Key Issues
NFL NetworkLatest News: Football Follies (TPPF, Dec. 10, 2007) The NFL Network all about greed (WFAA commentary, Nov. 29, 2007) Unnecessary roughness (USA Today, Nov. 29, 2007) Football and Cable TV (Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council, Dec. 12, 2007) NFL Seeks State Involvement in Cable Programming Decisions (Reason Foundation, Dec. 11, 2007) Cable News Alert (Nov. 29, 2007) The NFL Network all about greed (WFAA commentary, Nov. 29, 2007) Unnecessary roughness (USA Today, Nov. 29, 2007) Roughing the cable passer (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Nov. 29, 2007)
Radio interview with Ron McMillan, Regional Vice President - Government Affairs, Texas, Time Warner Cable (Nov. 27, 2007, AM 1300 The Zone - Click on button above to listen) Shameless NFL (Nov. 22, 2007 San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial) Sorry NFL, but getting games to fans is your responsibility (Nov. 21, 2007 USA Today) Blitzing the FCC (Nov. 19, 2007 Wall Street Journal Editorial) Let the free market work for cable (Nov. 17, 2007 Columbus Dispatch) Cable Plays Hardball With the N.F.L. (Nov. 14, 2007 New York Times) Jerry Jones' playbook (Nov. 12, 2007 Fort Worth Star-Telegram) Note to N.F.L.: High Prices Cut Demand (Nov. 10, 2007 New York Times) Flag This Play (Oct. 31, 2007 Empower Texans) It's time to open up NFL Sunday Ticket to everyone (Oct. 30, 2007 ESPN) The day when the NFL’s greed reaches the tipping point (Oct. 25, 2007 IPI ) Time Warner Cable NFL Network Press Release (Oct. 22, 2007)
NFL Wants too Much, and Fans Pay the Price (Oct. 15, 2007 Newspaper Tree, El Paso) What People Are Saying: The reason the NFL Network is not on most cable systems is the league's arrogance...Even to the NFL's fans, (the) price might seem high for a network that provides about 24 hours per year of live NFL football and about 8,736 hours of filler...So if you're upset about being blacked out of tonight's big game, pick the right villain. It's the oh-so-popular NFL, not the usual suspects. USA Today Editorial, Nov. 29, 2007 The Cowboys promised the world's snazziest football stadium -- total tab with the Cowboys' contribution, about $1 billion. (Yes, yes, not counting interest and supporting infrastructure.) The unsaid but certainly understood part of that deal was that somebody was going to end up paying for it, and it wasn't going to be on owner Jerry Jones' personal tab. We really knew all along, of course, who would pay: the fans. We just didn't know how much it would be until last week. That's when the Cowboys announced that it would cost season-ticket holders $16,000 to $50,000 just for a "personal seat license," which then gives someone an option to pay $340 per club seat ticket, not including parking... Current club seats at the existing (and certainly tacky) Texas Stadium run $129 per game. Suites at the new stadium start at $2 million for a 20-year lease -- and then get really pricey. Fort Worth Star-Telegram Editorial, Nov. 29, 2007 Instead of charging consumers directly for the new network, or allowing its new network to be included in the "sports tier" of cable programming (for an extra fee), the NFL is putting the squeeze on video providers, demanding that the NFL Network be included for free in everyone's basic tier of programming, and then running an advertising campaign trashing the cable companies for not bowing to the NFL's demands....Consumers should not be fooled -- if anyone is to blame for sports fans not being able to see a game, it's not the video provider, which is essentially being squeezed. It's the NFL. The way to see this fight isn't the NFL versus cable companies. It's the NFL versus cable customers. That's why the proper response for lawmakers to Jones' proposal is raucous laughter. The NFL is a highly prosperous league with no need for a congressionally arranged bailout. If the business model for its cable network is – excuse us – a turkey, that is the NFL's problem and no one else's. Editorial: Shameless NFL, San Diego Union-Tribune, Nov. 22, 2007 The way to see this fight isn't the NFL versus cable companies. It's the NFL versus cable customers. That's why the proper response for lawmakers to Jones' proposal is raucous laughter.The NFL is a highly prosperous league with no need for a congressionally arranged bailout. If the business model for its cable network is – excuse us – a turkey, that is the NFL's problem and no one else's. Shameless NFL, San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial, Nov. 22, 2007 The NFL Network is way behind the business plan it drew up before it began operations in November 2003...Despite the high cost to the distributors that do carry it, the network will pocket a negligible cash flow of $5.4 million in 2007, according to SNL Kagan. Chiefly responsible for the dismal cash flow are meek ratings: NFL Network averaged only 147,000 viewers in primetime during the third quarter, putting it 54th out of 69 cable networks monitored by Nielsen. David Cohen, an executive at Comcast, which is the USA's biggest cable operator and an NFL Network antagonist, noted something indisputable: "While the NFL claims that it wants its games to be seen by the widest possible audiences, it's actually their rules that limit which games fans can watch. … It's the NFL that decided to take these eight games off of free broadcast television and to try to enrich themselves at the expense of their fans by creating a multibillion dollar asset called the NFL Network." Sorry