NFL Network whines to FCC about arbitration.

[Adept Havelock]

Looks like the NFL Network has decided if they can't get TWC and others to play ball, they'll go whine to the FCC and see if they can get arbitration forced on the Cable Companies.

Spending millions crying to consumers last year didn't work, so they'll try this instead. :shake:

I really like the point Comcast's Cohen makes about Sunday Ticket playing a part in their decision making.


NFL Net looks to feds for help

By JOHN OURAND & DANIEL KAPLAN
Staff writers
Published October 29, 2007 : Page 01

The NFL Network is looking to federal regulators for help in ending its carriage dispute with the country’s largest cable operators.

As part of a new political lobbying effort, the network wants the Federal Communications Commission to let a third-party arbitrator solve the four-year carriage disputes by determining if and how operators should carry the channel.

Network executives are hoping for a ruling as early as next month.

“We’re just trying to get the dialogue started so people will look at it,” said NFL Network COO Kim Williams. “It is truly almost impossible (to get carriage) if you don’t have the leverage of vertical integration (that Comcast and Time Warner have), which clearly we don’t.”

The network, in separate comment filings on Sept. 11 and Oct. 12, told the FCC that an arbitrator should be appointed in these disputes and argues that operators such as Comcast and Time Warner give their own channels preferential treatment at the expense of independent networks.

“I know firsthand that if instead of the NFL Network it was called Versus or the Golf Channel, you don’t have to have any guesswork what (carriage it would have),” said Dallas Cowboys owner and NFL Network committee chairman Jerry Jones, referring to two channels owned by Comcast. “The company we are talking about here (Comcast), I guess I should go ahead and say it, is a company that depends upon privileges at the government level. And they shouldn’t use those privileges to keep fans here from seeing the NFL.”

The NFL Network’s move virtually ensures that it will not gain digital basic carriage on either Comcast or Time Warner Cable this season. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said he cut off discussions with Comcast in August, and a recent flurry of negative communication between the league and Time Warner show how contentious the relations remain.

But network executives are optimistic that the FCC will send carriage disputes to an arbitrator for a number of reasons.

First, previous networks, such as YES and MASN, have had success by getting politicians involved in their disputes and forcing operators to make a deal — YES with New York City politicians and MASN with the FCC.

Second, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin has gained an anticable reputation inside the Beltway.

Third, the FCC earlier this year sent a carriage dispute between The America Channel and Comcast to an arbitrator, giving NFL Network executives hope that the commission will look favorably on its request.

Cable operators, however, don’t believe there is precedent for the FCC to make such a ruling and have pledged to fight any attempt to get regulators to intervene in a private business dispute.

Comcast also doesn’t believe its negotiations should go to a third-party arbitrator since it has a signed affiliation agreement with NFL Network. Earlier this year, a federal judge ruled that the deal allowed Comcast to move NFL Network to a sports tier. The network has appealed.

“We don’t believe the FCC has the authority to delegate responsibility to adjudicate program carriage disputes to an arbitrator,” said David Cohen, Comcast executive vice president. “Even if the FCC were to give them, we would challenge that in court and we would fully expect that a court would agree with us that the FCC was exceeding its authority.” However, the NFL Network, in its Oct. 12 comment, stated that, “The Commission’s rules, adopted at the direction of Congress, aim to protect competition and diversity in the video programming marketplace.”

NFL Network’s move to embark on an intensive political lobbying campaign is a stark difference from last year, when the network spent tens of millions of dollars on a consumer marketing campaign to pressure operators into cutting a deal.

But with distribution falling — last week Goodell pegged the current distribution at 35 million homes — and negotiations not moving, NFL Network decided to change its tactics to appeal to regulators.

“It’s ironic that the NFL is pursuing this when they exclusively sell Sunday Ticket to DirecTV,” said Melinda Witmer, Time Warner Cable’s senior vice president and chief programming officer. “The claim that they need assistance from government for fair treatment is ironic.”

