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November 29, 2007 |
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TCA NEWS ALERT"The NFL Network all about greed"If you have trouble reading this e-mail click here to go to the online version.
Commentary by Dale Hansen, weeknight sports anchor on WFAA-TV in Dallas, the largest television station in Texas. Hansen has been with WFAA for 25 years and has received numerous awards including Sportscaster of the Year on two occasions by the Associated Press.
Hansen Unplugged: The NFL Network all about greed Dale Hansen says the Cowboys-Packers game is on the NFL Network because NFL team owners are greedy. Click here to watch the video of the Hansen commentary. Most of the country won't get to see that game tomorrow night--just another example of no matter how much money the NFL owners make, it's not enough. The NFL is paid $3.7 billion a year by the networks that televise their games, but they want their own network. Click here to learn more about the NFL's unreasonable demands.
Update: Recent comments about the NFL Network issue...(not to mention NFL ticket prices): The reason the NFL Network is not on most cable systems is the league's arrogance...Even to the NFL's fans, (the) price might seem high for a network that provides about 24 hours per year of live NFL football and about 8,736 hours of filler...So if you're upset about being blacked out of tonight's big game, pick the right villain. It's the oh-so-popular NFL, not the usual suspects. USA Today Editorial, Nov. 29, 2007 The Cowboys promised the world's snazziest football stadium -- total tab with the Cowboys' contribution, about $1 billion. (Yes, yes, not counting interest and supporting infrastructure.) The unsaid but certainly understood part of that deal was that somebody was going to end up paying for it, and it wasn't going to be on owner Jerry Jones' personal tab. We really knew all along, of course, who would pay: the fans. We just didn't know how much it would be until last week. That's when the Cowboys announced that it would cost season-ticket holders $16,000 to $50,000 just for a "personal seat license," which then gives someone an option to pay $340 per club seat ticket, not including parking... Current club seats at the existing (and certainly tacky) Texas Stadium run $129 per game. Suites at the new stadium start at $2 million for a 20-year lease -- and then get really pricey. Fort Worth Star-Telegram Editorial, Nov. 29, 2007 Instead of charging consumers directly for the new network, or allowing its new network to be included in the "sports tier" of cable programming (for an extra fee), the NFL is putting the squeeze on video providers, demanding that the NFL Network be included for free in everyone's basic tier of programming, and then running an advertising campaign trashing the cable companies for not bowing to the NFL's demands....Consumers should not be fooled -- if anyone is to blame for sports fans not being able to see a game, it's not the video provider, which is essentially being squeezed. It's the NFL. The way to see this fight isn't the NFL versus cable companies. It's the NFL versus cable customers. That's why the proper response for lawmakers to Jones' proposal is raucous laughter. The NFL is a highly prosperous league with no need for a congressionally arranged bailout. If the business model for its cable network is – excuse us – a turkey, that is the NFL's problem and no one else's. Editorial: Shameless NFL, San Diego Union-Tribune, Nov. 22, 2007 The NFL Network is way behind the business plan it drew up before it began operations in November 2003...Despite the high cost to the distributors that do carry it, the network will pocket a negligible cash flow of $5.4 million in 2007, according to SNL Kagan. Chiefly responsible for the dismal cash flow are meek ratings: NFL Network averaged only 147,000 viewers in primetime during the third quarter, putting it 54th out of 69 cable networks monitored by Nielsen. Other recent headlines:
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