NFL, but getting games to fans is your responsibility, USA Today, Nov. 21, 2007 More troubling is the NFL's attempt to involve government regulators in what is essentially a commercial dispute. The league has taken its complaints to the Federal Communications Commission in hopes that the agency will force the hand of cable operators. A media campaign against cable is one thing, but seeking regulatory leverage in a private-sector dispute is unsportsman-like conduct. We trust the FCC knows the difference and will respond accordingly. Blitzing the FCC, Wall Street Journal Editorial, Nov. 19, 2007 Jones and the NFL Network are like anti-Robin Hoods, robbing the poor to benefit wealthy team owners. Instead of continuing to work out a deal at the negotiating table, Jones and the NFL are calling on city councils and legislators from across the state -- and even the governor -- to put the squeeze on Time Warner and other cable companies. But from where I’m sitting, it looks as if the market is working just fine. The NFL Network wants 70 cents per subscriber per month for eight games. The market is saying that is too much money for too little product. If you’re trying to sell something and nobody is buying, you have to drop the price. At least, that’s what real capitalists do. Note to N.F.L.: High Prices Cut Demand, New York Times, Nov. 10, 2007 Yet although the NFL won't let anyone in the U.S. except DirecTV subscribers watch Sunday Ticket, the league is furious that Time-Warner and Cablevision won't buy the NFL Network and Comcast will buy the NFL Network for its premium sports tier only... Come on NFL, let us choose which game to watch. We'll pay, you'll be richer and you can stop speaking out of both sides of your mouth, demanding public access to the NFL Network while restricting public access to Sunday Ticket. Don't be fooled. The government has no business being dragged into a contract negotiation between two institutions that make millions of dollars....Time Warner is doing everyone, even sports fans, a favor. It is insisting that the NFL Network be placed in specially priced sports packages for those who want to watch that programming the most. Time Warner's tactic will ensure that ordinary viewers will see more NFL games in the future without paying more. Sports fans should root for Time Warner, San Antonio Express-News, October 17, 2007 I’m a big sports fan myself, but it is easy enough to see the Big Ten Network and NFL Network for what they are: attempts to extract maximum dollar for not very much in return. If, as a result, they turn out to be the test case for whether a sports tier even becomes part of the television landscape, then so much the better. A sport tier may not be what works for them, but it sure makes sense for the rest of us. The NFL wants fans to click their letters to the editor, pre-written by the NFL, to their local and regional newspapers and TV stations in a campaign to force cable TV providers to package the NFL Network with their basic channels...We’re going to throw the penalty flag down for a personal foul — unnecessary roughness of a private business. The NFL already controls the teams, players, coaches, referees, mascots, cheerleaders, the team colors and uniforms, the pre-game and halftime entertainment, the players’ and coaches’ press conferences and the TV, radio and Web announcers. Now, it wants to control the messengers of their controlled video and sounds. Most of our sports networks are multi-sport, with multiple professional leagues on each network and with hundreds of games to watch. This is a major distinction between them and the NFL Network...The cost to carry Golf and Versus is significantly different from what the NFL Network is demanding. There is vastly more programming on these networks, which are national in scope with broad interest across many demographics. The NFL is saying we're the ones raising the fees..We're not. This is just another example of the NFL being driven by profit at the expense of our fans. They took eight games that previously would have been part of their regional broadcasts (on other networks) and put them on the NFL Network and would have imposed a 400 percent increase to cable providers for 2007. The escalating cost of sports programming is one of the leading causes of rising cable rates. The NFL has been nothing short of unreasonable with their demands. As reported in the press, the NFL is asking for nearly 70 cents from each analog basic subscriber...If added, the NFL’s fee would come directly from every subscriber’s pocketbook. By refusing the NFL Network’s demands...independent operators, are making a concerted effort to control rapidly inflating cable TV rates. This year alone the NFL will make billions just from broadcast TV deals. But that's not enough -- now the NFL wants to charge home viewers to watch its new cable channel, the NFL Network. If the NFL gets its way, all basic cable consumers, football fans or not, will pay more -- to the tune of $600 million each year...While I believe no one should be gouged for watching football on TV, there are some fans willing to pay a premium for NFL content. That is why I support putting the NFL Network and other big sports channels in a premium sports package. This gives diehard fans who can afford it the option to upgrade if they really want extra out-of- town games and more highlight reels. With home team games still on the basic channels, neither football fans nor everyday consumers will have to foot the bill. |
