jimster Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 ESPN, NFL Network May Join Forces http://www.footballoutsiders.com/2008/06/20/extra-points/6341/ The Wall Street Journal is reporting that NFL Network chief exec Steve Bornstein (who used to run the Worldwide Leader) has been involved in high-level discussions with ESPN regarding the possibility of a partnership between the two networks. Speculation has ESPN putting NFL Network programming on ESPN Classic, and obviously taking the slate of eight live games. It would seem to be a win-win on the surface — ESPN would have a virtual stranglehold on the country’s most popular sport, and the NFL Network would get its programming beamed into millions more homes. Personally, I’m less concerned about a yelly-screamy tone taking over the NFL Network, as they already have a fair bit of that. My primary concern would be that the NFL Network’s draft coverage has far outstripped ESPN’s, and I’d hate to see Mike Mayock relegated to a secondary position when he’s established a well-deserved name for himself as a draft analyst. Maybe the lighter fare could head to the main network and the deuce, while the hardcore football stuff could live on Classic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedskinsFan28 Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 I hate ESPN........... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ldysknzfn1 Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 Ewwww....I hope this doesn't happen. But I'm sure it will.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimster Posted June 21, 2008 Author Share Posted June 21, 2008 I hate ESPN........... yeah, I'd be really disappointed if this happens. The only time I watch ESPN for the NFL is when the Redskins are on MNF. Their college football coverage is great, but that Monday night crew is thee worst ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RFKFedEx Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 I hope not b/c the Network is waaaaay better than ESPN. This could also mean the end of NFL Films. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teller Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 Put me down as another "no" voter. I guess I'd support the idea if I wasn't getting NFL Network, and was missing those eight games a year; but I'm not. So no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teller Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 I hope not b/c the Network is waaaaay better than ESPN. This could also mean the end of NFL Films. Now way! How do you figure that? Damn. Losing NFL Films would be an EPIC tragedy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark The Homer Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 You know I've been getting ESPN Magazine delivered to my house every month for free for the past two years, and I have no idea why? Anybody else? Or is it just me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsNatsFan Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 Here's the WSJ article ... http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB121399524481392821-lMyQjAxMDI4MTIzMDkyOTA1Wj.html NFL in Talks With ESPN, In Bid to End Cable Battle By SAM SCHECHNER, MATTHEW FUTTERMAN and MERISSA MARR June 21, 2008; Page A1 Seeking to end an embarrassing dispute that kept live pro football games out of many homes, the National Football League's NFL Network is in talks to form a partnership with Walt Disney Co.'s ESPN cable sports network, according to people familiar with the situation. An agreement would represent a big shift in strategy for the NFL: abandoning its effort to force cable operators into carrying its own network and thus paying it lucrative monthly fees. It would also send a message to other professional sports, which have enjoyed rising television fees for years, that even the biggest and most powerful league in the U.S. cannot launch a new channel without the consent of giant cable operators such as Comcast Corp. and Time Warner Cable Inc. For fans, a deal could close a bitter standoff between the league and four of the nation's largest cable operators that has left live games on Thursday and Saturday nights unavailable to many cable subscribers. NFL executives including Steven Bornstein, chief executive of the NFL Network and previously chairman of ESPN and president of Disney's ABC unit, have been holding high-level discussions with Disney executives in recent months, according to several people familiar with the situation. Some team owners have been briefed on the discussions, and Disney CEO Robert Iger and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell have been involved, these people said. One scenario that has been discussed would involve combining the NFL Network with the ESPN Classic network, which has relatively low ratings but wider distribution. ESPN would broadcast eight more games per season on ESPN Classic, and then attempt to wring higher subscription fees than the 16 or 17 cents it currently receives for the channel, according to Derek Baine, a senior analyst for SNL Kagan. Under such a scenario, ESPN and the NFL could form a joint venture and share revenue, or ESPN could take an equity stake in the channel. To be sure, there is no guarantee the two sides will reach a deal. Talks have been under way for some time, and an agreement doesn't appear to be imminent, according to people familiar with the situation. "We have a long-term and extensive relationship with the NFL and to that end we are always in discussion with them about mutual projects,'' said Mike Soltys, vice president of communications for ESPN. Dennis Johnson, an NFL Network spokesman, said: "We are in talks with ESPN and our other broadcast partners all the time about a wide range of issues." The NFL ran up against the cable operators in early 2006, when the league decided to withhold eight games from its lucrative TV licensing packages to put on its own channel. In effect, the NFL was giving up the hundreds of millions of dollars it would have received had it licensed rights to those games to a sports network. Instead, it put those games on its own channel, hoping to create a valuable cable asset with no middleman. But the NFL may have misplayed its hand in demanding about 70 cents per subscriber, which cable operators argued was high for a channel with so few games per season. Cable operators balked, and football fans didn't protest as much as the league thought they might. Time Warner Cable, the country's second-largest cable operator, has refused to carry the NFL Network on the league's terms. Comcast, the country's largest cable operator, pulled the NFL Network from millions of homes after a bruising, bitter battle over the rights to the eight games, for which it had offered over $400 million. The NFL Network's major distribution is on satellite service DirecTV and smaller providers. It is available in approximately 40.3 million homes, according to Nielsen Media Research, roughly one-third of all households with TV. It averaged 196,000 viewers during prime-time in 2007, according to Nielsen. ESPN Classic is in 62.7 million homes, according to Nielsen. For football fans who don't already receive the NFL Network, a partnership would likely bring those eight games into their living rooms for the first time. But if ESPN gets a price increase, it could also boost cable fees across the board. Click link for the rest ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thinking Skins Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 I don't like ESPN. But what options does the NFL network have since Comcast refuses to put it in every household? I'm not going to pay $5.00 more just to help with my addiction to football - thats why I'm on here all day. Couldn't they do something more creative like merge with Yahoo or Microsoft and find a way to broadcast the NFL Network online? That would make us all happy, well at least all us computer geeks who have to find ways to look busy doing nothing at work all day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Major Harris Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 put me in the nos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark The Homer Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 Quote: Originally Posted by TK I'm going to let you in on something. Years before a merger was even thought of or conceived Art has ALWAYS been that way. There is no company spin. That's just Art being Art. And that's a complete burgundy & gold bleeding extreme homer. And you know what, I wouldn't have him any other way. Because if there's one thing I've known him to be over the years is consistent. ??? Gotta love the multi quote. What thread is this from? