The NFL Network (1 Viewer)

[Jeff Pasquino]

I heard another conversation this morning about the NFL Network and the NFL Draft coverage, and I don't know if they specifically spelled it out this way or just alluded to it, but it makes perfect sense. (If they did, props to them on the idea).

With the NFL already considering (or rumored to be) moving Round 1 of the NFL Draft to a Prime Time (Friday? Thursday?) event, the question becomes if this is the vehicle they use to promote The NFL Network even more and get wider distribution.

To clarify - Round 1 would be EXCLUSIVELY COVERED by NFL Network.

This is certainly the marquee event for the NFL in the non-playing season, so why wouldn't they?

The only question left to ask is what is their current agreement with ESPN and when does it expire?

 

[lord_helmet]

Too bad they don't stream it

 

[identikit]

I heard another conversation this morning about the NFL Network and the NFL Draft coverage, and I don't know if they specifically spelled it out this way or just alluded to it, but it makes perfect sense. (If they did, props to them on the idea).

With the NFL already considering (or rumored to be) moving Round 1 of the NFL Draft to a Prime Time (Friday? Thursday?) event, the question becomes if this is the vehicle they use to promote The NFL Network even more and get wider distribution.

To clarify - Round 1 would be EXCLUSIVELY COVERED by NFL Network.

This is certainly the marquee event for the NFL in the non-playing season, so why wouldn't they?

The only question left to ask is what is their current agreement with ESPN and when does it expire?

To us in the shark pool, the 1st round of th NFL draft is must-see-tv. But to advertisers and the rest of America, I just don't see thats its possible exclusivity would cause cable companies to give in to NFLN's demands. The regular season games themselves created some tumult last season; if they happen to have better matchups, that would be the best leverage for NFLN.Id

 

[by_the_sea_wannabe]

To clarify - Round 1 would be EXCLUSIVELY COVERED by NFL Network.

Put me on suicide watch if this happens.

 

[FTRWRTR]

IMO that would be a mistake. I can see the NFL wanting to do something like that but unfortunately for them only a small fraction of ppl can watch the NFL Network compared to those that can watch ESPN. Football is an immensly popular sport and I'm sure they think it will force more cable companies to pick the NFL Network up but I think the opposite of what they thing will happen. This is an "out of sight, out of mind" society. Look at hockey, once upon a time it was considered one of the big four sports in America and now it's barely mentioned on the sports highlight show and has been passed up by "sports" like nascar and pro wresting. IMO the NFL would be killing the proverbial goose that lays the golden eggs by forcing their content onto the NFL Network. That's the same reason why I don't pay attention to talk of them making the Superbowl a pay per view event.

On a personal note I consider the two days of the NFL draft to be the best time of the year and watch as much coverage of the NFL draft as I possibly can, but if they were to move the first round to just the NFL Network I'd look for the results of the draft online and maybe tune in to ESPN from time to time to see what's happening in rounds 2 - 7 but it would kill a large part of my joy.

 

[Tackling Dummies]

If a bigger slice fo the pie is what the NFL is looking for, I'd recommend to get the suits from the NFL Network & Time Warner and other cable providers in a room and hash out a deal.

 

[Keith Lewis]

Why is NFL network available in HD for Dish Network but not for Direct TV?

 

[Tackling Dummies]

Why is NFL network available in HD for Dish Network but not for Direct TV?

It's just a matter of time.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

What are the actual ratings for the NFL draft? I bet they pale in comparison to an actual football game in season...seriously. We love it here because we are all playing dynasty leagues and so the draft is sort of everything to us in the off season. But there are thousands of fans that pack the NFL stadiums every week during the season that probably could not name the players their team took in the 1st 3 rounds of the draft.

 

[Jeff Pasquino]

What are the actual ratings for the NFL draft? I bet they pale in comparison to an actual football game in season...seriously. We love it here because we are all playing dynasty leagues and so the draft is sort of everything to us in the off season. But there are thousands of fans that pack the NFL stadiums every week during the season that probably could not name the players their team took in the 1st 3 rounds of the draft.

Good question.Here is what I found:

Ratings

3+ Million people (on average) for that first ESPN segment (Round 1, basically).

That's pretty high.

Also no NFL-N contribution to it.

 

[Keith Lewis]

Why is NFL network available in HD for Dish Network but not for Direct TV?

It's just a matter of time.

Heard any estimate?

 

[There it is]

I think it's a bad idea on many levels. The NFL cannot limit their accessibility to the general publc IMO.

Did some one from Base ball suggest this? You know the guys who don't open their season on a weekend.

It's a family affair. We wait every year and get together for the draft,it's great father- sons together.

 

[pizzatyme]

I think it's a bad idea on many levels. The NFL cannot limit their accessibility to the general publc IMO. Did some one from Base ball suggest this? You know the guys who don't open their season on a weekend. It's a family affair. We wait every year and get together for the draft,it's great father- sons together.

