Redskins vs. Cowboys Thanksgiving 2006...Not Happening (rumor just a rumor)

[Daseal]

Paintrain -- that's great for people in DC and Dallas, but what about the rest of the world? I don't know about anyone else, but football is a staple in my family's Thanksgiving.

I'm not proud to say it but a sect of my family happen to be Dallas fans -- Thanksgiving is literally where we fight about football all day.

I kinda see this as a move to force the cable providers to add NFL channel to their lineup. These primetime games will add that pressure.

[Paintrain]

Originally Posted by Daseal

Paintrain -- that's great for people in DC and Dallas, but what about the rest of the world? I don't know about anyone else, but football is a staple in my family's Thanksgiving.

I'm not proud to say it but a sect of my family happen to be Dallas fans -- Thanksgiving is literally where we fight about football all day.

I kinda see this as a move to force the cable providers to add NFL channel to their lineup. These primetime games will add that pressure.

Hmm, that's a good question.. I'd be very suprised if the NFL Network isn't a cable company staple by September. The draw of NFL football is too great..

[celts32]

I have Direct TV so I am covered, but, this is going to create a cable customer uproar for them to add the NFL Network. This is just what the NFL had up it's sleeve. By September every cable company in America will be forced to add the NFL Network now. There is no way a cable network carrying live regular season NFL games will not be available nationwide.

This is a brilliant move by the NFL...they passed up a short term payday that they could have had by selling those games. And instead will use them to build their own network into a powerhouse.

[Warpath]

This in turn will probably spark the cable and satelite providers to charge us extra for the nfl channel. Whenever something like this happens, us as the consumer, foots the bill. As of right now I have it (nfl network) and August-September is far away. Im sure everyone who wants to see this game will get to see it. Something will be ironed out.
What about all those people without that have been watching monday night football on abc for years? They can forget that, cuz its going to espn. Yes they will be able to watch sunday night football on nbc, but we all know mnf is much more special in our hearts that sunday night football.

[Master4Caster]

It's really interesting watching "the game" between the seasons. The NFL not only want to own the product, but also the broadcast medium on which it's shown. Sorta like Dan Snyder buying three radio stations to eventually broadcast the Redskins games.

These guys didn't get rich for nothing. Things that make you go Hmmmm.

[irish]

I'm sure some cable companies will add the NFL network to their choices (assuming the direct tv contract is non-exclusive) but it wont be for free. I suspect in 10 years the NFL network will carry all of the games.

[70Chip]

Originally Posted by irish

I'm sure some cable companies will add the NFL network to their choices (assuming the direct tv contract is non-exclusive) but it wont be for free. I suspect in 10 years the NFL network will carry all of the games.

I suspect that in ten years all games will be on a pay-per-view basis. Moving the games away from the Networks to an NFL owned property is a prelude to this. Advertizing revenue will not be large enough to sustain the growth that the owners have become accustomed to. The success of the Sunday ticket will encourage them to begin marketing a team's entire schedule and also individual games.
I believe there was a recent court ruling as well which may force cable companies to sell channels on and individual basis rather than as a set package. This trend towards a-la-carte programming will mean more choice but not lower costs (as I suspect some naive consumers believe). For instance you may be able to enjoy games on a television, a computer, or a portable device with fewer commercials but at a higher cost. Hopefully they will supplement the games with expanded interactive, multimedia, coverage such as what is available on Redskins.com presently. Marketers are skilled at using things like this to make it seem like good deal when in reality we will be paying for what was previously free.
I myself would be williing to pay if there were no ads. During our two playoff games it was hard catching a play or two between the two hours of commercials.

[MTK]

Before I moved into house and got DirecTV, I used to send emails to Time Warner all the time asking them about the NFL channel.

I'm really surprised more cable companies don't carry it already, but I agree that adding these games will only increase the pressure.

[TheMalcolmConnection]

Anyone else get the feeling they're going to start saturating weeks with games? I just love the anticipation of waiting a whole week for another game...

