If you're a Time Warner Cable subscriber outside New York or Boston, you have probably resigned yourself to the fact that you're not watching the Patriots attempt to go 16-0 against the Giants on Saturday, Dec. 29.
Well, not so fast. The NFL has released a letter from Commissioner Roger Goodell to Time Warner Cable President and CEO Glenn Britt in which Goodell suggests that binding arbitration could allow the game to be shown. Goodell says he wants a neutral third party to determine whether NFL Network should be part of basic cable, and how much it should cost, based on an arbiter's determination of what constitutes fair market value for NFL Network.
Although I'm sure the letter was intended mostly for NFL fans and for senators who are suggesting that they'll get involved in the NFL Network issue, it also sounds like a fairly reasonable compromise: The NFL and Time Warner both say the other side is being unfair. Why not let a neutral party decide who's right?
Previously on FanHouse:
Senators Know Where Their Bread Is Buttered
Senate May Take a Look At NFL Antitrust Exemption to End NFL Network Dispute
Don't Have NFL Network? Go Outside, Look Up, Watch Game on DirecTV Blimp
John Kerry Weighs in on NFL Network Dispute
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-20-2007 @ 4:00PM
FootballOnuts said...
It's always about the money.
Reply
12-20-2007 @ 4:08PM
Moonshine Mike said...
Not a bad idea, if the person is truly neutral.
George Mitchell anyone?
Reply
12-20-2007 @ 4:58PM
Phil said...
The cable companies shouldn't do anything until the NFL let's them have Sunday Ticket. I don't know why they aren't publicly saying, "give us sunday ticket and we'll take the NFL network also." It would turn the publicity tide towards them.
Reply
12-20-2007 @ 6:33PM
rob said...
I don't know what the uproar is. I am an avid NFL fan, and watch every game that I can, but I refuse to pay to watch one on television. If the NFL chooses to put key games on pay television, they can kiss whatever revenue they get from me goodbye. It may not be much, a couple hundred a year probably, but they won't get anything from me because I refuse to patronize greed. Simple as that. If the balance of the fans would do that, the NFL wouldn't even consider doing what they are doing with the NFL network.
Reply
12-20-2007 @ 9:05PM
hal coholic said...
Why can't the NFL just offer the game to local channels like Fox used to do when they didn't have enough of their own affiliates? Then the cable and Directv could both go to hell!
Reply
12-20-2007 @ 9:06PM
Leonwestbrook said...
FYI. The NFL is required to show the game on an over the air network in the New England and NYC markets.
So all is not lost.
Reply
12-20-2007 @ 9:33PM
kevinS said...
Sunday Ticket is awesome. Worth every cent. NFL Network is ok too
Reply
12-21-2007 @ 9:34AM
jtschmidt19 said...
until the nfl offers the sunday ticket on all cable and satellite providers, then they are being totally hypocritical to try to stuff the nfl network down the cable companies' throats.
also, bryant gumbal sucks
Reply
12-23-2007 @ 8:39PM
someone said...
There's no need for arbitration to decide what is "fair". In a free-market system, the market decides what is a fair price for a given good. If enough people wanted to pay enough money for the NFL games, the cable networks would carry the NFL network for purely economic reasons. Clearly, this is not the case. It's the NFL who is trying desperately to find a way to force the networks to buy their product at a higher price than it is worth.
Reply
12-29-2007 @ 5:01PM
Dave said...
It's the Jerry and Roger show and they have lost me as a fan. If they want to cater to 38% of the audience, let them eat Dish and Direc, I don't care. Jerry Jones just proved to a bunch of Cowboy fans in Texas that he could care less about us. I'm not watching any NFL games. The sports highlights show what I want to see. This way my grandchildren are no longer exposed to the drug abusing gangsters today's NFL player has become. Good Riddance!!!
Reply