I go fishing with my dad on draft day. Signed,Joe Thomas

 

[There it is]

I think it's a bad idea on many levels. The NFL cannot limit their accessibility to the general publc IMO. Did some one from Base ball suggest this? You know the guys who don't open their season on a weekend. It's a family affair. We wait every year and get together for the draft,it's great father- sons together.

I go fishing with my dad on draft day. Signed,Joe Thomas

But, we order pizza at that tyme.

 

[56]

If the NFL Network can broadcast a game on Thanksgiving night that was available to less than 10% of American households, and nobody seemed to care, I doubt moving the draft is going to be that big of a deal.

The NFL, sadly, is not going to win it's battle with CATV operators. Cable outfits were stiffed by the NFL with respect to the Sunday ticket, so they are never going to willingly include the NFL Network on basic cable.

That's what this is all about anyway isn't it? Getting the NFL Network on basic.

 

[chris1969]

That would be a bad move. Joe six-pack only cares about the guy who's name he knows, usually that's only the first round guy. If he can't see that pick, he won't tune in for the next 2 days. A better idea would be to team up with one of the big 4 networks to show the first round and heavily advertise the next 2 days "only on NFLN." Or they could have Brook Burke do the interviews naked and make it a pay-per view.

 

[There it is]

If the NFL Network can broadcast a game on Thanksgiving night that was available to less than 10% of American households, and nobody seemed to care, I doubt moving the draft is going to be that big of a deal.The NFL, sadly, is not going to win it's battle with CATV operators. Cable outfits were stiffed by the NFL with respect to the Sunday ticket, so they are never going to willingly include the NFL Network on basic cable. That's what this is all about anyway isn't it? Getting the NFL Network on basic.

My NFLN is on the pay side not the basic, now. I hear they want to move it to a sports package so, we will pay even more.I think they want more money, not to move to basic.

 

[56]

If the NFL Network can broadcast a game on Thanksgiving night that was available to less than 10% of American households, and nobody seemed to care, I doubt moving the draft is going to be that big of a deal.The NFL, sadly, is not going to win it's battle with CATV operators. Cable outfits were stiffed by the NFL with respect to the Sunday ticket, so they are never going to willingly include the NFL Network on basic cable. That's what this is all about anyway isn't it? Getting the NFL Network on basic.

My NFLN is on the pay side not the basic, now. I hear they want to move it to a sports package so, we will pay even more.I think they want more money, not to move to basic.

Make no mistake, it's very much about getting the NFL Network on basic. There is much, much more money to be made on basic cable than on a premium package. That's why the NFL has been waging a legal battle against the Cable & Telecommunications Association. They want the network on basic in the worst way.There is a huge amount of animosity that exists between CATV operators and the NFL over the exclusivity of the Sunday Ticket with DirecTV. I've heard the CEO of Cablevision during an interview come right out and say that if the NFL would sell them the Sunday Ticket, he'd put the NFL Network on basic the next day. IMO, this thing stays status quo until the current Sunday Ticket contract expires with DirecTV in 2010.

 

[There it is]

Make no mistake, it's very much about getting the NFL Network on basic. There is much, much more money to be made on basic cable than on a premium package. That's why the NFL has been waging a legal battle against the Cable & Telecommunications Association. They want the network on basic in the worst way.

There is a huge amount of animosity that exists between CATV operators and the NFL over the exclusivity of the Sunday Ticket with DirecTV. I've heard the CEO of Cablevision during an interview come right out and say that if the NFL would sell them the Sunday Ticket, he'd put the NFL Network on basic the next day.

IMO, this thing stays status quo until the current Sunday Ticket contract expires with DirecTV in 2010.

[/quote From your lips to the operators that be ears.

I don't understand how they would make more money on basic except for higher ad prices.

When I first got it I thought they wanted extra $ (like yes network), that's what took so long for us to get it on premium. Am I wrong?

How do they make more money on basic as opposed to paying for it?

 

[Maurile Tremblay]

I don't think the main problem is that a lot of people have NFL-N and aren't watching it.

I think the main problem is that a lot of people don't have NFL-N.

 

[There it is]

I don't think the main problem is that a lot of people have NFL-N and aren't watching it.I think the main problem is that a lot of people don't have NFL-N.

That's why my first post questioned this idea vs accessibility.

 

[Jeff Pasquino]

Make no mistake, it's very much about getting the NFL Network on basic. There is much, much more money to be made on basic cable than on a premium package. That's why the NFL has been waging a legal battle against the Cable & Telecommunications Association. They want the network on basic in the worst way.There is a huge amount of animosity that exists between CATV operators and the NFL over the exclusivity of the Sunday Ticket with DirecTV. I've heard the CEO of Cablevision during an interview come right out and say that if the NFL would sell them the Sunday Ticket, he'd put the NFL Network on basic the next day. IMO, this thing stays status quo until the current Sunday Ticket contract expires with DirecTV in 2010.

