NFL Games on the NFL Network

[sabotai]

(Sorry if this has come up recently and I missed it)

Last year, the final game of the season for the Giants and Redskins was aired on the NFL Network. Not a huge deal, since the Giants were maybe/maybe not for the playoffs (and would surely lose quickly if they made it), and the Redskins had been done for awhile.

Still sucked that I could not watch the game.

I was just looking over the schedule for the rest of the year to see what Giants games I'd get to see, and which ones I wouldn't (living in South Jersey means the Eagles get priority on the telly when the Eagles and Giants play at the same time, so I miss a game here and there). That's when I saw the last game of the season. New England Patriots at New York Giants, TV: NFL NETWORK | DIRECTV: 212

*sigh*

Looking at this in the preseason, this game was obviously going to have playoff meaning for both teams. Now, it will definitely have playoff meaning for one team, and possibly record setting meaning for the other. And it will only be shown on the NFL Network.

So I went looking. Starting in Week 12, at least one game will be shown on the NFL Network

Week 12: Colts at Falcons
Week 13: Packers at Cowboys
Week 14: Bears at Redskins
Week 15: Broncos at Texans and Bengals at 49ers
Week 16: Steelers at Rams and Cowboys at Panthers
Week 17: Patriots at Giants

Some pretty big games in there that most people will not get to see.

[B & B]

I cant believe more people dont have NFL Network.

The main reason we have Directv is for the Sunday Ticket and NFLN.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by B & B

I cant believe more people dont have NFL Network.

The main reason we have Directv is for the Sunday Ticket and NFLN.

I used to have the NFL Network when it was part of expanded basic cable on Comcast. Then Comcast won some lawsuit and NFLN was immediately moved to the sports package.

To be honest, I don't really miss having it. I do miss a good highlight show on Sundays. Football Night in America is simply unwatchable. But other than Sunday highlights and draft day (and maybe some draft specials leading up to it), I didn't ever watch NFLN.

I imainge I will miss it more when I can't watch these games, but I remember last year when the NFLN was airing games. In most cases, I totally forgot the game was even on and the only time I did remember was when I was scrolling through channels and the game caught my eye. Then again, those games were pretty bad and certainly lacked the draw of a Cowboys/Packers or Patriots/Giants match-up.

[ISiddiqui]

I have the sports package with Comcast (mostly for soccer stuff), so I get the NFLN, but I do side with Comcast on that spat. NFL was basically trying to charge ESPN rates for its channel which would be seen by far less people... other than when games were on. So why not move them to a $5/month sports tier to make up some of that money?

[Raiders Army]

DirecTV is awesome. The NFL Network is now in HD.

[ISiddiqui]

You realize that isn't exclusive to DirecTV, right?

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

I have the sports package with Comcast (mostly for soccer stuff), so I get the NFLN, but I do side with Comcast on that spat. NFL was basically trying to charge ESPN rates for its channel which would be seen by far less people... other than when games were on. So why not move them to a $5/month sports tier to make up some of that money?

This pretty sums up the Comcast/Big Ten Network debate as well. As much as I hate to do it, like the Squiddi Man, I also side with Comcast on this.

[RPI-Fan]

Actually, before the season, it was looking like the Giants would be WAY out of the playoff picture by then.

[Mustang]

Originally Posted by sabotai

Some pretty big games in there that most people will not get to see.

If you are in the local market, you will still be able to see the game on local channels. If you aren't in the local market, you won't be able to see it which would be no different than if you were in a market where your local team didn't play.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by Mustang

If you are in the local market, you will still be able to see the game on local channels. If you aren't in the local market, you won't be able to see it which would be no different than if you were in a market where your local team didn't play.

I don't think that last part is right. Aren't most of these games Thursday night or Saturday games? Typically those games were broadcast nationally.

[rkmsuf]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

I don't think that last part is right. Aren't most of these games Thursday night or Saturday games? Typically those games were broadcast nationally.

they are only thurs or saturday because they are on nfl network. otherwise they wouldn't be broadcast nationally necessarily

pats/giants stink for the legions of pats fans across the country that want to enjoy the perfect season.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by rkmsuf

they are only thurs or saturday because they are on nfl network. otherwise they wouldn't be broadcast nationally necessarily

pats/giants stink for the legions of pats fans across the country that want to enjoy the perfect season.

I disagree.

Didn't ESPN used to do Thursday night NFL games after the college season was done? And I know there were typically quite a few post-college Saturday NFL tilts.

[sabotai]

Originally Posted by RPI-Fan

Actually, before the season, it was looking like the Giants would be WAY out of the playoff picture by then.

Before the season, the Giants looked like they would be in the same position as last year, fighting for a wildcard spot. It was 2 weeks into the season that they looked like they were on the clock.

[rowech]

If you're considered the local market, you'll still see the game on a local station.

[Mustang]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

I don't think that last part is right. Aren't most of these games Thursday night or Saturday games? Typically those games were broadcast nationally.

I was talking strictly from a standpoint of local vs national. Not being able to see this game is no different than being in San Francisco and not being able to see the Redskins play. People in those situations accept the fact they need to go to a sports bar or get the NFL ticket to watch the game. But, have it in a evening spot were it isn't viewable and people scream holy hell.

