NFL being removed from major cable company's most popular package
In the latest sign that the NFL’s stock isn’t what it used to be, the league’s flagship network is being removed from a major cable company’s most popular subscription tier.
According to Awful Announcing, Comcast will be moving NFL Network from its most widely distributed cable package to a less viewed, more exclusive package.
Comcast, the largest broadcasting and cable television company in the world by revenue, reached the decision to move NFL Network after Fox purchased the rights to “Thursday Night Football” for the upcoming season.
Previously, “TNF” had aired on CBS, NBC and NFL Network. NBC is a subsidiary of Comcast.
Fox’s lucrative new deal to air “TNF” cost a whopping $3 billion for five years. The deal will begin with the 2018 season and last all the way through the 2022 season.
“TNF” will air during Weeks 4-15. NFL Network typically simulcasts “TNF,” but will also have seven games exclusive to the channel.
In other words, that’s seven prime-time matchups most Comcast subscribers will not be able to watch. That’s a lot of eyes that the NFL could definitely use amid steadily declining ratings.
Comcast’s most popular cable tier, the Digital Starter, had included NFL Network since 2016, when NBC started sharing half of the “TNF” broadcasts with CBS.
Now, however, Digital Starter subscribers will have to switch to the Digital Preferred package to keep NFL Network.
For Comcast and the NFL, this shift in NFL Network’s availability could mark the end of a largely fruitful peace period. In 2009, Comcast and the NFL went to court over a dispute about NFL Network distribution. The two sides have largely worked in harmony since then.
Unfortunately for the NFL’s biggest detractors, the league’s deal with Fox probably mitigates some of the damage done by Comcast.
“This agreement is the culmination of over 10 years of strategic growth around Thursday Night Football, a period during which this property has grown from a handful of late season games on NFL Network to a full season of games and one of the most popular shows on broadcast television with additional distribution via cable and digital channels,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement.
“As one of the leaders in sports television and a recognized innovator of NFL game broadcasts for many years, we’re excited to be extending our partnership with FOX Sports, one of our most trusted and valued partners, to include Thursday Night Football.”
Fox President Peter Rice seemed equally as enthused.
“Football is in our blood at Fox and we understand that nothing beats the NFL when it comes to television that captures people’s attention,” Rice said. “Our historic relationship with the NFL dates back to the earliest days of Fox, and we couldn’t be more excited to expand our deep and enduring partnership to include prime-time games on Thursday night.”
Fox is ponying up nearly $2 billion a year for its various NFL rights. That’s going to massage quite a few bruised egos in NFL headquarters after Comcast’s decision.
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