NFL Network flap may jeopardize league's antitrust exemption

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Watch this:http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1656880303867390173
Maybe you'll see what I mean. I also want to say that I don't necessarily believe every little nugget of info. in this video but overall it does make sense. It's pretty depressing actually.

Im sorry but calling the erosion of civil liberties into play when were talking about economics is laughable. Baseball and the NFL are one of a handful of companies in the US to get this exemption and its not like the insurance industry which doesnt get this exemption is rife with injustices to it by the government.

Social libertarianism is one thing and is laudable on many levels. Economic libertarianism is very much so another and has ALWAYS failed. Markets with resource scarcities like labor in the NFl and markets with steep demand curves tend towards monopolies. Monopolies are bad on so many levels and if you cannot grasp that then there is really no point in having a discussion.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

This isn't an anti-trust issue, it's a distribution issue. There are all sorts of competing entertainment products, and the NFL has distrubution through multiple channels. They have every right to integrate their distribution chain and improve their margins if they think the current options are not adding unique value.

The only issue is that the cable companies that provide access to their distribution believe they can charge a premium for that service. The NFL obviously disagrees with them. The involvement of congress and the anti-trust threats are a hollow sham. It does show the cable companies can shake the whole tree when they want to, which should be embarrassing and annoying to the rest of us when we see it happen.

Umm Congress can easily present a bill to repeal the NFL's exception and those two guys are at the head of the committe that would do that. Thats not hollow and it would stick it straight to the NFL.

Now as tot he last point where its irritating to see Congress dance to the jig of corporate interest, i agree but its not an empty threat.

 

[jackrussell]

I didn't say anything about that. I said where's the monopoly?

You missed the whole USFL v. NFL thingy, didn't you?

 

[StanleySpadowski]

Benedict Arlen's been bought and paid for by Comcast for so long that he seems to forget his place. Neither he nor Leahy could ever muster the votes to strip the NFL of its limited anti-trust exemption. He needs to look at the circumstances surrounding the Clarett decision and what politicians fell where before he tackles the NFL. Maybe he can dream up another magic bullet or claim "not proven".


The bottom line is that the NFL is slowly winning this war with "big cable" (look at the subscriber losses) and the cable companies are running out of ammo. If this is all they're left with, they're in big, big trouble and must be praying for the reprieve that will come with the off-season.

 

[Daudr]

They threatened the same thing last year and nothing ever came of it.

 

[Rackat]

"Now that the NFL is adopting strategies to limit distribution of game programming to their own networks," they wrote, "Congress may need to reexamine the need and desirability of their continued exemption from the Nation's antitrust laws."

Translation: Comcast donates more than you do.

 

[Daudr]

Hey, if the NFL did not have the priviledges they do, which were given by the government, I'd be right there with some of you suggesting that the government should just "back off." But the fact is the NFL has benefitted greatly by the anti-trust exemption, and now some in government believe the NFL needs to be a little more "understanding."

:clap2:

Thank you. This is the point that so many here have ignored.

 

[CrazyCowboy]

both sides should compromise.

 

[Royal Laegotti]

Im sorry but calling the erosion of civil liberties into play when were talking about economics is laughable. Baseball and the NFL are one of a handful of companies in the US to get this exemption and its not like the insurance industry which doesnt get this exemption is rife with injustices to it by the government.

Social libertarianism is one thing and is laudable on many levels. Economic libertarianism is very much so another and has ALWAYS failed. Markets with resource scarcities like labor in the NFl and markets with steep demand curves tend towards monopolies. Monopolies are bad on so many levels and if you cannot grasp that then there is really no point in having a discussion.

No the video is not about this NFL Network vs. cable issue, or about monopolies. I was called out on my govt. is getting "too big for it's britches" comment and to explain where I was coming from I posted the vid. link.

But since you brought up monopolies. I guess you could say that the NFL is a monopoly but so what, it's not like any of us are gonna put a plug in for a competitive league against them. And if the NFL gets too big for their britches and they have, then I can just choose not to buy their network or whatever they sell. It's not like they're food or gasoline or water or electricity. I enjoy the NFL but I don't have to have the NFL, they are simply entertainment.