[DanGarion]

FYI, Time Warner Cable currently has on the table with NFLN to provide the games via pay-per-view. With all the money made going to the NFLN. We are waiting for their response.

[sabotai]

Originally Posted by Mustang

I was talking strictly from a standpoint of local vs national. Not being able to see this game is no different than being in San Francisco and not being able to see the Redskins play. People in those situations accept the fact they need to go to a sports bar or get the NFL ticket to watch the game. But, have it in a evening spot were it isn't viewable and people scream holy hell.

Thursday night and Saturday night games used to be aired on ESPN. They didn't move these games from Sunday afternoon to these timeslots, they moved the channel they get aired on (to one that far fewer people have).

[Logan]

Originally Posted by dangarion

FYI, Time Warner Cable currently has on the table with NFLN to provide the games via pay-per-view. With all the money made going to the NFLN. We are waiting for their response.

The number of people who would probably buy random PPV games x the amount they could charge would be a fraction of what they could get for the extra fees of being on whatever tier they want to be on in every household 12 months a year.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by sabotai

Thursday night and Saturday night games used to be aired on ESPN. They didn't move these games from Sunday afternoon to these timeslots, they moved the channel they get aired on (to one that far fewer people have).

Care to refresh my memory on these Thursday night games? Outside of Thanksgiving and a couple season openers recently, I don't remember any. And even in the case of Thanksgiving, they did exactly what you said -- took one game from Sunday and put it on NFLN at night, leaving the Packers/Lions games on the networks.

[ISiddiqui]

I seem to recall Thursday Night games as well. Usually just in the month of December and they wouldn't have Sunday Night games as a trade off.

[sabotai]

Originally Posted by Logan

Care to refresh my memory on these Thursday night games? Outside of Thanksgiving and a couple season openers recently, I don't remember any. And even in the case of Thanksgiving, they did exactly what you said -- took one game from Sunday and put it on NFLN at night, leaving the Packers/Lions games on the networks.

After Thanksgiving, ESPN would air a Thursday night game every week. This may have been before the Sunday Night - MNF switch that happened before last season, though, and ESPN might have moved their Sunday game to Thursday as ISiddiqui said. And I could have sworn I have seen NFL games aired on ESPN on Saturday nights after the college season was over, but my old brain might just not be remembering correctly.

[DanGarion]

Originally Posted by Logan

The number of people who would probably buy random PPV games x the amount they could charge would be a fraction of what they could get for the extra fees of being on whatever tier they want to be on in every household 12 months a year.

This isn't being done as a solution. It's being done as a good faith proposal so fans of the NFL don't miss out on games since the NFL wants to charge every cable customer 10 bucks a year to get the NFLN even if they never watch it.

[Vinatieri for Prez]

HAHA, the funny part is that you could probably get NFLN for the whole month at a cheaper price than a few of the PPV games.

[Ksyrup]

FYI:


Dish Network Downgrades NFL Network

Dish Network Moves NFL Network from Top 100 Package to Top 200, Cutting Its Reach to 31M

By Ben Grossman -- Broadcasting & Cable, 2/20/2008 9:13:00 PM

NFL Network was stripped of another 4 million subscribers after Dish Network downgraded the National Football League-owned cable channel.

The satellite-TV service moved NFL Network from its America’s Top 100 package to the America’s Top 200 package, leaving its reach at around 31 million.

“We are aware of Dish's unfortunate decision, which is not in the best interest of its many subscribers who are football fans, especially this week, with NFL Network's exclusive coverage of the scouting combine featuring incoming college players from all over the country,” an NFL spokesperson said in a statement.

The move continues the NFL’s ongoing uphill battle for carriage, as its eight-game package of regular-season games has yet to help it increase penetration.

The league may not have done itself any favors from a leverage standpoint in the final week of the 2007 regular season, when it made the New England Patriots-New York Giants game available on both CBS and NBC.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

FYI:


Dish Network Downgrades NFL Network

Dish Network Moves NFL Network from Top 100 Package to Top 200, Cutting Its Reach to 31M

By Ben Grossman -- Broadcasting & Cable, 2/20/2008 9:13:00 PM

NFL Network was stripped of another 4 million subscribers after Dish Network downgraded the National Football League-owned cable channel.

The satellite-TV service moved NFL Network from its America’s Top 100 package to the America’s Top 200 package, leaving its reach at around 31 million.

“We are aware of Dish's unfortunate decision, which is not in the best interest of its many subscribers who are football fans, especially this week, with NFL Network's exclusive coverage of the scouting combine featuring incoming college players from all over the country,” an NFL spokesperson said in a statement.

The move continues the NFL’s ongoing uphill battle for carriage, as its eight-game package of regular-season games has yet to help it increase penetration.

The league may not have done itself any favors from a leverage standpoint in the final week of the 2007 regular season, when it made the New England Patriots-New York Giants game available on both CBS and NBC.

I haven't missed the NFL Network at all since it moved to the sports package. I reckon I will miss it on Draft Day, but that's about it.

[Kodos]

I watch it regularly now that I have my beloved DirecTV back. And I get the Big 10 network too. Woot!