From your lips to the operators that be ears. I don't understand how they would make more money on basic except for higher ad prices.When I first got it I thought they wanted extra $ (like yes network), that's what took so long for us to get it on premium. Am I wrong?How do they make more money on basic as opposed to paying for it?

Every network on basic cable gets a little piece of your basic subscription.Every cable subscriber buys basic cable. Therefore, the NFL-N would get 100% of the cable viewers to pay for their fee, not just those who "opt in" on an upgrade / premium package.HBO gets a bigger chunk, but not everyone pays for HBO.

 

[BassNBrew]

I heard another conversation this morning about the NFL Network and the NFL Draft coverage, and I don't know if they specifically spelled it out this way or just alluded to it, but it makes perfect sense. (If they did, props to them on the idea).

With the NFL already considering (or rumored to be) moving Round 1 of the NFL Draft to a Prime Time (Friday? Thursday?) event, the question becomes if this is the vehicle they use to promote The NFL Network even more and get wider distribution.

To clarify - Round 1 would be EXCLUSIVELY COVERED by NFL Network.

This is certainly the marquee event for the NFL in the non-playing season, so why wouldn't they?

The only question left to ask is what is their current agreement with ESPN and when does it expire?

FYI...not everyone is a dynasty geek. If they want to take this sport the way of boxing, so be it. Actually moving games to the NFLN last year only proved to me that I don't need to see every game and would get along quite well w/o the NFL.

 

[Jeff Pasquino]

I heard another conversation this morning about the NFL Network and the NFL Draft coverage, and I don't know if they specifically spelled it out this way or just alluded to it, but it makes perfect sense. (If they did, props to them on the idea).

With the NFL already considering (or rumored to be) moving Round 1 of the NFL Draft to a Prime Time (Friday? Thursday?) event, the question becomes if this is the vehicle they use to promote The NFL Network even more and get wider distribution.

To clarify - Round 1 would be EXCLUSIVELY COVERED by NFL Network.

This is certainly the marquee event for the NFL in the non-playing season, so why wouldn't they?

The only question left to ask is what is their current agreement with ESPN and when does it expire?

FYI...not everyone is a dynasty geek. If they want to take this sport the way of boxing, so be it. Actually moving games to the NFLN last year only proved to me that I don't need to see every game and would get along quite well w/o the NFL.

and Exactly how many impact first rounders were drafted in 2006?

Matt Leinart. Reggie Bush. Jay Cutler. Vince Young. Laurence Maroney. Joseph Addai.

And now both Santonio Holmes and DeAngelo Williams are also considered worthy of early consideration even in redraft for 2007.

Your consistent Dynasty-bashing is completely out of whack here - even the casual fan knows that a handful of rookies from Round 1 of 2007 will have impact (NFL and fantasy / redraft-wise) before December.

The top two picks in April (Jamarcus Russell, Calvin Johnson) and 5 of the Top 12 (add in ADP, Ginn and Lynch) were all potential impact players for this coming season. Add in 5 more from the first round (Lynch, Gonzalez, Quinn, Bowe and Craig Davis) and you have 10 players who may have influence this year - and redraft team owners better know who they are.

 

[There it is]

Make no mistake, it's very much about getting the NFL Network on basic. There is much, much more money to be made on basic cable than on a premium package. That's why the NFL has been waging a legal battle against the Cable & Telecommunications Association. They want the network on basic in the worst way.There is a huge amount of animosity that exists between CATV operators and the NFL over the exclusivity of the Sunday Ticket with DirecTV. I've heard the CEO of Cablevision during an interview come right out and say that if the NFL would sell them the Sunday Ticket, he'd put the NFL Network on basic the next day. IMO, this thing stays status quo until the current Sunday Ticket contract expires with DirecTV in 2010.

From your lips to the operators that be ears. I don't understand how they would make more money on basic except for higher ad prices.When I first got it I thought they wanted extra $ (like yes network), that's what took so long for us to get it on premium. Am I wrong?How do they make more money on basic as opposed to paying for it?

Every network on basic cable gets a little piece of your basic subscription.Every cable subscriber buys basic cable. Therefore, the NFL-N would get 100% of the cable viewers to pay for their fee, not just those who "opt in" on an upgrade / premium package.HBO gets a bigger chunk, but not everyone pays for HBO.

OK. That explains it, But they tried to charge us a dollar more and the basic said NO. So, they have to be on premium. That explains it better. They really want to be on basic?Sounds logical now. Because not being on basic would limit them esp on draft day.I still think a week day night would hurt them.The first round would have to be atleast 8 hrs. So most will miss the beginning because of work or the end because they go to bed. Not to mention how many children (their future customers) will miss it on a week night. Like BB did and lost the young fans by having more week day games instead of having weekend games.They will still want exclusive NFLN games too. That could help their pitch to the basics, Right?

