay it all
exactly what else is on it?

Fox Soccer Channel is part of it. Negotiate my man!


Full line up:
Outdoor Channel
Fox Soccer Channel
Tennis Channel
Fox College Sports-Atlantic
Fox College Sports-Central
Fox College Sports-Pacific
College Sports TV
NBA TV
ESPN Classic


Fox College Sports and CSTV all show college soccer too, if he is interested in that.

More info

 

[pats1]

Fox Soccer Channel is part of it. Negotiate my man!


Full line up:
Outdoor Channel
Fox Soccer Channel
Tennis Channel
Fox College Sports-Atlantic
Fox College Sports-Central
Fox College Sports-Pacific
College Sports TV
NBA TV
ESPN Classic


Fox College Sports and CSTV all show college soccer too, if he is interested in that.

More info

Here's Charter's currently:

ESPNews (is valuable now since NESN stopped showing it)
ESPNClassic (not that much on it)
Fox Sports Atlantic (Worthless)
Fox Sports Central (Worthless)
Fox Sports Pacific (Worthless)
Fox Sports Espana (Spanish - extremely worthless)
Fox Sports World (World soccer games - extremely worthless)
Fuel (Skateboarding and other crap)
College Sports TV (College rugby and other crap - worthless)
Tennis Channel (Worthless)
TVG (Horse racing - extremely worthless)
Sportsman TV (Worthless)
FitTV (Worthless)
Horse Racing TV (Worthless)

 

[PatsSteve1]

I'm got DirecTV when I lived in Orlando and I now live in California. I didn't know thier customer service got worse. I've never had to call them for anything except when I moved and that was real easy. And free.

 

[patchick]

650 million people have the digital package with Comcast, and most of them don't give a rat's patootie about NFL Network.

...which is exactly what this is all about. The NFL had been forcing operators to make all the millions of people who don't give a rat's patootie to pay anyway. So now your neighbors won't be supporting your habit.

 

[Patriotic Fervor]

Here's Charter's currently:

ESPNews (is valuable now since NESN stopped showing it)
ESPNClassic (not that much on it)
Fox Sports Atlantic (Worthless)
Fox Sports Central (Worthless)
Fox Sports Pacific (Worthless)
Fox Sports Espana (Spanish - extremely worthless)
Fox Sports World (World soccer games - extremely worthless)
Fuel (Skateboarding and other crap)
College Sports TV (College rugby and other crap - worthless)
Tennis Channel (Worthless)
TVG (Horse racing - extremely worthless)
Sportsman TV (Worthless)
FitTV (Worthless)
Horse Racing TV (Worthless)

Oh, Man, you've got to be kidding! That's just sad. !

What kind of consumer research does their marketing department do anyway?

 

[fgssand]

I feel bad for the elderly on fixed incomes...they really get screwed on this.

 

[Aqua4Ever04]

Does this mean that if you don't have directv, you might get a shot at Sunday Ticket?

 

[Born_a_Patriot]

Does this mean that if you don't have directv, you might get a shot at Sunday Ticket?

No. Only Direct TV has the NFL ticket.

 

[TomBrady'sGoat]

650 million people have the digital package with Comcast, and most of them don't give a rat's patootie about NFL Network.

I just want to reiterate this point. It is silly to make every single subscriber pay for the NFLN when a small percentage wants it.

I pay something like $7/month for anime network. My fiancee loves it. It is more than worth it to her. No one has to pay for it that doesn't want it.

In June I'm moving back to NY and will be paying an extra $1-2/month for YES. I am a Sox fan that hates the Yankees. Is that fair?

I grew up in a house that paid a seperate monthly fee for NESN. We wanted to watch the Sox so we paid for it. Our neighbor who didn't like baseball didn't have to pay a dime.

Sports leagues and franchises try to throw around their weight to force everyone to pay for their channel, when only a minority actually want the channel. I love it that cable companies have started fighting them (and the advent of directtv as the sports option has only helped this, as cable companies have already lost the real hardcore sports fans because of sunday ticket anyway).

