Congress questions NFL Network's plan to air live games

[pats1]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2662146&campaign=rss&source=NFLHeadlines

Updated: Nov. 14, 2006, 8:03 PM ET
Congress questions NFL Network plan to air live games
Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- The NFL is about to start airing live regular-season games on its own network, and that has Congress a bit curious.

"We're intrigued, to put it mildly, what the NFL has in mind," Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., said Tuesday at a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Specter grilled NFL executive vice president and general counsel Jeffrey Pash during the 90-minute hearing on sports programming. The hearing focused on how live games on the NFL Network could affect cable and satellite rates and whether the games raise any antitrust issues in connection with the Sports Broadcasting Act.

The NFL Network will air eight live games this season, starting Thanksgiving night when the Denver Broncos play the Kansas City Chiefs. Some broadcast companies, including Time Warner, have balked at paying the higher fee the league is charging to carry the network because of the games.

Time Warner chief operating officer Landel Hobbs testified that the NFL Network's rates are "out of whack" when compared to viewership ratings.

Pash responded that the NFL Network has indeed increased its fees, but he cited the popularity of the league's product as justification. He said other NFL Network carriers -- including DirecTV, EchoStar, Comcast and Cox -- have not passed along the price increase to their customers. However, Comcast wants to start offering the network as part of a premium sports-tier package, which has sparked a legal challenge from the NFL.

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And Charter, my cable carrier, hasn't had the NFL Network since a contract dispute last December. Wonder how this one will turn out. The NFLN really seems to be pissing people off across the board.

 

[BelichickFan]

Congress should worry about other things and let the free market take it's natural course. Stop overeaching you morons.

 

[jimmyjames]

Congress should worry about other things and let the free market take it's natural course. Stop overeaching you morons.

A free market would allow all cable carriers the abilty to sell the Sunday ticket package as well - Not just DirecTV.

There are currently about 2 million Sunday ticket subscribers in the US. That number would more than triple if they would open it up.

 

[BelichickFan]

A free market would allow all cable carriers the abilty to sell the Sunday ticket package as well - Not just DirecTV.

Not if it's not the chosen business model for the NFL. That's what they've chosen. Congress should butt out and fix more important issues - or better yet, do nothing at all.

 

[bresna]

Not if it's not the chosen business model for the NFL. That's what they've chosen. Congress should butt out and fix more important issues - or better yet, do nothing at all.

Would you feel the same if you were a fan of a team being broadcast on the NFL Network and you were unable to see the game because your cable system did not offer it?

 

[Pats726]

Sports are a big business and when they change things somewhat and make moves like that horizontally, I think Congress is quite interested and should be. In fact sometimes as far as businesses go, they make laws that are very much anti-consumer and pro business MORE than advocating at all for the citizen. Take a look at lobbyists and their payrolls...but..back to what the NFLN of the future could be...par for TV for NFL games. I doido NOT think anyone is in favor of that.

 

[cstjohn17]

Not if it's not the chosen business model for the NFL. That's what they've chosen. Congress should butt out and fix more important issues - or better yet, do nothing at all.

Same fatheads panning in front of a camera, just like they did for steriods. Or as they say in Washington "One day closer to a $200,000 a year pension..."

IMO there are more important things for them to be working on; education reform, foreign policy, free porn, etc.

Personally I want the cable companies to cave and provide NFL network as part of basic cable.

 

[BelichickFan]

Would you feel the same if you were a fan of a team being broadcast on the NFL Network and you were unable to see the game because your cable system did not offer it?

I'd get DirecTV. Or I'd live with it. There's lots of things I'd like that I can't get. I used to like to watch New England Tailgate and 4 Downs with Felger. They're now blacked out for no good reason. Too bad for me. I don't want Congress spending time on it.

 

[lobster]

I would guess Congress is interested because they've had complaints from voters or TV stations trade groups because the NFL Network refuses to allow the games they produce to be re-broadcasted by local stations on a regional basis.