 

[BassNBrew]

I heard another conversation this morning about the NFL Network and the NFL Draft coverage, and I don't know if they specifically spelled it out this way or just alluded to it, but it makes perfect sense. (If they did, props to them on the idea).

With the NFL already considering (or rumored to be) moving Round 1 of the NFL Draft to a Prime Time (Friday? Thursday?) event, the question becomes if this is the vehicle they use to promote The NFL Network even more and get wider distribution.

To clarify - Round 1 would be EXCLUSIVELY COVERED by NFL Network.

This is certainly the marquee event for the NFL in the non-playing season, so why wouldn't they?

The only question left to ask is what is their current agreement with ESPN and when does it expire?

FYI...not everyone is a dynasty geek. If they want to take this sport the way of boxing, so be it. Actually moving games to the NFLN last year only proved to me that I don't need to see every game and would get along quite well w/o the NFL.

and Exactly how many impact first rounders were drafted in 2006?

Matt Leinart. Reggie Bush. Jay Cutler. Vince Young. Laurence Maroney. Joseph Addai.

And now both Santonio Holmes and DeAngelo Williams are also considered worthy of early consideration even in redraft for 2007.

Your consistent Dynasty-bashing is completely out of whack here - even the casual fan knows that a handful of rookies from Round 1 of 2007 will have impact (NFL and fantasy / redraft-wise) before December.

The top two picks in April (Jamarcus Russell, Calvin Johnson) and 5 of the Top 12 (add in ADP, Ginn and Lynch) were all potential impact players for this coming season. Add in 5 more from the first round (Lynch, Gonzalez, Quinn, Bowe and Craig Davis) and you have 10 players who may have influence this year - and redraft team owners better know who they are.

Well most of the point went over your head. Anyway, watching the draft provides little if any information that I can't find here, pay you guys for, or get numerous other places. I caught a good portion of it on radio this year and really just missed out on Kiper's hair.

 

[jkruppe]

FWIW, here in the Denver area, the NFL-N will be switching from basic to a 'sports package' in mid-June. I don't know what the price is for that package, but I just looked at the channel lineup, and other than the NFL-N, there isn't a channel there I'd ever watch -- the Fox Soccer Channel? Really??

My question is does the NFL-N pull a bigger slice of that pie than the other channels since it's the obvious anchor of that package? Or do all the stations in that package get the same amount?

 

[Bushead]

FWIW, here in the Denver area, the NFL-N will be switching from basic to a 'sports package' in mid-June. I don't know what the price is for that package, but I just looked at the channel lineup, and other than the NFL-N, there isn't a channel there I'd ever watch -- the Fox Soccer Channel? Really??My question is does the NFL-N pull a bigger slice of that pie than the other channels since it's the obvious anchor of that package? Or do all the stations in that package get the same amount?

Each network negotiates a rate per subscriber. I believe last I read (last year sometime) the NFLN was looking for 70 cents or thereabout. I would say something like Fox Soccer Channel probably gets a couple of cents per subscriber. From memory I think ESPN gets around a 1.25, ESPN2 is .60 or so and the other ESPN channels are something in the neighborhood of .25.The differnce in subscribers of basic vs sports packages should make it obviuos why this arguement is taking place. NFLN is also concerned about the perception of its product and hence another reason why they want it on basic...right next to ESPN - who they feel they are competing with.

 

[ConstruxBoy]

FWIW, here in the Denver area, the NFL-N will be switching from basic to a 'sports package' in mid-June. I don't know what the price is for that package, but I just looked at the channel lineup, and other than the NFL-N, there isn't a channel there I'd ever watch -- the Fox Soccer Channel? Really??My question is does the NFL-N pull a bigger slice of that pie than the other channels since it's the obvious anchor of that package? Or do all the stations in that package get the same amount?

Each network negotiates a rate per subscriber. I believe last I read (last year sometime) the NFLN was looking for 70 cents or thereabout. I would say something like Fox Soccer Channel probably gets a couple of cents per subscriber. From memory I think ESPN gets around a 1.25, ESPN2 is .60 or so and the other ESPN channels are something in the neighborhood of .25.The differnce in subscribers of basic vs sports packages should make it obviuos why this arguement is taking place. NFLN is also concerned about the perception of its product and hence another reason why they want it on basic...right next to ESPN - who they feel they are competing with.

But they're only competing with them in one league of one sport. If you take off the football lover glasses that we all have, it's easy to see the cable companies' argument that it is a network that covers a niche, compared to a network that covers every sport and level (more or less). It may be the most popular league, but it's still just one league. It's hard to see NFL-N being placed on the same level as ESPN, at least until they prove their draw with ratings over the course of a couple of years. And this is coming from someone that doesn't like ESPN at all.

 

[Bri]

I heard another conversation this morning about the NFL Network and the NFL Draft coverage, and I don't know if they specifically spelled it out this way or just alluded to it, but it makes perfect sense. (If they did, props to them on the idea).

