Fans Lose As NFL Network, Cable Companies Play Games Posted by Bob at 12/21/06 01:35 PM

For fans of the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers, it doesn’t get much better than tonight’s late season showdown between the long-time rivals.

Both are fighting for a spot in the upcoming playoffs and it could very well be the last home game ever for the Packer’s legendary quarterback, Brett Favre.

But many Packers and Vikings fans are in for a rude awakening when they snap on their cheeseheads and horned helmets and settle in front of the television this evening. Unless they have a satellite dish or live in or near the teams’ homes in the Twin Cities or Milwaukee, fans won’t be able to watch the game on television.

How can this be?

It’s about money, of course. The National Football League’s new NFL Network is in the middle of battle over big bucks with some of the nation’s biggest cable companies.

As with most affairs predicated on pure greed, this one is devoid of heroes. There are only unwitting victims.

The NFL Network wants cable companies such as Charter Communications and Time Warner to carry its programming as part of their basic cable package. The cable companies say such an arrangement would hike the cable rates of all its subscribers, which they contend would be unfair to customers who have no interest in the NFL Network.

The NFL Network wants to force its way onto basic cable so it can reach more viewers and charge higher advertising rates. That’s in addition to the hefty fees NFL Network already charges cable companies to carry its programming.

The cable companies claim they are trying to protect their customers who don’t care about football from the greedy NFL. That would be terrific, were it true.

The cable companies say they want to offer the NFL Network as part of “premium sports packages.” That means that NFL fans would have to pay for a whole host of sports programming they might not want just to watch the games on NFL Network.

We say “a pox on both their houses.”

It’s unseemly and downright obnoxious for the NFL Network to extort tribute from non-football fans who would rather be watching a movie or reruns of “The X-Files.”

It’s just as bad for the cable companies to force pro football fans to pay for the Golf Channel and the Tennis Channel just so they can watch certain NFL games.

What would be fair?

The NFL Network should knock off the power game it is playing with the cable companies to muscle its way onto basic cable.

In turn, the cable companies should offer the NFL Network as a stand-alone option, not part of an expensive, take-it-or-leave-it package.

We have set up a web site where you can send your thoughts about all this to the Federal Communications Commission, should you so desire. Might be a good way for all you Packers and Vikings fans who can't watch game tonight to take out some frustration.

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