Frank Hawkins, NFL senior vice president, responded that cable companies “had plenty of opportunity” in both 2002 and 2005 to bid on Sunday Ticket. And he predicted that in 2010, when the DirecTV package is available again, “they (the cable operators) will dither and just not get there again.”

Comcast’s Cohen, however, points to the difference in license fees. NFL Network is asking for 70 cents, while Versus gets about 25 cents. He describes Versus as a year-round, multisport network, as opposed to the single-sport NFL Network, which has eight regular-season NFL games as well as college action.

The NFL by contrast points out that 95 of the top 100 cable shows in history are NFL broadcasts. And Hawkins slyly notes a recent Stanley Cup game on Versus was beaten by a “Mama’s Family” marathon on another network.

Both Cohen and Witmer, however, say the network is charging too much for what it offers.

“The network has not satisfied our price-value equation,” Witmer said. “The problem with the NFL is that they just can’t accept that our equation is not adding up to what they want.”

The NFL Network’s Williams also points to channels, such as the forthcoming MLB Channel, that Comcast and Time Warner put on digital basic after they were given an ownership stake.

Comcast’s Cohen agrees, saying, “Had the NFL given us access to Sunday Ticket, we would be carrying the NFL Network on a more widely distributed tier of service, comparable to what we would do with the Major League Baseball Extra Innings package.”

NFL Network is supplementing its political campaign with a marketing campaign where all 32 teams work with distributors that carry the channel.

For example, the Cowboys launched a sweepstakes campaign with Cox in Oklahoma, with the winner getting to sit in Jerry Jones’ box at a Cowboys game on NFL Network.

http://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=article.main&articleId=56848&requestTimeout=900

[Frazod]

Reminds me of the Battle of Stalingrad. Both sides totally suck.

[Adept Havelock]

Reminds me of the Battle of Stalingrad. Both sides totally suck.

:clap:

It is a bit like watching the Fade and the Donks play, isn't it.

[BigRedChief]

Just work it out. JEEEZZZ I want the NFL Network. I pay for so much crap that I don't want to get "stuff" that I do want.

Both sides are wrong. Make a friggin deal.

[Adept Havelock]

Just work it out. JEEEZZZ I want the NFL Network. I pay for so much crap that I don't want to get "stuff" that I do want.

Both sides are wrong. Make a friggin deal.

I did, until I had a chance to watch it for a few days. I was very unimpressed. The Game of the Week replay and the eight reg season games are the only appeal for me. Still, it's not enough of one for me to pay through the nose or have my regular bill jacked up so it can be put on the basic tier, like the NFL is attempting to force.

[BigRock]

TMQ at ESPN did his yearly rant about Sunday Ticket this week. Kinda makes it hard to feel sorry for the NFL here.

[Mr. Flopnuts]

Reminds me of the Battle of Stalingrad. Both sides totally suck.


I agree, and disagree at the same time. I think the cable companies are spitting in the NFL's face for not giving them access to Sunday Ticket. I think it's what I would do in the same situation. DirecTV would go down the shitter and out of buisness if it weren't for their exclusivity contract with the NFL for the Ticket. If the NFL really gave a shit about access to their programming for all fans they wouldn't have done this in the first place, let alone renewed it every chance they got. This is money. I don't give a shit about the NFL's money. Phobia said it best when he stated "Big money is ruining this game."

[jidar]

The NFL is full of shit with their pricing. I work for a smaller cable provider and I've seen the numbers and it's just not even close to doable for us to justify the cost incurred to carry the NFL network. The last I checked it was well over 3 times the cost of any other cable channel which is total bullshit.

I'm fully behind Comcast on this because the bottom line is that if the NFL get's it's way then only the largest and most wealthy markets are going to be able to afford it's pricing anyway. Here in rural KS, we can't touch it.

