It’s long been known that satellite TV (especially Direct TV) simply blows away cable when it comes to specialty sports coverage. Just this last April, cable companies like Comcast and Time Warner came within inches of losing out on baseball’s out-of-market package, MLB Extra Innings.
And although Direct TV has always had exclusive coverage of the NFL Sunday Ticket, the league wants as wide a distribution as possible for it’s fledgling NFL Network. And that’s where the trouble starts.
Both Comcast and Time Warner have thus far refused to carry the network on their basic cable tier, meaning subscribers who want access to the channel have to pay extra. And that has some owners and league officials hopping mad. Clipped from a recent NY Times Article:
Legislators in four states so far have filed bills that would pretty much ensure that the N.F.L. gets its way. In Texas, Mr. Jones has been using the fact that two Cowboys games will be shown on the network to stir up all kinds of trouble. He’s calling on Cowboys fans all over the state to abandon Time Warner in favor of competitors like DirecTV. And he’s talking to sympathetic legislators, who have threatened to file bills favorable to the N.F.L., bills that are being written by lobbyists hired by the league. (The Texas Legislature, which meets every two years, is not in session now.)
And then there’s Washington, where the N.F.L. is backing a proposal that would insert the Federal Communications Commission into these kinds of disputes. The proposal probably would ensure that the NFL Network gains the “carriage” it is seeking; it would also wreak havoc on the workings of the market — and would be quite likely to raise cable bills a lot more than $1 per subscriber. This, apparently, is what happens when you say no to the National Football League.
Interesting dispute here. Congress got involved during the baseball flap by holding hearings, and strongly encouraging MLB to cut a deal with the cable companies that would have been shut out. Only time will tell if they take a similar stance with the NFL.
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