With the NFL already considering (or rumored to be) moving Round 1 of the NFL Draft to a Prime Time (Friday? Thursday?) event, the question becomes if this is the vehicle they use to promote The NFL Network even more and get wider distribution.

To clarify - Round 1 would be EXCLUSIVELY COVERED by NFL Network.

This is certainly the marquee event for the NFL in the non-playing season, so why wouldn't they?

The only question left to ask is what is their current agreement with ESPN and when does it expire?

To us in the shark pool, the 1st round of th NFL draft is must-see-tv. But to advertisers and the rest of America, I just don't see thats its possible exclusivity would cause cable companies to give in to NFLN's demands. The regular season games themselves created some tumult last season; if they happen to have better matchups, that would be the best leverage for NFLN.Id

The update is what the casual fan is looking for and the TV+radio guys know it. There may be more commercials during rounds 1 and 2 then any other time on the radio. It couldn't be more grrrr when you're listenning.I could imagine the casual fan checking NFLN to hear about his team's player and see some highlights but more than that is pushing it.

One of the NFL's official team sites sent out updates with videos for people to get on their cellphone and I read somewhere that they had an enormous amount of interest in that. I can't recall which team.

 

[Tackling Dummies]

It may be the most popular league, but it's still just one league. It's hard to see NFL-N being placed on the same level as ESPN, at least until they prove their draw with ratings over the course of a couple of years. And this is coming from someone that doesn't like ESPN at all.

The billions of dollars that networks pay to get in on the NFL is more than the cable/network fees for baseball, NBA, NASCAR, combined, it's not even close. BTW, I think the cable fee that NFL-N was looking for was $1.00 per. Considering that cable has a junkyard filled with how many shopping channels and they are giving the cold shoulder to this opportunity? Channel 212>206 any day.

 

[bonscott]

Why is NFL network available in HD for Dish Network but not for Direct TV?

It's just a matter of time.

Heard any estimate?

Ummm, it is on DirecTV, has been for a while. Not full time but any HD games are shown on channel 95.As for full time, the first HD sat goes up June 20th and dozens of new HD channels will start lighting up in September. NFL Network should be one of them.

 

[Jason Wood]

I'm unclear as to how making the draft exclusive would force cable MNOs hands in any way

 

[Jason Wood]

What are the actual ratings for the NFL draft? I bet they pale in comparison to an actual football game in season...seriously. We love it here because we are all playing dynasty leagues and so the draft is sort of everything to us in the off season. But there are thousands of fans that pack the NFL stadiums every week during the season that probably could not name the players their team took in the 1st 3 rounds of the draft.

Good question.Here is what I found:

Ratings

3+ Million people (on average) for that first ESPN segment (Round 1, basically).

That's pretty high.

Also no NFL-N contribution to it.

That 3.2 million households is a byproduct of ESPN's reach, however. That number would pale in comparison if aired on NFL Network, which has 41 million households and could well lose 7 million of them this upcoming season.

 

[Tackling Dummies]

I'm unclear as to how making the draft exclusive would force cable MNOs hands in any way

Removing any content from a provider leaves a gap. I'm assuming that there would be a good deal of calls to the cable companies if an event like the draft was pulled from ESPN. It's not like you're sitting down watching all 11 hours of the draft, but you'd be watching bupkis if this were to happen. Since the growth of DTV is clearly connected to Sunday Ticket and DTV and every other company pays billions of dollars for NFL games, those are good reasons that those on the outside are forced to pay up.

 

[Jason Wood]

I'm unclear as to how making the draft exclusive would force cable MNOs hands in any way

Removing any content from a provider leaves a gap. I'm assuming that there would be a good deal of calls to the cable companies if an event like the draft was pulled from ESPN. It's not like you're sitting down watching all 11 hours of the draft, but you'd be watching bupkis if this were to happen. Since the growth of DTV is clearly connected to Sunday Ticket and DTV and every other company pays billions of dollars for NFL games, those are good reasons that those on the outside are forced to pay up.

Cable operators are refusing to take in NFL Network to have 8 actual games, why on Earth would the threat of losing the NFL draft change their position?

 

[Jeff Pasquino]

What are the actual ratings for the NFL draft? I bet they pale in comparison to an actual football game in season...seriously. We love it here because we are all playing dynasty leagues and so the draft is sort of everything to us in the off season. But there are thousands of fans that pack the NFL stadiums every week during the season that probably could not name the players their team took in the 1st 3 rounds of the draft.

Good question.Here is what I found:

Ratings

3+ Million people (on average) for that first ESPN segment (Round 1, basically).

That's pretty high.

Also no NFL-N contribution to it.

That 3.2 million households is a byproduct of ESPN's reach, however. That number would pale in comparison if aired on NFL Network, which has 41 million households and could well lose 7 million of them this upcoming season.

Woodrow,I don't disagree on the reach of ESPN, but Women's Basketball won't pull that kind of rating.