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LifelongSkinsFan Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 Quote: Originally Posted by TK I'm going to let you in on something. Years before a merger was even thought of or conceived Art has ALWAYS been that way. There is no company spin. That's just Art being Art. And that's a complete burgundy & gold bleeding extreme homer. And you know what, I wouldn't have him any other way. Because if there's one thing I've known him to be over the years is consistent. I'm puzzled why you're quoting a post not from this thread that has nothing to do with this thread?? :whoknows: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thinking Skins Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 Quote:Originally Posted by TK I'm going to let you in on something. Years before a merger was even thought of or conceived Art has ALWAYS been that way. There is no company spin. That's just Art being Art. And that's a complete burgundy & gold bleeding extreme homer. And you know what, I wouldn't have him any other way. Because if there's one thing I've known him to be over the years is consistent. ??? Gotta love the multi quote. What thread is this from? I'm puzzled why you're quoting a post not from this thread that has nothing to do with this thread?? :whoknows: Yeah, that multiquote feature can be a ***** sometimes. I was going to reply to TK's post, and then decided against it. But I forgot to uncheck the multiquote. I've edited it out now though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rdskn4Lyf21 Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 Nooooooo! Out of curiosity, add a poll to see who would be for this and who would be against it. I personally feel like ESPN sucks now. I used to watch Sportscenter every morning getting ready for school from like 4th grade - 11th grade - its just in the last few years ESPN as a whole has sucked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scruffylookin Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 This is not a solution to the Comcast issue. Comcast only offers ESPN Classic as part of the same "Sports Tier" that they offer the NFL Network. This does not help anyone with Comcast wanting to watch the NFL Network without paying extra for it. This seems like a great deal for ESPN. I'm still not sure what the NFL Network is going to get out of this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thinking Skins Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 Nooooooo!Out of curiosity, add a poll to see who would be for this and who would be against it. I personally feel like ESPN sucks now. I used to watch Sportscenter every morning getting ready for school from like 4th grade - 11th grade - its just in the last few years ESPN as a whole has sucked. nah, its sucked for a while. Maybe you didn't realize it until you got to 11th grade. Coincidentally, I realized that about the same time in my life (about 10th or 11th grade) - about the time that I started to realize that there were other opinions about sports, some that can be given by people who actually know what they're talking about . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rdskn4Lyf21 Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 nah, its sucked for a while. Maybe you didn't realize it until you got to 11th grade. Coincidentally, I realized that about the same time in my life (about 10th or 11th grade) - about the time that I started to realize that there were other opinions about sports, some that can be given by people who actually know what they're talking about . I was young Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wysknz1 Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 Aren't they both ran by the c*wb*ys? So what will change? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidenreich Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 This is not a solution to the Comcast issue. Comcast only offers ESPN Classic as part of the same "Sports Tier" that they offer the NFL Network. This does not help anyone with Comcast wanting to watch the NFL Network without paying extra for it.This seems like a great deal for ESPN. I'm still not sure what the NFL Network is going to get out of this. I know on my cable network in NJ (Cablevision), they refuse to even offer the option to pay for the NFL Network, and will not offer it until NFL Sunday ticket is made available to cable subscribers. So it's actually a win for me, since I have never watched a second of the NFL Network in my life..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thinking Skins Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 I know on my cable network in NJ (Cablevision), they refuse to even offer the option to pay for the NFL Network, and will not offer it until NFL Sunday ticket is made available to cable subscribers. So it's actually a win for me, since I have never watched a second of the NFL Network in my life..... I would watch it sparringly when we got it for free. Honestly, I got tired of watching an arbitrary 1978 game of donphins vs browns. If there were more shows like Inside the NFL or NFL Live or actual analysis type shows, I'd like it more. But I see a lot of BS and not much content. Its like, I don't mind watching C-SPAN when they have some interesting stuff on (they use football analogies to talk politics, yeah baby!!), but who wants to just sit and watch the house and the senate? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
authentic Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 I agree with everyone else. ESPN coverage of the NFL is just plain horrible. The Network has a much better cast with Dukes, Woodson, Faulk...etc. But, you know things always change when money is involved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ECU-ALUM Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 To quote Arnold Schawarzenegger in "Predator"...."Bad Idea!" ESPN has this habit of their promos & broadcasters get in the way of the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RFKFedEx Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 Now way!How do you figure that? Damn. Losing NFL Films would be an EPIC tragedy. Well from a content standpoint ESPN might not marry well to Sabol and Co. who've been w/the league for decades and the NFL Network since it began in 2003. Sabol is a master of his craft who shouldn't have to mess with pimply faced ESPN producers who are decades younger than him. Czaban made a point about how the NFL Network's content has evolved from the early years to it's current ESPN style of countdown and list shows and "all time..." fill in the blank themes, just like ESPN has. Be that it may, I still like NFLN much better than ESPN, it's the network I watch most. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theivorhick Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 I'd actually be all for this merger. I am a Charter subscriber and, as of now, can't get NFLNetwork. For that fact alone, I would be cool with this merger. I hate missing games b/c the cable companies can't get their crap together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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