For Madison football fans, the final score of the much-anticipated matchup between the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings next Thursday will not be seen until the 10 o'clock sports wrap up.
The failure of the NFL Network and Charter Communications, the fourth largest cable operator in the country, to reach a broadcasting agreement means that on Dec. 21, fans better look for a bar with a satellite dish on top.
""This game is one of the several the NFL Network is holding hostage,"" said John Miller, director of communications for Charter. ""The simple position is that we would like to carry the NFL Network, but due to the cost that the NFL network is looking to charge, we cannot.""
As part of an ongoing campaign by the NFL Network to contract with cable services nationwide, the network's executives are demanding heavy payments for their service despite the network's relatively new and unproven status. The debate has been under the national spotlight for sometime with U.S. Senator Arlen Spector, R-PA, recently stating he would like to remove the NFL's antitrust exemptions under the Broadcasting Act of 1961.
Additionally, Time Warner recently filed a lawsuit in New York against DirecTV, claiming false advertising after DirecTV ran a series of ads in The New York Times stating certain games would only be available to their customers.
The NFL Network is currently available through satellite services including Dish Network and DirecTV. But Charter and Time Warner continue to hold out on the network, which demands to be a channel on basic cable rather than a premium channel available for an extra charge.
Madison resident and Dish Network subscriber Christopher Klundt described the network as a ""very niche thing.""
""The NFL Network sucks,"" he stated. ""Besides the games, some of their other programming is not that interesting. I do like the stats ticker they have, but ESPN basically has the same thing.""
The NFL Network claims to be ""every football fan's dream"" and guarantees 24-hour coverage 365 days a year. NFL Highlights, NFL Cheerleader playoffs and NFL Point After are a few examples of the network's original programming, available to 40 million subscribers.
According to Miller, the network has yet to reach the heights of ESPN, CNN and USA—cable channels that receive a similar price from Charter to the one the NFL is demanding. He said some hardcore football fans will be upset with not receiving the channel, but most Charter customers would prefer not to see their cable bill change.
""You've got a service coming in right out of the blue and wanting a lot of money,"" Miller said. ""It's not a cost we could just absorb into the current monthly pricing.""
