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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 ...
Here's part of an article from ESPN.com's Gregg Easterbrook:
This brings us to the real scandal in NFL broadcasting -- not the dispute about NFLN, but that the wonderful Sunday Ticket package, which allows consumers to bypass this problem by paying to see any game, can only be seen by the lucky few with DirecTV. Friends who have DirecTV tell me it's wonderful. But I can't get DirecTV, and millions of others can't either. Anyone who lives around trees or tall buildings cannot on a technical basis receive DirecTV; the phrase "anyone who lives around trees or tall buildings" describes half the United States. For example Bob Crane of Columbia, S.C., a Chicago Bears fan who tried to buy DirecTV, couldn't because the satellite signal cannot be received where he lives. Crane writes, "I was and am still furious that even though I was willing to pay the fee to see my Bears, a monopoly deal leaves me no way to obtain the service."
J. Pierpont Morgan's cartel was busted by Congress. Now Congress should bust the cartel that prevents millions of Americans from choosing for themselves what Sunday NFL game to watch.The wonderful NFL Sunday Ticket, restricted via NFL cartel arrangement to customers of DirecTV in the United States, is available to any cable customer in Canada, as noted by many frostback readers, including Kevin Heselton of Regina, Saskatchewan. This means Canadians get better access to NFL games, played in stadia funded by American taxpayers, than American taxpayers do. Is there somehow some need for the NFL to forbid all but DirecTV customers from choosing any game -- does this somehow advance the NFL business model? No, because as many international readers including Alex McLeish of Beaconsfield, United Kingdom, have reported, anyone who lives outside the United States can now watch any NFL game live by signing up for a Yahoo! streaming video service. Live outside the United States? The NFL is happy to let you watch whatever game you please. Are you an American whose taxes paid for the NFL's stadiums? Sorry, you are shafted.
In 1961, the pre-merger National Football League received an antitrust exemption from Congress, partly in return for its promise that all game broadcasts would be available equally to all Americans. For a decade, the most desirable broadcast service the NFL offers, Sunday Ticket, has been denied to the majority of Americans who don't or can't get DirecTV, in seeming defiance of the league's promise to Congress. Last year the NFL signed a contract that extends the cartel till 2011, and the reason was simple, DirecTV paid a lavish fee. But DirecTV shouldn't be able to buy something that violates at least the spirit, if not the letter, of the NFL's 1961 promise to Congress. As the new Congress takes its seat, the Senate Judiciary Committee has announced it will investigate NFL dealings with DirecTV. Sure the NFL and DirecTV signed a contract, but it's one that violates a public trust -- and Commissioner Roger Goodell, it will go better for you and the sport if you amend the Sunday Ticket deal on your own terms, rather than waiting for Congress to alter it for you. Unless, of course, you'd rather surrender the NFL's antitrust exemption.
My bad - CBS was left out in the cold in 94, not NBC.
CBS got back in the game with the AFC package in 2000, leaving NBC out. Now NBC is back in and ABC is out.hts
In the process, rights fees are up around 500 percent in a 20 year span.
It's hard to tell. I think they're selling exclusive to DirecTV out of habit, they're so used to signing exclusive contracts for the packages that I'm not sure they sat down and did the math. The NFL does make mistakes. Supposedly they shopped this Thursday-Saturday package but never got the kind of offers they were looking for. Now I'm not sure that's true because they've been using it to try to leverage better position and rates for NFLN with Comcast and Time-Warner, but if it is true that they waved a package around and didn't get "proper" interest that could mean they've created too many packages.
Remember Fox stole from CBS, CBS stole from NBC, and now NBC stole from ESPN which kind of stole from ABC (before Fox entered the picture CBS had the NFC contract, NBC had AFC, ESPN had SNF and ABC had MNF). Next negotiation cycle Fox better watchout because ABC snagging from them would close the circle, while I don't think it's going to happen (The Mouse seems to think sports on ABC is no longer a good idea) it would be funny.
I still think the NFL can make more from Comcast, Cox, Time-Warner, Dish AND DirecTV than they're making from just DirecTV. Admittedly DirecTV is paying through the nose for the exclusive contract, but also DirecTV doesn't have that much market penetration, by opening up to cable and satelite I think the revenue stream would open wide. It's all blind guesses and unless the NFL decides to (or is forced to) open it up to non-exclusive we'll never know either way, but the blind guess I believe is that selling the same package 5 times will give you more money than the exclusive can.
Tell Mr. Easterbrook not to worry - if Specter (cough) gets any traction on a fast-track legislative rider, the Supreme Court will peer into the Emanating Penumbras and make watching the NFL a Constitutional Right.
Endowed by the Creator. Ooops.
FGS...
He's not a nut! Most nuts have common sense....... He has none.
Nope - nothing new. For 8 years, living outside the Philly market, we tried to get Comcast sports on DirecTV. Comcast REFUSED to allow it forever.
When they finally started showing it - it was all of them BUT the Philly market & Philly sports.
Where was Arlen then?
This guy is an idiot! Its sponsored by Direct TV. Hey Specter! I can't get HBO on free TV! ITS UNFAIR!!!!!!!
I know but I would have felt better about the loss if Specter wasn't there.
Yes, very true.
Almost a moot point ... NFL Network will in-source the whole shebang soon. Anything to get the AFC off of SeeBS!!!
You have a point...
The Big Ten is going to launch it's own network at the beginning of football season next year...
Network TV is on it's way out I think.
WE need FREE GAMES like the Romans had
They didn't need any Direct TV ticket
Since we are going the way of Rome we might as well get the good life before the barbarians get here
Yeah ya need comcast sports so you can see BS artist Rendell help analyze the Eagles game with Hebron- Barkan -Didinger
Has anyone mentioned to Arlen there's a war on?
words fail me...
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In Scottish Law, anybody can watch the NFL, anytime, any game, any where.
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