WASHINGTON — The Federal Communications Commission Wednesday ordered Time Warner Cable to reinstate the NFL Network on systems the company acquired from defunct operator Adelphia Communications Inc.The commission issued an emergency order to reinstate the network on a temporary basis after NFL Enterprises LLC complained the network was booted without giving subscribers the required 30-day notice. The cable network is scheduled to show 54 NFL preseason games and eight NFL regular-season primetime games this season. Preseason play begins Aug. 11.Time Warner picked up about 3.5 million subscribers from Adelphia in western New York, Ohio, Texas, southern California, Maine, North Carolina and South Carolina, according to the FCC records.
ESPN.com – NFL – Feds order cable provider to restore NFL Network
While Comcast and Adelphi aired the NFL Network, Time Warner doesn’t and, at least according to the NFL, talks have been stymied as to whether the network should be available to all viewers (the NFL’s desire) or placed on a sports tier that consumers pay more for (Time Warner’s position). Because Time Warner has no contract with the NFL, it shut off the network to about 1 million homes when it took over the systems Aug. 1. The NFL says the number of homes affected could top 3.7 million, but Time Warner said it picked up 3.3 million subscribers of which, at most, 1.3 million had the NFL Network.
Advertising Age – MediaWorks – FCC Steps Into Battle Between NFL and Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable, meanwhile, said it is currently reviewing the order. “This order was issued without offering us the opportunity to respond to the NFL Network’s allegations. We believe the FCC’s decision is wrong and we are considering our options,” the statement said.
Advertising Age – MediaWorks – FCC Steps Into Battle Between NFL and Time Warner Cable
As a Time Warner customer, it’s been frustrating to have to deal with this for so long. Some people don’t have the option of getting satellite, and are held hostage by TW. I’ve sent them many, many emails regarding adding NFL Network. It appears there is a personal war between the two now, and it’s not going to get any better any time soon.
The only thing we can do is send emails and letters to TW asking them to add the NFL Network. You can visit http://nfl.viewerlink.tv/ to get all kinds of info regarding contacting your cable provider.
Why doesn’t the NFL Network just sign a deal with TiVo for streaming, or stream through the web for a fee like the MLB Does their games? I’d buy that in a heartbeat — and I’d ditch cable in a second.
technorati tags:nfl-network, time-warner, nfl, court, fcc
