Thursday Night Football

[Aric]

Nope.

Edit: When the games are supposed to be on though there is a message on the top of the screen that scrolls by saying that my cable provider has chosen not to air the live NFL games other than local games and to call a number or to visit http://www.iwantnflnetwork.com

[Pick6]

They say it's being broadcasted in HD, but what a crappy picture ... just curious to know if anyone's getting it ok.  I missed their Thanksgiving broadcast, so I'm not sure if last weeks was just as bad.

i just got back from watching it at a local sports bar, they had it in HD, it looked just as good as all the other HD games i've watched there...

whistles...
http://streamednfl.blogspot.com/

whistles...

[BTownBucFan]

They say it's being broadcasted in HD, but what a crappy picture ... just curious to know if anyone's getting it ok.  I missed their Thanksgiving broadcast, so I'm not sure if last weeks was just as bad.

[mjs020294]

anyone watching the game tonight?

[Aric]

I have Knology and NFL Network but the games aren't televised. There is some dispute happening with NFL Network. Here I thought I'd get the games, as I had the channel.

[mjs020294]

I have Knology and NFL Network but the games aren't televised. There is some dispute happening with NFL Network. Here I thought I'd get the games, as I had the channel.

Do you pay extra for NFL Network?

I have Knology and NFL Network but the games aren't televised. There is some dispute happening with NFL Network. Here I thought I'd get the games, as I had the channel.

The problem is that the NFL is charging and extra fee for the cable companies to broadcast the live games and some are choosing not to pay it..... Knology being one of them. They've known about it but chose not to tell their customers. Sounds a bit shady to me!!!

[naplesbuc]

HD looked crystal clear on Direct TV.

[TURBO]

another cash-cow designed to milk all of the NFL fans of their hard earned money.

where will it end?

it won't, as long as people keep paying.

[mjs020294]

another cash-cow designed to milk all of the NFL fans of their hard earned money.

where will it end?

it won't, as long as people keep paying.

Actually Turbo that statement is far from the truth.  NFL Networks are insisting that their channel should not be a premium channel, and some TV providers want to charge extra for it.  Brighthouse and Time Warner haven't got NFL Networks because they want to charge for it and the NFL will not agree to that.  The providers with existing contracts that are charging for the service have to more it to a free tier or they can't show the live games.  I have Verizon FIOS and the NFL Network is included in the basis package.

[BUCFAN4LIFE]

another cash-cow designed to milk all of the NFL fans of their hard earned money.

where will it end?

it won't, as long as people keep paying.

Actually Turbo that statement is far from the truth. NFL Networks are insisting that their channel should not be a premium channel, and some TV providers want to charge extra for it. Brighthouse and Time Warner haven't got NFL Networks because they want to charge for it and the NFL will not agree to that. The providers with existing contracts that are charging for the service have to more it to a free tier or they can't show the live games. I have Verizon FIOS and the NFL Network is included in the basis package.

Exactly-- NFL Network will charge the cable companies for the provider fee and the cable companies in turn want to put it on a higher tier service and make their customers pay for it. The NFL won't sign off on that and are stipulating that it be put on the cable companies respective basic tier services like Nick or Court TV. So basically the cable companies wnaty to charge a fee and the NFL is saying BS we want it free to consumers. They need to just come to a happy medium so we dont miss out. Most  consumers with cable have at least the expanded digital service-- why the cable companies won't put it there is just pure greed on their part, not the NFL's. Cable companies want it on a expanded sports tier service and charge for it. They are the ones screwing us here. Time Warner being the main obstacle, whcih of  course owns BrightHouse. I believe in other markets cable does carry it. Comcast I believe was the first to provide it on cable but Time Warner wont because of course they suck.

I dont want sattelite and Fios is not available in my area so i am screwed.

Knology has it as part of their preferred pkg. I was told by one of their reps that the NFL was charging an additional fee to broadcast the games live which they declined to pay and that is why the games weren't on.

[mjs020294]

Knology has it as part of their preferred pkg. I was told by one of their reps that the NFL was charging an additional fee to broadcast the games live which they declined to pay and that is why the games weren't on.

Knology probably have an existing contract with the NFL and unless they remove it from the preferred package the NFL will not let them show something that wasn't part of the original contract.  Once the contract with Knology expires they will have to renegotiate with the NFL and put the channel in the basic line-up.

FIOS said providing the NFL Network would initially cost 72 cents a month per household, and they would absorbed that cost.  Brighthouse have a much bigger customer base and the cost per customer is probably under 25 cents a month, but they want to charge extra.

MJS, here's a post from Profootballtalk.com regarding this topic:

POSTED 8:52 a.m. EST; UPDATED 9:18 a.m. EST, November 25, 2006

HAVING NFLN DOESN'T MEAN GETTING NFL GAMES

Picture this.  You've spent all day eating food and watching football on television and eating food and watching football on television and drinking beer and watching football on television and eating food.  The extended family has finally cleared out of the house, the first two NFL games have ended, and the third one is getting started soon.

There's been plenty of controversy in the newspapers about the inability of the NFL and cable companies like Time Warner to strike agreements regarding the addition of the league's in-house network, but it's not an issue for you.  Your cable company has NFLN, and while 70 million households will be unable to watch the Chiefs and the Broncos, you'll be gnawing on some more dead turkey while Jake Plummer launches a few wounded ducks.

But then something happens.  It's time for the game to start, but it's not on.  You grab the remote and punch in the numbers for NFLN again, but instead of the Chiefs and Broncos there's an NFL Films production about some old team from Pottstown.

What the f--k? you shout.  Then your wife gently reminds you that your five-year-old son is sitting next to you.

That scene played out in more than a few households on Thursday night, due to the fact that NFLN imposes an additional fee to cable companies for the ability to broadcast live regular-season games, and some cable providers simply chose not to pay it.

The problem is that some of the cable providers who chose not to pay the extra fee apparently neglected to tell their customers that the Thursday night game would not be available.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello confirmed via e-mail on Friday that an extra charge applies.  "Yes, fees were adjusted to reflect the value of NFL Network with NFL games, which are the highest-rated programming on television," Aiello said.  "Cable operators that carried NFL Network prior to NFL Network acquiring the rights to the games had two choices:  [(1)] Carry NFL Network with the game package on terms that 170 cable providers throughout the country have accepted as fair, reasonable, and a good value[; or (2)] Let customers know of their choice in time for them to do something about it.  A handful of cable operators apparently chose to do neither."

At a time when Congress already has expressed concern about consumer access to games aired on NFLN, this development is, to say the least, unfortunate.  Though we don't question the ability of the NFL to get fairly compensated for its immensely popular product, this strikes us as one of those situations in which the inability of the parties to resolve their differences in a satisfactory manner will result in a third party (i.e., the government) imposing a resolution on them.