The NFLN could be on every single cable system nationwide if they just charged a normal rate. They don't; they charge one of the most expensive rates in the industry. sunday ticket on the dish only hurts their bargaining position; the hardcore fans already get the dish, so why should time warner pay the rate to please the non-hardcores? we're not willing to go to dish for sunday ticket, so are we going to go to dish for NFLN?

 

[PatDaPatriot]

I don't expect my monthly Crapcast bill to be less now that NFLN is becoming a premium channel. Regadless if I bite the bullet and get the Sports Pack or not. For what I'm paying now for cable, phone, and internet the $7.95 is really just a drop in the bucket, so I'm likely to bite. I yearn for the day when I can pick the channels I want. I'd gladly trade the Soap Opera Network and the Do It Yourself Channel for NFLN...

Unfortunately, I moved to a place where I can't get a Satellite signal. Otherwise, I'd be a very happy Directv customer...

 

[TomBrady'sGoat]

Does this mean that if you don't have directv, you might get a shot at Sunday Ticket?

nope. this is only about NFLN

 

[spacecrime]

...which is exactly what this is all about. The NFL had been forcing operators to make all the millions of people who don't give a rat's patootie to pay anyway. So now your neighbors won't be supporting your habit.

Well, forget NFL network, then. If each of those 650 million digital-package subscribers just gave me one penny, I could live in the style to which I'd like to become accustomed.

 

[bakes781]

I agree with all of this. NFLN was never free on Comcast, they paid a vast sum for it and were passing every bit of that cost on to customers. The difference is that my mom, the retiree with no interest in sports talk, will no longer be subsidizing the exorbitant cost on behalf of football fans.

You have to have the digital cable package to get NFL Network now. I'm guessing when they eliminate NFL Net from that package they aren't going to suddenly reduce the cost? So how is that going to affect those that don't watch it now but still have the package?

 

[mgcolby]

I'm got DirecTV when I lived in Orlando and I now live in California. I didn't know thier customer service got worse. I've never had to call them for anything except when I moved and that was real easy. And free.

I have a few issues that drove me crazy. I had the NHL package when they went on strike and it took me months to get my money back (I bought a pre-paid special the year prior), had a horrible dish installation and it took 5 visits to my house to have the situation corrected, the customer service reps become less knowledgable by the day is seems. It was a lot better 4-5 years ago than it is today.

 

[mgcolby]

Does anyone believe that because they can make it a premium channel that their regular bill will be adjusted to reflect it.

I doubt it, the bill will remain the same and Comcast will be the ONLY benefactor of this lawsuit - not the customers.

 

[patchick]

I just want to reiterate this point. It is silly to make every single subscriber pay for the NFLN when a small percentage wants it.

...

The NFLN could be on every single cable system nationwide if they just charged a normal rate. They don't; they charge one of the most expensive rates in the industry. sunday ticket on the dish only hurts their bargaining position; the hardcore fans already get the dish, so why should time warner pay the rate to please the non-hardcores? we're not willing to go to dish for sunday ticket, so are we going to go to dish for NFLN?

I agree with all of this. NFLN was never free on Comcast, they paid a vast sum for it and were passing every bit of that cost on to customers. The difference is that my mom, the retiree with no interest in sports talk, will no longer be subsidizing the exorbitant cost on behalf of football fans.

The NFL ought to think long and hard about the long-term implications of their trend toward exclusive, expensive broadcasts (like the exclusivity of the DirectTV deal). Remember when big boxing matches were an event? What kid ever gets to see boxing today? That sport's audience is aging fast. In my house, I'm a sports fan but my family watches very little tv overall. So we only pay $10/month for the minimum tier of cable, just for reception. I see every Pats game and key national NFL games and I'm happy as a clam. My kids get to see the Pats games too, so they get into the team, I take them to training camp, they have Patriots t-shirts. The Red Sox? They've never seen a Red Sox game. They're not on tv for us. Ergo, "Red Sox who"? Watch out, NFL. That could be you soon.