A 3+ Million audience for any TV program is significant, especially on cable.

The point was that the NFL Draft does have a "draw" over other things like a Big 10 basketball game. Some people - not all - do go out of their way to watch.

Getting 3 Mil to watch something is non-trivial.

 

[ConstruxBoy]

I'm unclear as to how making the draft exclusive would force cable MNOs hands in any way

Removing any content from a provider leaves a gap. I'm assuming that there would be a good deal of calls to the cable companies if an event like the draft was pulled from ESPN. It's not like you're sitting down watching all 11 hours of the draft, but you'd be watching bupkis if this were to happen. Since the growth of DTV is clearly connected to Sunday Ticket and DTV and every other company pays billions of dollars for NFL games, those are good reasons that those on the outside are forced to pay up.

Cable operators are refusing to take in NFL Network to have 8 actual games, why on Earth would the threat of losing the NFL draft change their position?

 

[Jeff Pasquino]

I'm unclear as to how making the draft exclusive would force cable MNOs hands in any way

Removing any content from a provider leaves a gap. I'm assuming that there would be a good deal of calls to the cable companies if an event like the draft was pulled from ESPN. It's not like you're sitting down watching all 11 hours of the draft, but you'd be watching bupkis if this were to happen. Since the growth of DTV is clearly connected to Sunday Ticket and DTV and every other company pays billions of dollars for NFL games, those are good reasons that those on the outside are forced to pay up.

Cable operators are refusing to take in NFL Network to have 8 actual games, why on Earth would the threat of losing the NFL draft change their position?

At some point you reach critical mass.Right now, 8 games out of 256 is 4% of the games, and even local viewers aren't forced to suffer as local channels cover the game.4% is not critical mass.What is critical mass? Well, that's TBD - but when ESPN started to get games, they were reaching a much broader audience rather quickly.The point of this is that if the NFL Network gets more exclusivity and doesn't alienate more people by taking more games off the other networks, it is another step towards critical mass.

 

[ConstruxBoy]

It may be the most popular league, but it's still just one league. It's hard to see NFL-N being placed on the same level as ESPN, at least until they prove their draw with ratings over the course of a couple of years. And this is coming from someone that doesn't like ESPN at all.

The billions of dollars that networks pay to get in on the NFL is more than the cable/network fees for baseball, NBA, NASCAR, combined, it's not even close. BTW, I think the cable fee that NFL-N was looking for was $1.00 per. Considering that cable has a junkyard filled with how many shopping channels and they are giving the cold shoulder to this opportunity? Channel 212>206 any day.

The point is that all those shopping channels are ridiculous and so cable networks are making a stand on putting niche channels on basic and they're starting with the NFL N. Better late than never.

 

[Jason Wood]

What are the actual ratings for the NFL draft? I bet they pale in comparison to an actual football game in season...seriously. We love it here because we are all playing dynasty leagues and so the draft is sort of everything to us in the off season. But there are thousands of fans that pack the NFL stadiums every week during the season that probably could not name the players their team took in the 1st 3 rounds of the draft.

Good question.Here is what I found:

Ratings

3+ Million people (on average) for that first ESPN segment (Round 1, basically).

That's pretty high.

Also no NFL-N contribution to it.

That 3.2 million households is a byproduct of ESPN's reach, however. That number would pale in comparison if aired on NFL Network, which has 41 million households and could well lose 7 million of them this upcoming season.

Woodrow,I don't disagree on the reach of ESPN, but Women's Basketball won't pull that kind of rating.

A 3+ Million audience for any TV program is significant, especially on cable.

The point was that the NFL Draft does have a "draw" over other things like a Big 10 basketball game. Some people - not all - do go out of their way to watch.

Getting 3 Mil to watch something is non-trivial.

Getting 3.2 million to watch a one-time event IS trivial in the grand scheme of negotiating with cable operators. It's a mite on the back of a fly on the back of a dog on the planet that is the cable viewership in aggregate.

I'm unclear as to how making the draft exclusive would force cable MNOs hands in any way

Removing any content from a provider leaves a gap. I'm assuming that there would be a good deal of calls to the cable companies if an event like the draft was pulled from ESPN. It's not like you're sitting down watching all 11 hours of the draft, but you'd be watching bupkis if this were to happen. Since the growth of DTV is clearly connected to Sunday Ticket and DTV and every other company pays billions of dollars for NFL games, those are good reasons that those on the outside are forced to pay up.

Cable operators are refusing to take in NFL Network to have 8 actual games, why on Earth would the threat of losing the NFL draft change their position?

At some point you reach critical mass.Right now, 8 games out of 256 is 4% of the games, and even local viewers aren't forced to suffer as local channels cover the game.

4% is not critical mass.

What is critical mass? Well, that's TBD - but when ESPN started to get games, they were reaching a much broader audience rather quickly.