[Skip Towne]

I agree, and disagree at the same time. I think the cable companies are spitting in the NFL's face for not giving them access to Sunday Ticket. I think it's what I would do in the same situation. DirecTV would go down the shitter and out of buisness if it weren't for their exclusivity contract with the NFL for the Ticket. If the NFL really gave a shit about access to their programming for all fans they wouldn't have done this in the first place, let alone renewed it every chance they got. This is money. I don't give a shit about the NFL's money. Phobia said it best when he stated "Big money is ruining this game."
How does Dish Notwork survive without Sunday Ticket?

[BigRedChief]

The NFL is full of shit with their pricing. I work for a smaller cable provider and I've seen the numbers and it's just not even close to doable for us to justify the cost incurred to carry the NFL network. The last I checked it was well over 3 times the cost of any other cable channel which is total bullshit.

I'm fully behind Comcast on this because the bottom line is that if the NFL get's it's way then only the largest and most wealthy markets are going to be able to afford it's pricing anyway. Here in rural KS, we can't touch it.See thats where the NFL is wrong. They won't let the cable companies put it on a "al carte" channel. Here's what the NFL wants for this channel. You want to pay for it? Here's what it cost's.

But the cable companies are not angels in this. They want access to the NFL Sunday ticket. They are playing hardball to get it.

Comprimise should be:
put the NFL on the basic package.

When the current exclusive Direct TV deal is up they allow cable companies to sell it to their subscribers.

[jidar]

See thats where the NFL is wrong. They won't let the cable companies put it on a "al carte" channel. Here's what the NFL wants for this channel. You want to pay for it? Here's what it cost's.

But the cable companies are not angels in this. They want access to the NFL Sunday ticket. They are playing hardball to get it.


I just hope something changes in such a way that we can provide it to our customers for a reasonable cost. As it stands, we're being ****ed.

[Stewie]

How does Dish Notwork survive without Sunday Ticket?

I would assume people who have Dish don't care about Sunday Ticket. I'm sure there are tons of people stuck with DTV because Sunday Ticket is the only way they get to see their home team play. I have two friends who live out of town and have DTV just for that reason.

[Frazod]

I agree, and disagree at the same time. I think the cable companies are spitting in the NFL's face for not giving them access to Sunday Ticket. I think it's what I would do in the same situation. DirecTV would go down the shitter and out of buisness if it weren't for their exclusivity contract with the NFL for the Ticket. If the NFL really gave a shit about access to their programming for all fans they wouldn't have done this in the first place, let alone renewed it every chance they got. This is money. I don't give a shit about the NFL's money. Phobia said it best when he stated "Big money is ruining this game."

Big money ruins everything, not just football.

[Adept Havelock]

Comprimise should be:
put the NFL on the basic package.



It should be, but the NFL these days prefers exclusivity.

Just ask the folks who made a superior product over at 2KSports.

[Frazod]

The NFL is full of shit with their pricing. I work for a smaller cable provider and I've seen the numbers and it's just not even close to doable for us to justify the cost incurred to carry the NFL network. The last I checked it was well over 3 times the cost of any other cable channel which is total bullshit.

I'm fully behind Comcast on this because the bottom line is that if the NFL get's it's way then only the largest and most wealthy markets are going to be able to afford it's pricing anyway. Here in rural KS, we can't touch it.

It's hard for me to get behind anything Comcast does because they monopolize this area with an iron fist, have managed to stave off all competition (except for satellite providers) and are basically scum from the pit of hell. I have to use them as an IP because where I live it's either get gouged by them or use dial-up (no other high-speed or DSL providers in my area - just them). Their rates are criminal; their service wretched.

[Mr. Laz]

comcast and time warner can carry what they want ...... period.


FCC should keep their fargin noses out of it.




The FCC should keep their dam noses outa of alot of things. :mad:

[Valiant]

See thats where the NFL is wrong. They won't let the cable companies put it on a "al carte" channel. Here's what the NFL wants for this channel. You want to pay for it? Here's what it cost's.