And big government regulation over companys to stop monopolies are not your answer. Stimulating competition against companys like TXU and Microsoft are the way to stop monopolies, then you let the public pick who they want to do business with. I now have left TXU for Jexa to provide my electricity service and am saving about 15-20% in my region. If the powers that be in my region would allow some other cable companies to do business here then I'd be done with Time Warner, but for now I'm stuck with them as long as I want to have cable, but here's that competion thing again I could always switch to the dish but I have my own personal reasons that I don't.

 

[trickblue]

This isn't an anti-trust issue, it's a distribution issue. There are all sorts of competing entertainment products, and the NFL has distrubution through multiple channels. They have every right to integrate their distribution chain and improve their margins if they think the current options are not adding unique value.

The only issue is that the cable companies that provide access to their distribution believe they can charge a premium for that service. The NFL obviously disagrees with them. The involvement of congress and the anti-trust threats are a hollow sham. It does show the cable companies can shake the whole tree when they want to, which should be embarrassing and annoying to the rest of us when we see it happen.

Yep...

Bottom Line, the cable companies want to make additional money off of the NFL brand by making it a premium channel...

 

[Kangaroo]

I agree with you about the greed part but just wait until games are on PPV. The NFL Network is just the next step toward that. IMO.

If it goes to PPV I will move to something else. I love football but when they get to the stupid level I will just move on to something else for entertainment.

I guess it become College Football

 

[Cajuncowboy]

Ya'll miss the point. My position has NOTHING to do with the Anti Trust advantages the NFL enjoys. Nor should it. The NFL has a right to market their product anyway they see fit.

Also, they are NOT denying any individual from seeing the games at all or the NFL network. It is the cable companies. As a matter of fact, the NFL wants to make it more accessible to fans by demanding that the cable companies make it part of their basic package as opposed to making it a tier option thereby charging more for it.

In other words, in order to get the NFL network, you would also have to buy the Golf channel, the fishing channel, the knitting channel and whatever else they put in it.

TO say that the NFL is trying to deny the public access is laughable. The public is not getting screwed by the NFL, but by the cable companies. You want proof of that?

I have Direct TV. It is part of my basic package. I don't have to buy anything else to get it. SO the free market system is alive and well here. If you want to get the NFL network and don't want to pay the tier fees the cable companies want to charge you, get Dish or Direct TV.

Only the government could make this complicated.

 

[Royal Laegotti]

Ya'll miss the point. My position has NOTHING to do with the Anti Trust advantages the NFL enjoys. Nor should it. The NFL has a right to market their product anyway they see fit.

Also, they are NOT denying any individual from seeing the games at all or the NFL network. It is the cable companies. As a matter of fact, the NFL wants to make it more accessible to fans by demanding that the cable companies make it part of their basic package as opposed to making it a tier option thereby charging more for it.

In other words, in order to get the NFL network, you would also have to buy the Golf channel, the fishing channel, the knitting channel and whatever else they put in it.

TO say that the NFL is trying to deny the public access is laughable. The public is not getting screwed by the NFL, but by the cable companies. You want proof of that?

I have Direct TV. It is part of my basic package. I don't have to buy anything else to get it. SO the free market system is alive and well here. If you want to get the NFL network and don't want to pay the tier fees the cable companies want to charge you, get Dish or Direct TV.

Only the government could make this complicated.

I totally agree with you. I do however think that the NFL is greedy the old system was fine with me with no NFL Network but they have the right to be greedy if they want, as well as cable companies. But like you, I don't think the govt. should step in and play a roll in this. Like you said let the public decide with their wallet. If I think the NFL is too greedy then I have the right not to have to buy their products for their desired price. Same with cable.

 

[Cajuncowboy]

I totally agree with you. I do however think that the NFL is greedy the old system was fine with me with no NFL Network but they have the right to be greedy if they want, as well as cable companies. But like you, I don't think the govt. should step in and play a roll in this. Like you said let the public decide with their wallet. If I think the NFL is too greedy then I have the right not to have to buy their products for their desired price. Same with cable.

