NFL Network???

[Phil Lilley]

Tradition.

I'm not a diehard NFL fan but I do like to watch the Cowboys and Chiefs. Mom doesn't like it but we do watch some football on Thanksgiving day.

But is this a sign of changing times? Will we have to subscribe to Dish to watch football in the future?

Someone called the office yesterday and asked where he could watch the game today. I said we have cable and will get the games. He said the Chief's game was only on NFL Network and I didn't believe him. Who would do such a thing!!?? I checked the paper and he was right. I guess he might be out of luck- along with a bunch of other people today.

[snagged in outlet 3]

I have dish but it's still a joke. How much money do these people need? How do you survive the holiday's without football?

I'd go fishing if I lived down there. Get my 7 year old out from in front of the tv. Weird thing is my 49 year old brother in-law watching cartoons with her.

SIO3.

[Danoinark]

Cowboys and Bucs play on Fox at 3:30 this afternoon.

Dano

[Gary Lange]

Thje Brother has a Dish Network and gets the Football package for the season so we can watch the Chicago Bears.

Him and I talked about how the Cable Companies are dropping the ball on this stuff. With all the available channels they could pipe in the various football games and use a pay per view system so guys could pay like $5.00 and get to set and watch there favorite teams each week. I think that would be a big money maker for them.

[Don]

Keep in mind, I used to watch boxing as a youngster for free. Later, when I was single, we batchelor roomates would order HBO for 25 bucks and guests would pay 2 dollars to watch the match. Since then, the money people have taken the sport of boxing away from the working man because of the cost. By the way, who is the world heavyweight champion?

Anyhow, I read a magazine article years ago that stated sports viewing would eventually be catered to the haves instead of the have nots because the bottom line is their dollar.

I live in the country and I'm not much of a TV watcher. Therefore, I have not bought a dish package. I wonder what it really takes for network TV to hold the rights to NFL, MLB, etc. I miss Monday night football but at least I get Sunday night football now.

Don

[Ham]

Actually Phil, Capitalist. Not that I like it anymore than you do, but at some point we might have to pay per view any NFL game. That'll really motivate me to spend more time outdoors and less time in front of the TV.

[Phil Lilley]

Good point...

I didn't mean communist in a literal way- just wanted to put it in a nasty light.

[Kicknbass]

Keep in mind, I used to watch boxing as a youngster for free. Later, when I was single, we batchelor roomates would order HBO for 25 bucks and guests would pay 2 dollars to watch the match. Since then, the money people have taken the sport of boxing away from the working man because of the cost. By the way, who is the world heavyweight champion?

Don,

I had the same thought prior to reading your post. I agree. I think this is a bad trend for sports. I'm stubborn. I'll stop watching sports before I start subsribing to PPV.

[Kansas Fly Fisher]

They have priced the average guy out of going to the games and now it looks like they are trying to price them out of watching it at home. I'm agree with everyone else. I refuse to pay to watch a game at home. That will just mean more time for me and the family to enjoy the outdoors.

John

[SilverMallard]

Well, there are several organizations involved in this loop. From bottom to top they are: local CATV company, Chiefs, and the NFL. You can't really blame the satellite folks and they only have one logical answer to a complaint: buy satellite.

The local CATV folks are indeed missing the boat as stated above. This needs to be brought to their attention by their consumers. It's all about their perceptions of the demand. If enough people want something, they can get it and put a price tag on it that folks will pay.

The Chiefs control their broadcast rights and negotiate them on a regular basis. If they don't agree to something, it doesn't happen. The Chiefs need to know this is costing them fans. For a pro sports team, their local TV market is KING. Size matters. Why they would trade a satellite audience for a huge chunk of their regional market from their own fan base is beyond me, but those guys aren't totally daft.

The NFL cares a LOT about what NFL fans think. And they KNOW that 80% of their fan base is watching on TV sitting in working class households. This was probably an experiment. They need to hear the down-side. They do have some leverage over the teams with regard to broadcast contracts. They offer incentives and disincentives for special programs. The reason ESPN got the MNF contract is simple: HDTV! ESPN is way ahead of the networks in their ability to deliver HD coverage and programming. And they have a bigger viewer base than the networks do now. These are recent changes. Remember, everything goes HD in 2008. And this contract is multi-year. But ESPN has a decided advantage and can deliver NOW, not 2 years from now. NFL Network also broadcasts in HD. Satellite has an HD advantage over the cable companies. This is a technological change that is going to have a lot of impact on all sorts of TV programming. That's why they phased in the change over a 10-year period and we are 10 years or so behind the Japanese in terms of HDTV. But it's here now, fellas. Soon you will have to realize you are either going HD or you are not going to watch much TV...or ANY TV.

Finally, the pro sports stadiums are still full. And they are building bigger stadiums as fast as they can. "Pricing out the common man" is obviously NOT happening or it is not a bad idea. Take your pick. Seems to me that if YOU can no longer afford a game (which is still cheaper than the avg ticket price for a major concert and about the same price as many Branson show tickets), then perhaps YOUR economic power (wages, etc.) is eroding in comparison with the rest of society. But it defies the facts to assume that most folks are in the same boat that you are when the stadiums and ball parks and arenas are still selling out on a regular basis and the teams are all complaining about how they need bigger venues to handle more paying fans.

And...fyi...I think the ticket prices are too high also. And I cannot afford a big CATV or satellite bill either. But let's get real.