Comcast and NFL Network Delay Divorce
With only a few hou
rs to go on an expiring contract, the NFL Network and Comcast have agreed to not allow the football network to go off the air tonight at midnight. The two sides have been battling for the past couple years. The Philadelphia Inquirer just printed this statement online:
“Comcast and the NFL are engaged in productive discussions toward a new agreement for NFL Network carriage on Comcast. NFL Network will continue to be carried on Comcast systems past tonight’s scheduled expiration of the current contract while both sides continue these productive discussions. We are both working to find a solution that works for NFL fans and Comcast’s customers.”
The NFL had been contesting Comcast’s extra monthly charge for a “sports package” that includes NHL, NBA, and more channels. The League, and this subscriber, felt that the cable giant should include the programming in it’s already excessive (my opinion) rates.
A representative at Comcast told me earlier today she didn’t want to give any “false hope,” but that the service had not been terminated and they were still working towards a deal. She said the NFL Network was pulling service away from them.
In the days leading up to the deadline, the football network displayed a banner alerting viewers of the pending divorce. Their website urged viewers to submit a protest form. Blogger Obsessed With Sports did a good job describing the situation. The Comcast reply to the protest is inclued in his comment’s section.
Comcast apparently didn’t like being told how to run their business on account of them not being able to further gouge subscribers, many of whom have no other cable provider option. Direct TV has poked fun at cable executives in a string of recent ads that are probably surprisingly accurate.
Comcast made an argument at one point that the NFL Network only broadcasts 8 games a year yet charges a big fee for such little coverage. If they’re only showing eight games then why charge subscribers extra money! The reason is because the network pulls millions of viewers and is growing leaps and bounds. The recent retirement of John Madden only opens up the field more to the next generation of football programmers. (But please, for the love of Johnny U. do not let Bryant Gumbel ever call a game again).
So the spat continues, but the two sides are in therapy and hope in time they can work things out. I’m sure they will. After all, money is on the line.
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Life. Culture. Education.
Life as Pop Culture Professor Clay Morgan
In The Matrix, Morpheus tells Neo he can take the blue pill and go on believing whatever he wants to believe. Or he can take the red pill to stay in Wonderland and find out how deep the rabbit hole goes.
This is a red pill type site that provides information in an entertaining way. It’s about clear thinking and good writing. It’s about finding meaning amidst the absurd. It’s about humor and truth.
I’m a writer / speaker who teaches history and political courses at a couple of local colleges. Where is local, you say? Well, that would be Wonderland of course.
On topics ranging from pop culture to the meaning of life, my brain’s always poppin’. Take the red pill and unplug.
