NFL Gains Victory in Cable Dispute
The Federal Communications Commission issued a ruling late Friday in favor of the NFL in its dispute with Comcast over pricing and distribution of the league-owned NFL Network.
Acting on a complaint filed by the NFL in May, the FCC issued a preliminary ruling that there was a prima facie basis for two of the league's claims and sent the case to an administrative law judge.
The NFL maintains that Comcast should carry the NFL Network on its digital basic package. The cable company maintains that many subscribers who didn't want the NFL Network would have to pay more for service if the carrier was forced to put the channel on its basic package.
The ruling is a victory for the NFL in its long-running disputes with Comcast and several other large cable carriers over distribution and pricing. The disputes have kept the NFL Network in far fewer U.S. households than the league's franchise owners had envisioned when they opted to put a package of prime time games on Thursday and Saturday nights on the league's own channel instead of selling the games to another network for a rights fee.
The dispute received increased attention late last season when the NFL Network was to carry the New England Patriots' regular season finale against the New York Giants as the Patriots tried to complete the first 16-0 regular season in league history. The league agreed to have that game carried on NBC and CBS as well as the NFL Network.
The FCC's ruling now goes before an administrative law judge.
The NFL Network issued a written statement that said: "We are pleased with [Friday's] FCC ruling and appreciate the commissioners' attention to our complaint. NFL cable viewers could soon be the real winners."
According to the Associated Press, Comcast said in a written statement that "forcing these networks onto our cable systems will cost consumers millions of dollars and cause cable prices to rise."
By
Mark Maske
|
October 11, 2008; 7:18 PM ET
| Category:
League
,
Television
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Posted by: worstSeat | October 11, 2008 10:32 PM
Might want to add why the FCC would step in on something like this for those without the background.
from the [ny] times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/12/sports/football/12cable.html?ref=media
"One claim is whether Comcast violated a commission rule by giving preferential treatment on its cable systems to Versus and the Golf Channel, sports networks that it owns, to the detriment of the N.F.L.’s channel.
The second claim is whether Comcast, the nation’s largest cable operator, with nearly 25 million subscribers, improperly demanded a financial interest in the NFL Network as a condition for carrying it."
etc
Posted by: worstSeat | October 11, 2008 10:26 PM
Might want to add why the FCC would step in on something like this for those without the background.
from the [ny] times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/12/sports/football/12cable.html?ref=media
"One claim is whether Comcast violated a commission rule by giving preferential treatment on its cable systems to Versus and the Golf Channel, sports networks that it owns, to the detriment of the N.F.L.’s channel.
The second claim is whether Comcast, the nation’s largest cable operator, with nearly 25 million subscribers, improperly demanded a financial interest in the NFL Network as a condition for carrying it."
etc
Posted by: Anonymous | October 11, 2008 10:24 PM
The comments to this entry are closed.
Sorry to spam, but is there any reason the NY Times only say...
"In its preliminary ruling, the F.C.C. said that the league had established initial grounds for its two leading claims against Comcast, and sent the sides for a decision by an administrative law judge within 60 days."
?
That's a lot different than what you've got here...
"The FCC ruled that Comcast discriminated against the league-owned NFL Network..."
Sounds overstated. $0.02