In the pre-season game the NFL Network broadcast of the Patriots, neither Maine's ABC affiliate nor RI's Fox affiliate could re-broadcast the game. I know Maine's ABC affiliate was angry about that, even though Bob Kraft tried to intervene with the NFL Network. Local affiliates belong to powerful trade groups that could go to Congress with a complaint.

 

[Alk]

I think this is a horrible move by the NFL. The NFL Network is not available nationally so how their numbers aren't going to suffer is beyond me. I live in Kansas and the two big teams here are the Chiefs and Broncos. Just about every cable company I know of here doesn't have the NFL Network on it so all of those fans aren't even going to be able to watch the game unless they have a friend with a dish. I think this move is going to turn around and bite the NFL in the ass.

 

[Alk]

I'd get DirecTV. Or I'd live with it. There's lots of things I'd like that I can't get. I used to like to watch New England Tailgate and 4 Downs with Felger. They're now blacked out for no good reason. Too bad for me. I don't want Congress spending time on it.

That's BS. There are reasons why that just isn't feasible and the fans shouldn't have to suffer because the NFL wants to further line their pockets.

 

[BelichickFan]

I think this is a horrible move by the NFL. The NFL Network is not available nationally so how their numbers aren't going to suffer is beyond me. I live in Kansas and the two big teams here are the Chiefs and Broncos. Just about every cable company I know of here doesn't have the NFL Network on it so all of those fans aren't even going to be able to watch the game unless they have a friend with a dish.

So get DirecTV or don't watch. Simple. DirecTV's pricing is competitive with cable - where I live, anyway.

 

[Hok]

...fans shouldn't have to suffer because the NFL wants to further line their pockets.

You have no right to watch NFL games. If you want to see a game being put on by a privately-owned company, you are free to arrange for the necessary accommodations to do so.

Or do you also complain that the Patriots require that you have a ticket if you want to enter their stadium on days when games are being held?

 

[MDPATSFAN]

Hasn't Darth Steinbrenner already been doing this for years with the Yanquis?

All I have to say is that NFL Network rocks! Not living in New England any longer I rarely get to see the Pats. With NFL replay the games get rebroadcast during the week. Thank you NFL Network!


Rich Eisen for President!

 

[Pats726]

You have no right to watch NFL games. If you want to see a game being put on by a privately-owned company, you are free to arrange for the necessary accommodations to do so.

Or do you also complain that the Patriots require that you have a ticket if you want to enter their stadium on days when games are being held?

Then you have no complaints about what Congress is doing then....

 

[Pats726]

Hasn't Darth Steinbrenner already been doing this for years with the Yanquis?

I think maybe if it was a MLB channel Congress would be looking at it a bit more..

 

[BelichickFan]

Then you have no complaints about what Congress is doing then....

Huh ? Comparing being born with the right to see any game you choose vs. born with the right to state an opinion ?

 

[Alk]

You have no right to watch NFL games. If you want to see a game being put on by a privately-owned company, you are free to arrange for the necessary accommodations to do so.

Or do you also complain that the Patriots require that you have a ticket if you want to enter their stadium on days when games are being held?

No, I don't complain, I have Dish w/Sunday Ticket. I just think this is crap when local markets get screwed like this especially on a big game like Thanksgiving night.

 

[Alk]

So get DirecTV or don't watch. Simple. DirecTV's pricing is competitive with cable - where I live, anyway.

I do have Dirct TV but I know alot of people in this area that get their internet through the cable company and have to have at least the basic package in order to keep their internet. I don't know alot of people that would want to pay $75 a month for television.

 

[BelichickFan]

I do have Dirct TV but I know alot of people in this area that get their internet through the cable company and have to have at least the basic package in order to keep their internet. I don't know alot of people that would want to pay $75 a month for television.

Well that's a decidion for them to make. I would like to have a Ferrari instead of my Dodge but I don't want to make what it costs - maybe I'll have Congress look into it, it's just not fair that I miss out on driving a great car,