By: Jim Williams
The Examiner
Washington, D.C.
Comcast and the NFL Network are at this point not talking and their present contract expires April 30th. Many subscribers have seen the messages on screens saying that if the issue is not resolved by May 1, then they (Comcast) will stop airing the network.
According to a source with the NFL Network “We want a deal with Comcast but being placed in their Sports Package (a pay extra digital service) is a non starter. It is not fair to our fans. We should be with ESPN, Versus, Golf Channel, ESPN2, TNT and all the local regional sports channels on the regular basic extended cable. That way our fans would have easy access to us without playing extra.”
I spoke to Comcast about the NFL Network and their take on the issue.
According to John Demming of Comcast “The NFL Network is asking for a very high price for eight regular season games a year.We have offered to carry the NFL Network under the terms of our current affiliation agreement while the litigation that the NFL brought against Comcast continues, but the NFL has not accepted our offer,” said Demming, Comcast’s Director of Corporate Communications.
“We believe our proposed extension is in the best interest of our customers and NFL fans so that they can continue to have the same access to the Network that they now enjoy. Because the NFL has not accepted our offer, we are required by regulations to notify our customers of the possibility that the NFL may terminate Comcast’s right to carry the Network.”
The NFL Network offered this response to the contract issue.
Comcast refuses to sit down and reach an agreement with NFL Network on a contract extension that would make the Network more widely available to a larger number of subscribers on its cable systems without the extra monthly fee that Comcast now sets and collects,” the league said via e-mail.
“Comcast had carried NFL Network to a larger number of homes without the extra fee during the first three years of our agreement. We have more than a month to negotiate with Comcast and reach a new agreement similar to the contracts NFL Network has with more than 300 other cable operators, Telco and satellite companies. We hope that Comcast will act responsibly, negotiate with us and keep the best interests of the fans in mind.”
As anyone who has ever read any of my columns knows I am a big fan of the NFL Network and I have been happy to pay extra to Comcast to get it as part of The Sports Package. Now is when fans can do one of two things. They can call Comcast and tell them to put the NFL Network on basic extended cable with ESPN. Or they can say I am fine with it being part of the Sports Package. But this a place where fan’s need to be heard one way or another. If they are not heard then come May 1st we are likely to see the NFL Network gone from Comcast.
One final note and that is I would hope that with a little over a month to go that both Comcast and the NFL Network would hold talks and work this out. This not peace in the Middle East it is TV — can’t we just work it out!
*It should be noted that the NFL Network does have a deal with Cox but not with Time Warner.