But the cable companies are not angels in this. They want access to the NFL Sunday ticket. They are playing hardball to get it.

Comprimise should be:
put the NFL on the basic package.

When the current exclusive Direct TV deal is up they allow cable companies to sell it to their subscribers.


**** that.. IF this goes thru with the FCC it is going to blow up in the NFL's face.. Their premise is they want the fans to see the games on NFL network.. They were trying to force the cable companies hands when they included the games into the NFL Network to get them to pick up the channel..

They need to give up Sunday Ticket to everybody but they are refusing to do it.. Even in the article the NFL states they will give the chance for the Cable Companies to bid again after 2010.. What they don't what their fans to see the games now???

The NFL is trying to get the ruling both ways..

The NFL also needs to end this BS blackouts for people that have purchased the Ticket..

[Extra Point]

I'll take NFL Network in lieu of ESPN Classic.

[Bugeater]

But the cable companies are not angels in this. They want access to the NFL Sunday ticket. They are playing hardball to get it.
If that's true, then I support the cable companies 100%. That exclusive contract with Dtv is bullshit.

[DaFace]

How does Dish Notwork survive without Sunday Ticket?

Dish Network > DTV-Sunday Ticket

[morphius]

As long as the NFL sells rights to a single provider for Sunday Ticket, I have NO issue with the cable providers pushing back. If you have a money maker for companies, and refuse to even talk to them about getting it, then why one Earth should they pay you for your channel?

[Skip Towne]

Dish Network > DTV-Sunday Ticket
How do you figure?

[Tiger's Fan]

I live in rural shitbox Kansas and have service through a local small cable company. They've had NFL Network for well over a year now, on basic expanded package. No rate increase, no special sports package. The big cable companies are full of shit. And I'd rather have NFL network than all the ESPN's combined.

[Adept Havelock]

comcast and time warner can carry what they want ...... period.


FCC should keep their fargin noses out of it.




The FCC should keep their dam noses outa of alot of things. :mad:

Agreed.

<embed width="448" height="365" src="http://www.ifilm.com/efp" quality="high" bgcolor="000000" name="efp" align="middle" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" flashvars="flvbaseclip=2683695&"> </embed> <h1><a href="http://www.ifilm.com/video/2683695">FCC Song</a></h1><span>Posted Nov 11, 2005</span><p>Peter Griffin reminds us that everybody poops as he takes on the FCC in this musical number. ¿</p>

[DaFace]

How do you figure?

Just personal preference. I've messed with both, and had Dish for around 3 years. I'd gladly go back to Dish if I had an apartment that I could do it. The only reason why I'd consider DirecTV is Sunday Ticket.

[Hydrae]

TMQ at ESPN did his yearly rant about Sunday Ticket this week. Kinda makes it hard to feel sorry for the NFL here.

I thought it was especially interesting when he gets to talking about how Sunday Ticket is available to basically anyone else in the world for free except for the citizens of the USA. I especially enjoyed this comment:

The National Football League must find a way to offer anyone the chance to buy Sunday Ticket. If the league does not, Congress ought to follow the NFL's advice and intervene. Members of Congress ought to pressure the NFL to stop offering Sunday Ticket to the entire populations of Canada and Bulgaria but restricting access here. This sounds like a nice populist cause for the right senator or representative.

[Mr. Flopnuts]

How does Dish Notwork survive without Sunday Ticket?



LMAO You said it yourself. Notwork. Rain, storms, you name it, no signal. Contracts, deposits, credit checks, all things that would have to change if DTV lost their exclusivity agreement with the NFL. Their customer service is great, that's the upside to them. Reliability of service though, it's attrocious. I've seen it first hand. You move, can't get it pointed for a signal because of some obstruction, you're stuck paying money for service you can't even use. Not good business. That would all change. DTV would be a better company if they had to share. They'd make less money, but they'd be a better company consumer wise.

