December 27, 2007
Patriots-Giants Goes Big-Time
On Wednesday the NFL announced that the game between the Patriots and Giants will not only be broadcast by NFL network and local Boston and New York stations, but by CBS and NBC as well.
The NFL originally scheduled the game on the NFL Network, meaning for most of the country only subscribers to that channel could watch the game - local stations from the two cities are able to broadcast the game under NFL policy.
This was clearly a good move by the NFL, albeit a forced one. A few senators threatened to "reconsider the league's antitrust exemption." This occurred earlier in the year, when millions of fans were blocked out of the Dallas-Green Bay game, when both teams came in with 1 loss, and were both considered the top teams in the NFC. But because it was on the NFL Network, not many people saw it.
It would have happened again if not for New England's chance at a perfect regular season. Even with one loss, the historic impact wouldn't be there, and there wouldn't be as many upset fans, allowing the game to be left to the NFL Network and the NFL to slink into the playoffs with its tail between its legs.
The NFL Network channel seems like a decent idea, one that allows hardcore football fans to get all the NFL football they want, all the time. But the normal fan just wants to watch football games. He wants to be able to turn on his tv on Sunday and see some football. He doesn't want to get updates online - if he even goes online - because the networks aren't being allowed to carry it. And that's where the NFL Network alienates those same fans it wants to bring in.
And where have their broadcast tactics gotten them? Nowhere. Not only will the game between the Patriots and Giants be televised, it will be simulcast on NBC and CBS. So in addition to local channels, it will be available on up to 4 channels, including the NFL Network. And while everyone is proclaiming the fans' victory over the league, you can't help but wonder, aren't they supposed to be on the same side?
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.ericmcerlain.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/8121
I expected a little more opinion here from the Free Market Sports blog.
Shouldn't it just be a calculated risk on the NFL's part to keep it on their own network. On one hand they risk alienating fans. On the other hand they encourage many fans to call their cable company and beg for the NFL network. Isn't that their prerogative?
Did Congress make HBO show the Sopranos finale on broadcast TV?
And I didn't know the NFL had an anti-trust exemption (I thought only MLB did). So how can any congressperson threaten to remove an exemption the NFL does not have?
Posted by:
at December 28, 2007 11:52 AM
connor35 --
The NFL has a broadcast antitrust exemption that's different than the baseball exemption. It dates back to a 1950s Justice Department lawsuit that took away the NFL's right to limit the appearance of its teams on television. Later, when the NFL switched gears and signed a single national contract with CBS, the courts ruled this was also illegal since the league acted as a single entity (rather than have each team negotiate TV rights separately.)
In 1962, Congress exempted all professional sports leagues from antitrust scrutiny when negotiating a single-network broadcast contract. Of course, Congress made an exception that prevented the NFL from broadcasting games on Friday and Saturday nights during the college football season (the NCAA lobbied hard for this.)
Posted by:
at December 29, 2007 07:58 PM
Posted by:
at December 31, 2007 09:55 AM
Post a comment
Thanks for signing in,
.
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)
12:01 AM
![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.ericmcerlain.com/offwingopinion/nav-commenters.gif)