[irish]

Originally Posted by TheMalcolmConnection

Anyone else get the feeling they're going to start saturating weeks with games? I just love the anticipation of waiting a whole week for another game...

I dont think this will happen because I just read an article about Tags and it seems he fears having the NFL get overexposed by having too many games on throughout the week (like MLB, NBA, NHL, etc). Like us, he enjoys the build-up and thinks that build-up is great for the league.

[TheMalcolmConnection]

Originally Posted by irish

I dont think this will happen because I just read an article about Tags and it seems he fears having the NFL get overexposed by having too many games on throughout the week (like MLB, NBA, NHL, etc). Like us, he enjoys the build-up and thinks that build-up is great for the league.

That's good to hear. I mean I don't mind an extra game or two during the week, I just don't want that to be the precedent for upcoming years.

[ArtMonkDrillz]

There's a good chance someone already said this, I didn't read all the posts, BUT....

I just hope our punter doesn't get his nose smashed into his face again. I almost lost my pumpkin pie when that happened to Barker on Thanksgiving a few years ago.

[scowan]

Hey guys, I have Charter Cable in my area. Get this, they had the NFL Network on an expanded "Sports Tier" as they called it, so I got that "Tier" with their Digital Cable, then around the first of December, they ran into somekind of contract dispute with the NFL Network and they removed it from their line-up. So I removed the Sports Tier from my cable package. You guys are making comments like more cable companies will be adding the NFL Network, but mine is dropping them! Surely, there will be some way for me to watch this game on Turkey Day with out having the NFL Network where I am at! I think this is really bad for the NFL, to start moving in this direction, especially with a National tradition that has become the NFL on Thanksgiving.

[FRPLG]

Originally Posted by scowan

Hey guys, I have Charter Cable in my area. Get this, they had the NFL Network on an expanded "Sports Tier" as they called it, so I got that "Tier" with their Digital Cable, then around the first of December, they ran into somekind of contract dispute with the NFL Network and they removed it from their line-up. So I removed the Sports Tier from my cable package. You guys are making comments like more cable companies will be adding the NFL Network, but mine is dropping them! Surely, there will be some way for me to watch this game on Turkey Day with out having the NFL Network where I am at! I think this is really bad for the NFL, to start moving in this direction, especially with a National tradition that has become the NFL on Thanksgiving.

These disputes are the reason they are doing this. I think the cable companies reaction to the NFL network has been less positive than the NFL had hoped. I guess it really only appeals to serious fans like us who only make up a small amount of the viewrship. But the NFL has always had the biggest bargaining chip. Games. Games appeal to the largest amount of viewers of any show on TV. Something like 65 million unique people watch football each weekend(all games combined). No way any serious cable company can pass up a potential 65 million demographic. Not only will this increase their coverage but it will also mean they'll get off of channels 178 or whatever silly number they are on now. They'll be right next ESPN would be my bet within a year or two.

[FRPLG]

This will increase their home coverage immensely. I heard an interview with a sports TV expert this morning about when Fox took CBS's NFC games. Fox's coverage increased by 30% within 2 years and CBS got whored all over the place. In Detroit Fox took over channel 2 from CBS and CBS had to move to channel 56 or something like that. This happened in multiple big markets. For those who don't understand: Networks like to be on the low numbers(2-11) as it is seen as more prestigious and it puts them all together so each has an equal shot as the viewers. Channels in the 50s get far less casual "surfing" so networks move heaven and earth to stay off them. I think CBS got bumped in like 5 or 6 top 20 markets which conincided with their serious dropoff in market share for the better part of 6 years. This is the main reason that the price of carrying these games has gone up in recent years. The example of CBS losing football and going straight in the crapper has all of the networks scared of not having football. Best thing to ever happen to football from a money perspective. This is a genius move because it will probably over double NFL Networks coverage within a year. Time Warner isn't going to want to miss the NFL money train.