[Mr. Flopnuts]

Big money ruins everything, not just football.



I wish it'd come around and ruin me. :D

[Skip Towne]

LMAO You said it yourself. Notwork. Rain, storms, you name it, no signal. Contracts, deposits, credit checks, all things that would have to change if DTV lost their exclusivity agreement with the NFL. Their customer service is great, that's the upside to them. Reliability of service though, it's attrocious. I've seen it first hand. You move, can't get it pointed for a signal because of some obstruction, you're stuck paying money for service you can't even use. Not good business. That would all change. DTV would be a better company if they had to share. They'd make less money, but they'd be a better company consumer wise.
Directv is bigger than Dish and would survive just fine without the Ticket. It has been my experience that if D* can't provide the service they will let you out of the contract. It happens all the time.

[Mr. Flopnuts]

Directv is bigger than Dish and would survive just fine without the Ticket. It has been my experience that if D* can't provide the service they will let you out of the contract. It happens all the time.



Hmm, I had some family a couple of years back be told they couldn't get out of the contract. It may have been a different sattelite carrier than DTV, I'll have to ask. If that has changed, I'd be much more inclined to sign up with DTV, like I said they have superior customer service. I guess my only problem would be the weather.

I know they would survive, but they would be completely irrelevant much like Dish if they didn't have the ticket, or if everyone else had it too. Either that or they'd change the policies they have that differ from everyone elses.

[Skip Towne]

Hmm, I had some family a couple of years back be told they couldn't get out of the contract. It may have been a different sattelite carrier than DTV, I'll have to ask. If that has changed, I'd be much more inclined to sign up with DTV, like I said they have superior customer service. I guess my only problem would be the weather.

I know they would survive, but they would be completely irrelevant much like Dish if they didn't have the ticket, or if everyone else had it too. Either that or they'd change the policies they have that differ from everyone elses.
Dish certainly isn't irrelevant. Last I checked they had something like 13 million subscribers. Times an average of $50 per month. Their owner, Charles Ergen is among the richest men in the US.

[TrebMaxx]

IMHO the NFL is screwing this deal up big time. I hate to side with the cable companies but in this case I am with them.

[Mr. Flopnuts]

Dish certainly isn't irrelevant. Last I checked they had something like 13 million subscribers. Times an average of $50 per month. Their owner, Charles Ergen is among the richest men in the US.



Being nationwide certainly helps their cause. Fed up people sick of the cable companies is the other. I'm really surprised that they have that kind of customer base. Things have changed it would appear.

[Skip Towne]

Being nationwide certainly helps their cause. Fed up people sick of the cable companies is the other. I'm really surprised that they have that kind of customer base. Things have changed it would appear.
D* has around 16 million subs. Pretty close to a billion dollars per month in revenue. And Dish and Direct together only have about 10% of the market. Pay TV is HUGE!!!

[mcan]

If they could get NFL Ticket and NFL Network all in HD on digital cable, I'd absolutely pay top dollar for it as a package.


Why does NFL Ticket have to be exclusive. Seems like you'ld make more in the long run getting on more screens and selling more adverts... Put NFL cameras and crews in the stadiums and by-pass the networks all together. Sell directly to the cable and satallite people. Have all games played EVERYWHERE in high def. Then, the local channels can air just their teams' games on some network affiliate.

[Mr. Flopnuts]

D* has around 16 million subs. Pretty close to a billion dollars per month in revenue. And Dish and Direct together only have about 10% of the market. Pay TV is HUGE!!!

DTV only has 3 mil more than Dish? Wow. I figured the Ticket would give them almost ALL of the sattelite clientele.

[Mr. Flopnuts]

I got a question for you Skip. I've thought about getting DTV before for the Ticket. I live in Seattle though, and it rains here 200 days a year. We don't get a whole hell of a lot of wind but it's nasty out quite a bit. How often, and under what circumstances could a person expect signal interference?

