NFL Presses Time Warner Cable on Carrying NFL Network
21/12/2007 |
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The National Football League asked Time Warner Cable Inc. today to turn a pricing dispute over to arbitrators so that more fans can see the season-ending game between the New York Giants and New England Patriots.
The Dec. 29 game is one of eight the league is showing on its NFL Network and withholding from its annual $3.7 billion television package with Walt Disney Co.'s ESPN, General Electric Co.'s NBC, News Corp.'s Fox and CBS Corp.
Interest in the game will be heightened if the Patriots, undefeated in 14 games, win their Dec. 23 matchup against the Miami Dolphins. The NFL wants its channel to appear in basic- cable packages, where it can reach the broadest audience. Time Warner wants to place it in a sports package, or tier, where its audience would include only customers willing to pay extra.
``The objective is to have a neutral third party determine the price and tier for NFL Network distribution,'' league commissioner Roger Goodell wrote in a letter to Time Warner Cable Chief Executive Officer Glenn Britt. The letter was distributed to reporters via e-mail.
Boston and New York area viewers will be able to watch on local broadcast affiliates, and DirecTV Group Inc. will show the game to customers nationwide. Most cable viewers outside the teams' home markets won't see it if the dispute isn't resolved.
Britt, responding in a letter to Goodell, said Time Warner Cable made several offers that ``you and your colleagues have been unwilling to seriously discuss.'' The cable operator is willing to discuss offering the game free on a digital channel, Britt said. He didn't explicitly accept or reject the arbitration offer.
(Source: Bloomberg.com)
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