The point of this is that if the NFL Network gets more exclusivity and doesn't alienate more people by taking more games off the other networks, it is another step towards critical mass.

The NFL may eventually carry more games on its network, at which point they will have leverage against the cable operators. The problem they have right now is long-term contracts with other networks to carry those games; these contracts bring in an enormous portion of the league's revenue base and it would be suicidal for them to damage those relationships.

 

[Chop_Block]

What are the actual ratings for the NFL draft? I bet they pale in comparison to an actual football game in season...seriously. We love it here because we are all playing dynasty leagues and so the draft is sort of everything to us in the off season. But there are thousands of fans that pack the NFL stadiums every week during the season that probably could not name the players their team took in the 1st 3 rounds of the draft.

Good question.Here is what I found:

Ratings

3+ Million people (on average) for that first ESPN segment (Round 1, basically).

That's pretty high.

Also no NFL-N contribution to it.

That 3.2 million households is a byproduct of ESPN's reach, however. That number would pale in comparison if aired on NFL Network, which has 41 million households and could well lose 7 million of them this upcoming season.

IS it because of a shift of cable operators, drops or what?Just curious, apologise for the side-track.

 

[DA RAIDERS]

they need to be in high def all the time.

 

[Tackling Dummies]

I'm unclear as to how making the draft exclusive would force cable MNOs hands in any way

Removing any content from a provider leaves a gap. I'm assuming that there would be a good deal of calls to the cable companies if an event like the draft was pulled from ESPN. It's not like you're sitting down watching all 11 hours of the draft, but you'd be watching bupkis if this were to happen. Since the growth of DTV is clearly connected to Sunday Ticket and DTV and every other company pays billions of dollars for NFL games, those are good reasons that those on the outside are forced to pay up.

Cable operators are refusing to take in NFL Network to have 8 actual games, why on Earth would the threat of losing the NFL draft change their position?

You're mistaken if this is all about four regular season games. In our fractured TV viewing environment, having 24/7/365 NFL content is not a one day or a few off occurance. It's every day, all day. It's a brand, like ESPN, CNN or any other long-standing network. If your cable company chooses to not carry NFLN, that's their choice, but the demand for NFL-related programming and in particular, the NFLN is not diminshing. Again, customers want it, but it's about cable not paying, period.

 

[ConstruxBoy]

I'm unclear as to how making the draft exclusive would force cable MNOs hands in any way

Removing any content from a provider leaves a gap. I'm assuming that there would be a good deal of calls to the cable companies if an event like the draft was pulled from ESPN. It's not like you're sitting down watching all 11 hours of the draft, but you'd be watching bupkis if this were to happen. Since the growth of DTV is clearly connected to Sunday Ticket and DTV and every other company pays billions of dollars for NFL games, those are good reasons that those on the outside are forced to pay up.

Cable operators are refusing to take in NFL Network to have 8 actual games, why on Earth would the threat of losing the NFL draft change their position?

You're mistaken if this is all about four regular season games. In our fractured TV viewing environment, having 24/7/365 NFL content is not a one day or a few off occurance. It's every day, all day. It's a brand, like ESPN, CNN or any other long-standing network. If your cable company chooses to not carry NFLN, that's their choice, but the demand for NFL-related programming and in particular, the NFLN is not diminshing. Again, customers want it, but it's about cable not paying, period.

No. It's about the NFL not ripping off the cable companies, period.

 

[Jason Wood]

I'm unclear as to how making the draft exclusive would force cable MNOs hands in any way

Removing any content from a provider leaves a gap. I'm assuming that there would be a good deal of calls to the cable companies if an event like the draft was pulled from ESPN. It's not like you're sitting down watching all 11 hours of the draft, but you'd be watching bupkis if this were to happen. Since the growth of DTV is clearly connected to Sunday Ticket and DTV and every other company pays billions of dollars for NFL games, those are good reasons that those on the outside are forced to pay up.

Cable operators are refusing to take in NFL Network to have 8 actual games, why on Earth would the threat of losing the NFL draft change their position?

You're mistaken if this is all about four regular season games. In our fractured TV viewing environment, having 24/7/365 NFL content is not a one day or a few off occurance. It's every day, all day. It's a brand, like ESPN, CNN or any other long-standing network. If your cable company chooses to not carry NFLN, that's their choice, but the demand for NFL-related programming and in particular, the NFLN is not diminshing. Again, customers want it, but it's about cable not paying, period.

I don't think we're disagreeing here. What I'm saying is that the cable operators have refused to give in to NFL-N's demands IN SPITE of the NFL offering regular season games. Ergo, withdrawing the NFL Draft from ESPN [who is arguably their most important partner by the way] and it's one time 3.2 million rating boost is not going to sway the cable operators.EVERY cable operator would carry NFL-N already if NFL-N was willing to be part of a tiered service. Unfortunately they seem to think they are deserving of broad distribution, which can't come without raising cable rates. Cable MNOs are not going to materially cut into their own profit margins to add NFL-N. Comcast just won their case, and from what I've read, the appellate courts are unlikely to reverse the decision.This will all get worked out, but it's not going to be by NFL withholding more programming from its established partners, its going to be by NFL-N getting realistic about the need for their programming to be sold on an additive basis.

