degenerate_gambler
06-23-2008, 03:15 PM
NFL Network in talks with ESPN
By Bob Fernandez and Larry King
For years, they have circled and jabbed at each other like the heavyweights they are.
In one corner, the NFL - considered the gold standard of American sports fare, where ad revenues are as eye-popping as the open-field hits.
In the other, Comcast - the Philadelphia-based cable giant that had the temerity, and legal resources, to say no to the NFL.
Now, it appears, the sports Goliath has blinked.
After long trying and failing to force Comcast and other cable operators into carrying the expensive NFL Network as part of their standard offerings, it now appears the NFL is negotiating to team with ESPN, the cable sports network owned by Walt Disney Co.
The agreement might end litigation between Comcast and the NFL, and also convince Comcast to carry the NFL Network on its basic cable package.
"Disney is in talks to purchase the NFL Network," a source with knowledge of the talks said yesterday.
The NFL had tried to enhance the appeal of its own cable channel by withholding a handful of live games from traditional broadcasts and reserving them for its own network. The resulting NFL Network is carried on the satellite broadcaster DirecTV, but the network had clashed with some major cable providers - the largest being Comcast - who said the league was demanding exorbitant carriage fees for such minimal offerings.
"This is an interesting development for the NFL Network, given that they've had such difficulty gaining carriage with cable companies," Comcast senior vice president D'Arcy Rudnay said yesterday. The company would make no other official statement on the matter.
But sources close to Comcast say that the cable giant would appear to be a winner in any deal between ESPN and the NFL Network.
The NFL Network carriage on ESPN wouldn't put additional pressure on Comcast to place the new network in a prime channel location on the Comcast system because it already carries ESPN. In addition, Comcast recently signed a long-term deal with Disney.
Comcast now carries the NFL Network - which broadcasts eight games a year - on its extra-cost sports tier.
The NFL Network has sued Comcast, the nation's largest cable company with about 24 million pay-TV subscribers, to relocate the channel to a prime spot on its package of channels for broader viewership. Comcast has refused.
On the downside for Comcast and cable consumers, an NFL Network hookup with ESPN would give the all-sports network more leverage when negotiating price hikes with cable companies. ESPN is the most expensive channel in the cable lineup and, cable companies have pointed out, ESPN has been pushing through double-digit price hikes each year. Experts say the soaring cost for sports is a major force driving up cable bills.
It's also too early to tell whether a deal between ESPN and the NFL Network would definitely end battles between the two organizations in court and at the Federal Communications Commission.
That legal wrangling began in October 2006, when the NFL Network sued over Comcast's decision to place the NFL Network on a premium sports tier.
A lower-court judge initially had sided with Comcast, but that ruling was reversed on appeal and sent back to the original court. The appellate decision said language in the contracts between the two was too ambiguous to allow a ruling for either side.
Comcast also filed a lawsuit against NFL Network in December, alleging a contract violation in attempts by league officials to persuade customers to switch from Comcast.
The most recent volley was a complaint filed by the NFL Network with the FCC, seeking to force Comcast to offer the league's channel to basic subscribers.
The league complained that Comcast carries its own sports networks, including Versus and the Golf Channel, on its basic tier while placing the NFL Network in a higher-priced package of channels.
Comcast responded by calling the complaint "a blatant example of regulatory gamesmanship" by the NFL, which it called "the most lucrative and powerful sports enterprise in the world."
http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20080622_NFL_Network_in_talks_with_ESPN.html
By Bob Fernandez and Larry King
For years, they have circled and jabbed at each other like the heavyweights they are.
In one corner, the NFL - considered the gold standard of American sports fare, where ad revenues are as eye-popping as the open-field hits.
In the other, Comcast - the Philadelphia-based cable giant that had the temerity, and legal resources, to say no to the NFL.
Now, it appears, the sports Goliath has blinked.
After long trying and failing to force Comcast and other cable operators into carrying the expensive NFL Network as part of their standard offerings, it now appears the NFL is negotiating to team with ESPN, the cable sports network owned by Walt Disney Co.
The agreement might end litigation between Comcast and the NFL, and also convince Comcast to carry the NFL Network on its basic cable package.
"Disney is in talks to purchase the NFL Network," a source with knowledge of the talks said yesterday.
The NFL had tried to enhance the appeal of its own cable channel by withholding a handful of live games from traditional broadcasts and reserving them for its own network. The resulting NFL Network is carried on the satellite broadcaster DirecTV, but the network had clashed with some major cable providers - the largest being Comcast - who said the league was demanding exorbitant carriage fees for such minimal offerings.
"This is an interesting development for the NFL Network, given that they've had such difficulty gaining carriage with cable companies," Comcast senior vice president D'Arcy Rudnay said yesterday. The company would make no other official statement on the matter.
But sources close to Comcast say that the cable giant would appear to be a winner in any deal between ESPN and the NFL Network.
The NFL Network carriage on ESPN wouldn't put additional pressure on Comcast to place the new network in a prime channel location on the Comcast system because it already carries ESPN. In addition, Comcast recently signed a long-term deal with Disney.
Comcast now carries the NFL Network - which broadcasts eight games a year - on its extra-cost sports tier.
The NFL Network has sued Comcast, the nation's largest cable company with about 24 million pay-TV subscribers, to relocate the channel to a prime spot on its package of channels for broader viewership. Comcast has refused.
On the downside for Comcast and cable consumers, an NFL Network hookup with ESPN would give the all-sports network more leverage when negotiating price hikes with cable companies. ESPN is the most expensive channel in the cable lineup and, cable companies have pointed out, ESPN has been pushing through double-digit price hikes each year. Experts say the soaring cost for sports is a major force driving up cable bills.
It's also too early to tell whether a deal between ESPN and the NFL Network would definitely end battles between the two organizations in court and at the Federal Communications Commission.
That legal wrangling began in October 2006, when the NFL Network sued over Comcast's decision to place the NFL Network on a premium sports tier.
A lower-court judge initially had sided with Comcast, but that ruling was reversed on appeal and sent back to the original court. The appellate decision said language in the contracts between the two was too ambiguous to allow a ruling for either side.
Comcast also filed a lawsuit against NFL Network in December, alleging a contract violation in attempts by league officials to persuade customers to switch from Comcast.
The most recent volley was a complaint filed by the NFL Network with the FCC, seeking to force Comcast to offer the league's channel to basic subscribers.
The league complained that Comcast carries its own sports networks, including Versus and the Golf Channel, on its basic tier while placing the NFL Network in a higher-priced package of channels.
Comcast responded by calling the complaint "a blatant example of regulatory gamesmanship" by the NFL, which it called "the most lucrative and powerful sports enterprise in the world."
http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20080622_NFL_Network_in_talks_with_ESPN.html