[Frazod]

DTV only has 3 mil more than Dish? Wow. I figured the Ticket would give them almost ALL of the sattelite clientele.

Sunday Ticket has to be a pretty specific niche service - sportsbars and serious football fans of a specific team transplanted to another area with the means, desire and ability to get the service. If I lived in/near Kansas City I wouldn't have it; what would be the point? The vast majority of a specific team's fans live in the area where their team plays. In this regard, CP is not representative of the average consumer.

[chief52]

I got a question for you Skip. I've thought about getting DTV before for the Ticket. I live in Seattle though, and it rains here 200 days a year. We don't get a whole hell of a lot of wind but it's nasty out quite a bit. How often, and under what circumstances could a person expect signal interference?


I will let the expert Skip handle it, but I live on the north coast of CA. in Humboldt County. We get a lot of rain here...similar to Washington I believe. As long as you have a good spot to put your antenna and get it dialed in, I have very few problems. Light/moderate rain is no problem. HEAVY rain can be irritating...but I never have it last that long.

[chief52]

Sunday Ticket has to be a pretty specific niche service - sportsbars and serious football fans of a specific team transplanted to another area with the means, desire and ability to get the service. If I lived in/near Kansas City I wouldn't have it; what would be the point? The vast majority of a specific team's fans live in the area where their team plays. In this regard, CP is not representative of the average consumer.

Very true...it is a niche. I get swamped with Raider/49er stuff all the time. Watching the Chiefs makes it work for me...but I have only a couple of friends that have the Ticket. They are either Raider or 49er fans and get all of their team they want.

[Skip Towne]

I got a question for you Skip. I've thought about getting DTV before for the Ticket. I live in Seattle though, and it rains here 200 days a year. We don't get a whole hell of a lot of wind but it's nasty out quite a bit. How often, and under what circumstances could a person expect signal interference?
The biggest factor in "rain fade" is having your dish aimed to optimum reception. It starts at about signal quality 55. If you only had 70 before, you will lose signal pretty quick in moderate rain. If, however, your dish is properly aimed and the SQ is around 95, moderate rain will not affect your signal. I have had about 5 instances of rain fade in the last year with the worst one lasting 8 minutes. If I understand correctly, Seattle gets frequent rain but it is more of a drizzle than the T-Storms we get in Oklahoma. Both D* and E* do fine in light to moderate rain when properly aligned.

[Bugeater]

Their customer service is great, that's the upside to them. Reliability of service though, it's attrocious.
I found exactly the opposite true. I never had a signal problem except for one time when there was a substantial amount of snow on the dish. The customer service OTOH...don't get me started.

[Bugeater]

Why does NFL Ticket have to be exclusive. Seems like you'ld make more in the long run getting on more screens and selling more adverts... .
Simplicity. The NFL only has to negotiate one contract instead of god knows how many cable companies there are.

[Mr. Flopnuts]

The biggest factor in "rain fade" is having your dish aimed to optimum reception. It starts at about signal quality 55. If you only had 70 before, you will lose signal pretty quick in moderate rain. If, however, your dish is properly aimed and the SQ is around 95, moderate rain will not affect your signal. I have had about 5 instances of rain fade in the last year with the worst one lasting 8 minutes. If I understand correctly, Seattle gets frequent rain but it is more of a drizzle than the T-Storms we get in Oklahoma. Both D* and E* do fine in light to moderate rain when properly aligned.



It never really RAINS here. I've been to numerous spots in the US and the average annual rainfall here is less than a lot of places you would expect it to be much higher. It is a CONSTANT drizzle here. I'll probably get it next year, but I've said that the last 3 years. I don't want to sign a contract at all. Probably gonna buck up though, because i am entirely sick of going to the bar every Sunday and watching people get hammered at 10:30 in the morning.

