Congressmen Seek End To NFL Network Carriage Dispute

[ProSense]

Congressmen Seek End To NFL Network Carriage Dispute

Bi-Partisan Group Want FCC Chairman Martin To Adopt Resolution Mechanism

By Mike Reynolds -- Multichannel News, 12/20/2007 12:59:00 PM

While NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has reached out to Time Warner Cable president and CEO Glenn Britt about binding arbitration as a means to resolve the carriage impasse with NFL Network, 21 members of Congress are urging FCC chairman Kevin Martin to consider adopting a resolution mechanism to end these kind of distribution stalemates.

In a joint letter, 14 House members wrote: “This proposal would not pick winners or losers, but instead creates a mechanism to address a market failure that has prevented consumers from having access to popular programming including the NFL Network, about which our constituents have expressed much concern.”

The signatories for the letter: Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.); Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.); Rep. Chet Edwards (D-Tex.); Rep. Tim Bishop (D-N.Y.); Rep. David Wu (D-Ore.) Rep. Leonard Boswell (D-Iowa); Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Tex.); Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.); Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.); Rep. Solomon Ortiz (D-Tex.); Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.); Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Tex.); Rep. Ron Kind (D-Wis.); and Rep. Jerry McNerney (D-Calif.).

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The following have separately called upon the agency to consider adopting an approach that would employ an independent third party to fairly resolve the dispute: Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Tex.); Rep. Donald Payne (D-N.J.); Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.); Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.); Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.); Rep. Bill Delahunt (D-Mass.); and Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.).

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Many In New England Won't See Patriots-Giants Game

WASHINGTON (WBZ) ― Once again Massachusetts Senator, John Kerry, is appealing to the NFL, and cable companies on behalf of the thousands of New England Patriots fans who won't see the team's historic regular-season finale.

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This is not the first attempt to find a solution to this problem. Kerry already made a similar attempt earlier this year, as have politicians from Rhode Island, Vermont and Connecticut.

Kerry argues that not even everyone in the Patriots home state of Massachusetts will be able to see the game; because it is being shown on a Boston TV station that's not carried on cable in many areas of central and western Massachusetts.

The game also won't be seen in many parts of New York State, including Albany, where the Giants hold their training camp every summer.

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Fans’ no-win scenario

Many in N.E. may miss record game

Hundreds of thousands of New England Patriots fans across the region are at risk of missing their team’s historic quest for an undefeated season next Saturday if the Pats get by the Miami Dolphins tomorrow.

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But fans in other areas in New England who don’t get Channel 5 via the airwaves or through cable packages - including in parts of Western Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Maine and Vermont - may be out of luck. The only other options are satellite TV or the NFL Network.

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The National Football League, which owns the NFL Network, and cable companies have for months been pointing fingers at each other. The debacle has already alienated fans around the country as numerous games this season, including a marquee showdown between the Dallas Cowbows and the Green Bay Packers, were unavailable for free to many fans.

The NFL says cable companies should carry its network as a basic channel. But cable companies, such as Comcast and Time Warner, are pushing back, saying the cost of the network is too high to absorb, and that it was the league that created the NFL Network in a blatant attempt to make more money off of fans.

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[KharmaTrain]

1. The Big 10 Network Is A Bigger Mess

Cable companies have long sold channel slots on their basic service...channels outside the "must carry" that are determined by the over-the-air signals in the area. Cable operators prefer to get compensation for these channels rather than have to pay a fee...thus why the NFL Network has been an ala-carte option. It'd be like demanding the cable system offer HBO as a basic. If the NFL wanted it to be a basic service, they would offer similar compensation ESPN or FSN does. One more fly in the ointment. In some markets Comcast has its own sports channel...offered as a basic, the less competition the better. In Chicago they drove Fox out of the market altogether.

Many in the Midwest are familiar with the on-going battles between Comcast and the Big 10 network...they want basic service but they want Comcast to pay top dollar. It's turned ugly and many games are only available on satellite systems. It's a pissing match that has cost both parties.

Last note...and that is that Comcast has been trying to move its customers to its more expensive digital system. Slowly they've been relocating popular channels to the digital packages. Their explanation is that this is due to the digital changeover next year which will make their older system obsolete (it isn't covered under the digital TV rulings, but that's for another time) and are using "bait" like the NFL network and other specialized channels to get people to purchase the more expensive service.

[ProSense]

2. Kick! n/t

[gratuitous]

3. Ohmigod! The Republic totters

Gee, I'm sooooo glad to see Congressman Wu of Oregon getting involved in this. Number of NFL franchises located in Oregon: Zero.

Ah well, with everything else in the world licked into shape, I guess there's nothing else to attend to. :eyes:

[ProSense]

4. Kick! n/t

[default_to_freedom]

5. Unbelievable...!!! Let's see...we are afraid to tackle the real problems,

so we play football. :shrug: :shrug: :shrug:

[ProSense]

6. Your post is a good sign as to why this is important! n/t