In NFL Network Vs. Big Cable Fight - It's All About the Money

The National Football League remains at odds with a couple of America's largest cable television companies regarding the availability of the league's NFL Network, which provides round the clock coverage of pro football every day of the year. Because the league and the cable companies cannot come to an amicable agreement, many die hard football fans are being left in the dark.

At the crux of the dispute is whether the cable companies should make the channel available on their regular lineups or whether customers should have to pay for premium services to get NFL Network. The cable companies also argue that the NFL is charging too much to allow them to provide the channel for free to its customers. Of course, as in many disputes, it all comes down to money, and both sides of this flap are guilty of pursuing wealth at the expense of football fans.

Time Warner has refused to carry the channel at all throughout its first year on the air. Comcast, on the other hand, makes the channel available as part of a sports tier that customers must pay extra to receive in their homes. NFL officials have cried foul, but the cable companies also complain they are being bullied by America's most popular sport and a league that reaps billions of dollars annually because of its popularity. The fight has grown so bitter that the sides bombard the public airwaves and e-mail inboxes with their individual takes on the dispute. State lawmakers in several states have considered passing legislation to resolve the dispute, which has even been discussed on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.

Meanwhile, it's the NFL fans, not the powerful NFL or the behemoth cable companies that are losing. In addition to round the clock football coverage, a limited number of games are shown exclusively on NFL Network. For fans of the teams playing on the new channel who cannot access it, they are simply out of luck. The NFL Network appeared poised to relent last year when they said NFL Network games could be viewed on the league's Web site, nfl.com. However, that promise was a bit disingenuous because the whole game was not really broadcast over the Internet. Instead, a handful of plays were shown intermittently while most of the broadcast was of studio announcers talking about the game as it unfolded.

Another eight games are scheduled for next fall on the NFL Network with no resolution with the cable companies in sight.

In its latest missive to fans, the NFL sent out an e-mail titled "Time Warner Blocks Football 24-7 and Still Raises Rates." The brief e-mail explains the ongoing dispute and lays the blame squarely at the feet of Time Warner. "Cable rates have doubled over the last decade, yet you're stuck paying for dozens of channels you don't want," said the e-mail, which was not attributed to any single NFL league official.

While that may be true, it should also be noted that lots of other things have doubled in price over a decade, including gasoline and other commodities more vital to Americans' lives than cable television. In fact, season tickets at some NFL venues have doubled during that same period, but the cash cow NFL left that part out.

The NFL e-mail further encourages fans to contact their state legislators to intervene and pass a Fair Access to Networks (FAN) Act to solve the standoff.

The issue even has come to Congress. The U.S. House of Representatives Telecommunications and Internet Subcommittee recently heard from both sides on the issue. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell accused the cable companies of "anticompetitive practices" that stifle independent networks like the NFL's channel and generally drive up prices.

Time Warner President Glenn Britt called the league's argument "disingenuous" because the NFL limits distribution of its popular NFL Sunday Ticket package to a single satellite provider, thereby shutting out the cable companies.

The Consumer Federation of America also testified before Congress on the issue. That group favor's an ala carte-type pricing structure, where cable customers simply pay for only the channels they want. Cable companies have long argued that is not practical because less popular channels would cost substantially more to make it worth making them available.

Goodell further argued that the cable companies are acting in a discriminatory manner because they don't treat independent sports channels they way they do channels that are directly affiliated with the cable carriers. He stopped short of calling for federal legislation on the issue, but asked the Federal Communications Commission to review the situation and enforce existing laws.

Members of Congress noted that competition in the telecommunications industry is the most robust it has been in years and noted that only 15 percent of channels are controlled directly by the cable companies.

With no resolution in site, expect more of the sanctimonious fighting between the league and cable carriers, especially as the season kicks off in September. It remain unclear which side will win the fight for the almighty dollar, but it is certain who will pay for it the end, no matter who wins - the NFL fan.