[Mr. Flopnuts]

I found exactly the opposite true. I never had a signal problem except for one time when there was a substantial amount of snow on the dish. The customer service OTOH...don't get me started.



I've never had the service myself, I'm just going off of J.D Powers, and people here who have said that DTV has bent over backwards to make them happy.

[Mr. Laz]

Simplicity. The NFL only has to negotiate one contract instead of god knows how many cable companies there are.
not even ........


it's to drive up the price by creating a bidding war

[Frazod]

It really has to be storming like all hell for me to lose my signal. The new HD dish seems even more impervious to signal problems. I think I've lost service maybe three times all year, and never for very long.

[Adept Havelock]

not even ........


it's to drive up the price by creating a bidding war


Precisely.

It's not good for the market, either. Exclusivity killed a superior product (NFL2K franchise) simply because EA had more money to throw around.

[Bugeater]

I've never had the service myself, I'm just going off of J.D Powers, and people here who have said that DTV has bent over backwards to make them happy.
Eh, not everyone. That's something that has alway puzzled me, it's like some get stuck with some bizarro Dtv that wants to lie and deceive you, while others are perfectly happy.

[Bugeater]

not even ........


it's to drive up the price by creating a bidding war
LOL There is no "bidding war", the cable system is far too fragmented to outbid Dtv.

[Frazod]

I bet it would make me a lot better person. I'd happily accept some big money as an experiment.

We're ruinees, not ruiners. :banghead:

[Skip Towne]

Sunday Ticket has to be a pretty specific niche service - sportsbars and serious football fans of a specific team transplanted to another area with the means, desire and ability to get the service. If I lived in/near Kansas City I wouldn't have it; what would be the point? The vast majority of a specific team's fans live in the area where their team plays. In this regard, CP is not representative of the average consumer.
Correct. I don't know for sure but I am asking around other message boards to get it right. I'm guessing 10 % of D* customers get the Ticket. It's too expensive to get much market penetration.

[Skip Towne]

It really has to be storming like all hell for me to lose my signal. The new HD dish seems even more impervious to signal problems. I think I've lost service maybe three times all year, and never for very long.
The new HD dishes DO have less rain fade. Because they are bigger. They can collect more signal than a smaller dish.

[Skip Towne]

I bet it would make me a lot better person. I'd happily accept some big money as an experiment.
Bullshit! With money you'd be Caligula.

[TopJet2]

Many of the smaller cable companies caved quickly to the demands of nfl network. In lieu of cash some paid in advertising as in paying to insert local adverts on espn for their own cable company. If you think that the cable companies are too fragmented to put the cash up for sunday ticket you are incorrect. Recently 4 companies teamed up and bought wireless frequencies from the govt outbidding the dish company or companies I cant remember. Its ridiculous what dtv paid for the exclusive rights to the ticket over a billion dollars for the deal. One of the things I find interesting is that many channels owned by cable companies have to be sold to satellite companies but the reverse is not the case

[Adept Havelock]

Bullshit! With money you'd be Caligula.


With that kind of money, I'd be Caligula, Jim Jones, and the Maquis De Sade.

[Skip Towne]

With that kind of money, I'd be Caligula, Jim Jones, and the Maquis De Sade.
I'd be wanting to be your friend.

[Skip Towne]

Many of the smaller cable companies caved quickly to the demands of nfl network. In lieu of cash some paid in advertising as in paying to insert local adverts on espn for their own cable company. If you think that the cable companies are too fragmented to put the cash up for sunday ticket you are incorrect. Recently 4 companies teamed up and bought wireless frequencies from the govt outbidding the dish company or companies I cant remember. Its ridiculous what dtv paid for the exclusive rights to the ticket over a billion dollars for the deal. One of the things I find interesting is that many channels owned by cable companies have to be sold to satellite companies but the reverse is not the case
So what happens if one of the big cable companies outbids D*? The rest of the country not served by that company just does without? Whoops, I was talking about ST. Please disregard.