Posted on 01/28/2006 5:20:39 AM PST by abb
The National Football League has decided to televise a package of games on Thursday and Saturday nights starting next season on its own cable channel, rather than selling the package to another network.
The decision Friday came after talks ended with Comcast Corp. on a joint venture that would have placed the eight late-season games on the company's OLN network or created a new sports network, people familiar with the talks said.
The games mark the first time the league has ventured outside of its traditional Sunday and Monday nights for a regular television package. Industry executives had estimated the value of the Thursday-Saturday games at about $400 million.
By keeping the games in-house, the NFL foregoes that income. But it also instantly increases the value of its NFL Network, which debuted two years ago and shows old games, highlights and other original nongame programming. An NFL spokesman declined to comment.
"Live games changes the value of the NFL Network to the cable companies because their subscribers are going to insist on it," says Marc Ganis, a sports consultant who has worked with the NFL. "You've moved it from a highlights channel to one that has must-have programming."
The NFL Network is available in about 30 million homes, mostly on a premium digital programming tier. The league now is expected to ask cable operators to make the channel part of their basic services. That could triple the number of homes in which the channel is seen. In addition to appearing on the NFL Network, the eight Thursday and Saturday games also are expected to air on broadcast television in the participating team's markets.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
My favorite part is the prime time Thanksgiving game. I've been wishing for years for that.
bump
Im wonder if she could do that without that strap?
How do you like the tv,I take it ,it is HD?
Yes,it turned into WWF,like!!!!
I've had it for 2 months and there is no way I could ever go back. The set is HD ready but it'll be next year before we can get the satelite convertor for HD broadcasts. I was warned away from the plasmas. We live at 7000 ft. and they apparently have issues with altitude. They also have a tendency to "burn in". I don't think plasmas are quite ready for the market yet.
MBC has sunday nites games. Thye are back in it.
Get a UHF antenna abd you can get over the air signals. Call radio shack and they can tell how good a antenna you need.
On our honeymoon night, the strap broke... But the beer remained in place and its temperature stayed just above freezing.
I told you she was a cold hearted Bit...
Hey, Bender! She may have been that, but she was kind to the dog.
How many times do I have to tell you, I am not a dog!
Cool! Thanks for the tip. I need to get down around Radio Shack tomorrow anyway.
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