I really think that is key.

As for the greed part, you may be right, but the truth is they are looking at their business model and, like any good company, finding ways to tweak it to get the most out of it and turn the largest profit possible.

Should the whole NFL Network thing fail, they will will be back to the normal network viewing. OTOH, I like the NFLN, it has alot more time to devote to my favorite sport. I like being able to tune in at my convenience and catch relevant football info.

Honestly, the NFLN and the Sunday Ticket are the only reasons I am with DTV. IF it lost those, I would switch to whatever provider would carry them. And if the cable companies refused to, then they wouldn't get my business.

 

[Boom]

If it goes to PPV I will move to something else. I love football but when they get to the stupid level I will just move on to something else for entertainment.

I guess it become College Football

I don't think the NFL could afford to go use the PPV business model for every game. It may make more money but they wouldn't be able to grow/maintain the fan base by limiting the viewing audience. I don't think they'd want to kill the golden goose.

 

[Cajuncowboy]

I don't think the NFL could afford to go use the PPV business model for every game. It may make more money but they wouldn't be able to grow/maintain the fan base by limiting the viewing audience. I don't think they'd want to kill the golden goose.

That may be true, but I will bet that there will be a PPV season ticket for your favorite team soon for out of market fans similar to the Sunday Ticket but team specific.

 

[Royal Laegotti]

That may be true, but I will bet that there will be a PPV season ticket for your favorite team soon for out of market fans similar to the Sunday Ticket but team specific.

Shush!! Don't give'm any ideas now!!!:

 

[Boom]

That may be true, but I will bet that there will be a PPV season ticket for your favorite team soon for out of market fans similar to the Sunday Ticket but team specific.

If it's above and beyond the national broadcast games, I don't see a problem with that. I'd purchase it, since it would probably be cheaper than the Sunday Ticket.

 

[Next_years_Champs]

This isn't an anti-trust issue, it's a distribution issue. There are all sorts of competing entertainment products, and the NFL has distrubution through multiple channels. They have every right to integrate their distribution chain and improve their margins if they think the current options are not adding unique value.

The only issue is that the cable companies that provide access to their distribution believe they can charge a premium for that service. The NFL obviously disagrees with them. The involvement of congress and the anti-trust threats are a hollow sham. It does show the cable companies can shake the whole tree when they want to, which should be embarrassing and annoying to the rest of us when we see it happen.

Good post this isn't about anti-trust laws its about a couple of the worst Senators in DC and their belief in their omnipotence. Arlen (scottish law) Specter and Patrick (leaky) Leahy believe the world doesn't exist outside of the Beltway. Both are worthless elitists and neither has the political power to do much of anything, they have their chairmanships because they are lifetime members of the Senate.

Additionally while I don't like exemptions from anti trust laws, the fact is the NFL wouldn't exist without them. For instance the NFL couldn't split revenue evenly among the teams (known as revenue sharing) and that would be the end of small market teams. Also each individual team would have to negotiate with the players and or TV networks for their contracts. The NFL couldn't exist without those abilities, so it is totally stupid for a couple of egomaniac Senators to get involved in this.

 

[Cajuncowboy]

If it's above and beyond the national broadcast games, I don't see a problem with that. I'd purchase it, since it would probably be cheaper than the Sunday Ticket.

Let's look at the options. How much would you pay to see a game not broadcast in your local area? Say you went to a sports bar only because that was the only way you could see the game. Figure an average drink would cost you 2.00. And you had 5 drinks. That's 10.00 right there. Now say you get something to eat and you have a 10.00 food bill. That's 20.00. With tip that's 24.00, just to watch that game, not to mention the fact you have to drive to the bar in possible inclement weather.

Now say that the Cowboys are on National TV 4 games a year. And you get another 4 games that are regular broadcasts. That's half of the season. Now you have 8 games you can't see. 24.00 X 8 = 192.00. Would you then pay 49.99 for the entire Cowboys season?

That would work out to 6.24 per game.

That's a pretty good deal as far as I'm concerned.