Arlen Specter in the role of Anakin Skywalker. LOL!
Posted on 12/07/2006 6:07:31 PM PST by MikefromOhio
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The National Football League's ability to negotiate exclusive sports packages is under fire from the outgoing chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., twice said he would introduce legislation in the next session aimed at eliminating the league's freedom from antitrust laws.
Specter said the NFL should not use the exemption to negotiate exclusive programming packages such as DirectTV Inc.'s "Sunday Ticket," which allows viewers to watch teams outside their regional market.
"As I look at what the NFL is doing today with the NFL channel with the DirectTV ... a lot of people, including myself, would like to be able to have that ticket," Specter said.
But the 1961 law that gives the NFL this freedom should not apply to DirectTV because it is not "sponsored programming," said Stephen Ross, a law professor at Pennsylvania State University and chair of the school's sports law institute. He said the Pennsylvania senator could be using the threat of legislation to pressure the NFL to make changes voluntarily.
Access to out-of-market football games was one of many consumer fairness issues addressed during the hearing. Another hot topic was whether cable providers should be forced to share sports broadcasting rights with every service provider in an area.
(Excerpt) Read more at sportsillustrated.cnn.com ...
you may be right but as I recall the state kicked in some money too..
you may be right but as I recall the state kicked in some money too..
Thank you for the compliment.
Also Comcast is mad they couldn't get the Thursday-Saturday package for Versus and it went to NFLN instead. But they know they'll never leverage that one, so their going after the Sunday Ticket.
Now admittedly I think it's kind of stupid of the NFL to sell Sunday Ticket exclusively to DirecTV, I think they could make more selling it to both the satelite networks and all the big cable companies. But it's their package they can sell it how they want.
Arlen Specter in the role of Anakin Skywalker. LOL!
That's the simple answer - it's the NFL's product and they can do with it as they see fit. The fact is that it's being carried on airwaves for which access is granted by the federal government, and the league has been given an antitrust law exemption to allow them to do certain things to make their "product" as marketable as possible. Add to that all the public financing of stadiums that's gone on in the last 10 years, from which the league has directly benefitted, and it's easy to see that this is not such an easy answer.
I presume that the league could decide not to air their games at all, and that would be perfectly fine, but because of the unique nature of this "product" and the ways in which the league benefits from governmental intervention or lack thereof, there is an argument to be made here that these monopolistic practices are illegal.
Although I'm perfectly open to the fact that I may be wrong about the airwaves issue - I have no idea if the federal government licenses anything to DirecTV. Sorry if I am wrong on that point - I really don't know.
Yea but what does Scottish law say?
"Sounds like he is mad about something."
Arlen is a huge Philadelphia Eagles fan.
Being a fan of the Eagles makes you constantly mad about everything.
It is a big issue to him a bunch of drunken "yinzers" are mad because they can't watch their "stillers" play tonight for free "n nat"
The yinzers aren't missing much of a game: halfway through the third, it's still 10-0 Stillers.
Bryant Gumbel and Cris Collinsworth are supremely annoying, too.
Lets do that and we'll call it the ....XFL!!!
Absolutely correct.
Now admittedly I think it's kind of stupid of the NFL to sell Sunday Ticket exclusively to DirecTV, I think they could make more selling it to both the satelite networks and all the big cable companies. But it's their package they can sell it how they want.
IMHO, The NFL is a lot of things, but they are not stupid.
When the NFL negotiates TV contracts, they make sure there is always at least one bidder left out on the cold. They basically Fox a legitimate network when they called NBC's bluff in 94, when NBC thought the NFL would stay with them despite a lowball offer. Now, the creation of the NFL network puts additional longterm pressure on the networks - pay up, or we'll pull the entire package and put it on the company channel.
What they give up financially in the short term, they more than make up for in the long run by making the networks walk on eggshells.
It's the same thing with Sunday Ticket - DirecTV meets their price and demands, because they know the NFL can pull the plug on them and/or move the whole package to digital cable at any time.
Yes, as Lions fan, I ask Arlen to call for the firing of the Ford family!
Hey the Steers are winning and only committed one turnover, this year that's a great game for my boys... can't wait for this season to end.
Exactly the point. Iran and Iraq is just too tough for Congress to wrap their little heads around and, thanks to media dumbing down, they believe you don't want to hear about it anymore.
It's so much easier to showboat about professional football, etc., particularly now that he'll be in the minority without a prayer of passing meaningful legislation.
It's grandstanding, pure and simple.
One more reason why conservatives are disgusted with Republicans.
(3) see RINO.
I actually liked the XFL because I was able to accept it for what it really was: AAA football. The overproduction and overhype of the league set the bar too high, and the media detractors were worse than a Bush briefing.
I was Commissioner of an 8-team XFL Fantasy League that year, and lost the championship game when Jim Druckenmiller got hurt.
And everyone remembers "He Hate Me". Great stuff.
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