 

[There it is]

I'm unclear as to how making the draft exclusive would force cable MNOs hands in any way

Removing any content from a provider leaves a gap. I'm assuming that there would be a good deal of calls to the cable companies if an event like the draft was pulled from ESPN. It's not like you're sitting down watching all 11 hours of the draft, but you'd be watching bupkis if this were to happen. Since the growth of DTV is clearly connected to Sunday Ticket and DTV and every other company pays billions of dollars for NFL games, those are good reasons that those on the outside are forced to pay up.

Cable operators are refusing to take in NFL Network to have 8 actual games, why on Earth would the threat of losing the NFL draft change their position?

You're mistaken if this is all about four regular season games. In our fractured TV viewing environment, having 24/7/365 NFL content is not a one day or a few off occurance. It's every day, all day. It's a brand, like ESPN, CNN or any other long-standing network. If your cable company chooses to not carry NFLN, that's their choice, but the demand for NFL-related programming and in particular, the NFLN is not diminshing. Again, customers want it, but it's about cable not paying, period.

I don't think we're disagreeing here. What I'm saying is that the cable operators have refused to give in to NFL-N's demands IN SPITE of the NFL offering regular season games. Ergo, withdrawing the NFL Draft from ESPN [who is arguably their most important partner by the way] and it's one time 3.2 million rating boost is not going to sway the cable operators.EVERY cable operator would carry NFL-N already if NFL-N was willing to be part of a tiered service. Unfortunately they seem to think they are deserving of broad distribution, which can't come without raising cable rates. Cable MNOs are not going to materially cut into their own profit margins to add NFL-N. Comcast just won their case, and from what I've read, the appellate courts are unlikely to reverse the decision.

This will all get worked out, but it's not going to be by NFL withholding more programming from its established partners, its going to be by NFL-N getting realistic about the need for their programming to be sold on an additive basis.

What case did Comcast win?I ask because,like I said above,Comcast took over our cable. Our newspaper just reported that they plan to move the NFLN and others to a sports package. Would this be in keeping w/this case?

If I read you right this decision would be in keeping w/Comcast wanting NFLN as an add on, not basic, right?

 

[Jeff Pasquino]

Jason, again....

Did I ever say that this is the straw that will break the cable companies' collective backs?

What I did say was that this is how I think they will get more viewership. Will it force the hand of Cable MNOs, the buzzword / phrase you're throwing about, to sign up NFL-N and bend over backwards to accommodate them? No. But it is one more way that the NFL can create something that other networks cannot have.

They did this with the Insight.com Bowl, the Senior Bowl, and the Combine - plus the 8 games a year they are taking away from the other guys (where they would likely get more $ for that set of game).

The key thing that they are doing is creating as much "buzz" about what they can put together and take away from others and/or make exclusive without taking away games from other networks (and in effect $ from their own coffers).

This is ONE MORE STEP to make some viewers want NFL-N. Will it be a massive group of people calling Time Warner next April? No. Will it make some call if it does happen? Yes.

NFL-N is balancing what they can leverage to increase subscribers vs. angering fans by taking things away.

 

[BassNBrew]

Jason, again.... Did I ever say that this is the straw that will break the cable companies' collective backs?What I did say was that this is how I think they will get more viewership. Will it force the hand of Cable MNOs, the buzzword / phrase you're throwing about, to sign up NFL-N and bend over backwards to accommodate them? No. But it is one more way that the NFL can create something that other networks cannot have.They did this with the Insight.com Bowl, the Senior Bowl, and the Combine - plus the 8 games a year they are taking away from the other guys (where they would likely get more $ for that set of game).The key thing that they are doing is creating as much "buzz" about what they can put together and take away from others and/or make exclusive without taking away games from other networks (and in effect $ from their own coffers).This is ONE MORE STEP to make some viewers want NFL-N. Will it be a massive group of people calling Time Warner next April? No. Will it make some call if it does happen? Yes.NFL-N is balancing what they can leverage to increase subscribers vs. angering fans by taking things away.

Who played in the Insight.com bowl? How many of those crappy 8 games were even worth watching? How many would have been nationally broadcast anyway.You move the draft and the coverage at the other outlets dries up. Once that happens the NFL loses it's March and April foothold against the NFL, MLB, and NBA. Foolish move IMO.

 

[spec1alk]

Im not sure that putting the draft on primetime works unless they drop the time from 15 minutes to 10 for each teams pick. And even 10 minutes would still mean a 1st round that is possibly 5 hours long.

What I would like is a 1-2 hour recap where all the time waiting for picks is removed unless something interesting happens.