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Posted by Mike Florio on May 17, 2009, 4:23 p.m.
Earlier this year, the NFL
worked out an extension with DirecTV that included a twist widely believed to be aimed at putting NFL Network into many more homes.
The key is the Red Zone Channel, a excellent game-day string of live look-ins hosted by Andrew Siciliano.
Under the deal between the NFL and DirecTV, the Red Zone Channel will be available for distribution on cable. And the thinking is that the league would bundle the Red Zone Channel and NFL Network into one space on the dial.
But since this potentially would cut into the ratings for the Sunday afternoon games otherwise available on FOX and CBS, the league needs to secure the permission of both networks.
According to Daniel Kaplan and John Ourand of SportsBusiness Journal, the league is close to working out a two-year extension with both FOX and CBS.
Per the report, CBS and FOX would increase their payments by three to five percent.
Extending the packages through 2013 would put the Sunday afternoon packages on the same timetable as ESPN’s Monday night contract, and likely would trigger a two-year extension of NBC’s agreement to broadcast the Sunday night games.
So with permission to make a competitive product available on cable systems throughout the country, the NFL would then be able to work out a deal with Comcast for the ongoing presence of NFL Network with the Red Zone Channel enhancement. According to SBJ, the league would be dropping its per-subscriber licensing fee of 70 cents in order to close the deal.
If this all can be resolved, it would represent a stunning turn of events. Not long ago, the NFL and Comcast appeared to be locked in an impasse that was poised to remove NFLN from the Comcast system entirely, and cable companies were deriding the availability of the Red Zone Channel as a marketing tool for DirecTV.
Now, a long-term win-win arrangement seems to be in the offing.
Earlier this year, the NFL
worked out an extension with DirecTV that included a twist widely believed to be aimed at putting NFL Network into many more homes.The key is the Red Zone Channel, a excellent game-day string of live look-ins hosted by Andrew Siciliano.
Under the deal between the NFL and DirecTV, the Red Zone Channel will be available for distribution on cable. And the thinking is that the league would bundle the Red Zone Channel and NFL Network into one space on the dial.
But since this potentially would cut into the ratings for the Sunday afternoon games otherwise available on FOX and CBS, the league needs to secure the permission of both networks.
According to Daniel Kaplan and John Ourand of SportsBusiness Journal, the league is close to working out a two-year extension with both FOX and CBS.
Per the report, CBS and FOX would increase their payments by three to five percent.
Extending the packages through 2013 would put the Sunday afternoon packages on the same timetable as ESPN’s Monday night contract, and likely would trigger a two-year extension of NBC’s agreement to broadcast the Sunday night games.
So with permission to make a competitive product available on cable systems throughout the country, the NFL would then be able to work out a deal with Comcast for the ongoing presence of NFL Network with the Red Zone Channel enhancement. According to SBJ, the league would be dropping its per-subscriber licensing fee of 70 cents in order to close the deal.
If this all can be resolved, it would represent a stunning turn of events. Not long ago, the NFL and Comcast appeared to be locked in an impasse that was poised to remove NFLN from the Comcast system entirely, and cable companies were deriding the availability of the Red Zone Channel as a marketing tool for DirecTV.
Now, a long-term win-win arrangement seems to be in the offing.
