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Cowboys owner pulls for NFL Network
Some state residents won't get his team's game vs. Packers
By DON WALKER
dwalker@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Nov. 7, 2007
Jerry Jones, the owner of the Dallas Cowboys, feels your pain, Green Bay Packers fans.
But in a telephone interview Wednesday from Cowboys country, Jones said he's not optimistic a solution to the ongoing dispute between the NFL Network and major cable carriers will be found in time for the Nov. 29 televised matchup between the Cowboys and Packers.
The stalemate means that large areas of Wisconsin will not be able to see what is shaping up to be a key National Football Conference game with possible playoff implications. That's because major cable carriers such as Time Warner Cable and Charter Communications, both major players in Wisconsin, and the NFL Network have been at odds over where the network belongs on the cable spectrum.
The NFL Network, available in only 35 million homes across the country and owned by the National Football League, has the television rights to the game.
Fortunately for Milwaukee and Green Bay, the game will be available on over-the-air television. But for pieces of Wisconsin, particularly in the Madison area, the game will not be available. A number of smaller cable companies around the state have signed agreements to carry the NFL Network.
Still, the lack of an agreement steams football fans as well as the boss man of the Cowboys.
"How often are you going to have an opportunity to see Brett Favre and a really great Green Bay Packers team play an up-and-coming player that has a lot of flair to his game," Jones said Wednesday in referring to Cowboys' quarterback Tony Romo, who grew up in Burlington. "And a Dallas team that is playing well. If you miss that live, you've missed it. And it may not come again."
In recent weeks, Jones has become the NFL's point man on the issue. Jones was named the head of the league's NFL Network Committee, and he has used the bully pulpit to speak out.
To that end, Jones has said football fans ought to drop their cable subscription and sign on with the satellite television companies that carry the NFL Network.
"They're not going to get that game on cable," Jones said. "That's it, and I don't think they are going to get it for this season, and certainly not as it pertains to when the Dallas Cowboys play the Green Bay Packers."
Fans frustrated
In Green Bay, the Packers have been relatively low key about the issue. But Bob Harlan, chairman of the Packers' board, acknowledged that fans are unhappy.
"We have been hearing from our fans in areas of Wisconsin that don't have access to NFL Network, and we know they are frustrated," Harlan said. "Our desire is to have our fans be able to watch all our games, so we share their anxiousness about the situation."
A Time Warner spokeswoman said the company was talking with the NFL. "We continue to work with them in good faith to come up with a mutually beneficial agreement," said spokeswoman Stacy Zaja. "Everything comes down to a cost, and how it relates to the customer. We feel this programming does belong on a sports tier so that customers who want that type of programming can subscribe to it for their home."
Time Warner Cable serves more than 600,000 households in eastern Wisconsin. Charter says it has over 500,000.
Jones said, in Texas, cable companies are playing hardball, telling subscribers that something might get worked out. But Jones said that's not the case, at least not yet.
The battle for the hearts and minds of football fans surfaced last season when the NFL Network had the rights to a Packers-Minnesota Vikings game that left some fans without a way to watch. A similar situation occurred last weekend when the fledgling Big Ten Network, which also has not reached agreement with major cable carriers, had the rights to the University of Wisconsin-Ohio State football game.
Extra costs sought
The NFL Network debate is clear-cut but contentious. Supporters of the NFL Network, who had hoped to be in 50 million homes by now, say they believe the network belongs on expanded basic cable. The major cable companies disagree, saying the network belongs on a special sports tier at an added cost to subscribers.
News reports have suggested that if Time Warner were to place the network on digital basic cable, subscribers would pay from 60 to 80 cents for it per month. It would cost even more if the network were placed on a digital sports tier.
But Jones said the cable companies do not understand there is value to the NFL Network.
"We are reminding our fans as well as anybody we can remind legislatively, that cable companies are obligated to put on the best programming to their standard digital subscribers," Jones said. "There are more than 240 cable companies, plus the satellite companies and the telecoms, plus over the air networks, that recognize the value of NFL games to fans and their customers around the country. We know they are losing subscribers, and they want to gain subscribers. We know how valuable the programming is to them. And in the face of all that, they try to put us on a (sports) tier, and that is not logical."
In Wisconsin and in Texas, state legislators say they will introduce legislation to address the problem. Meanwhile, the NFL has tried to entice the Federal Communications Commission to intervene and provide arbitration. So far, the FCC has not moved on the matter, Jones said.
In the meantime, Jones said, he will continue to be vocal to rally football fans around the country.
"The reason we have a rights fee, the reason why we want to develop this network is to expand fan interest and expand fan availability to our ball games," Jones said. "That's the content. So by building the games and providing real football information and football content, our fans will have a greater benefit. The cable companies want to build an asset for themselves that won't benefit Dallas Cowboys fans."
Some state residents won't get his team's game vs. Packers
By DON WALKER
dwalker@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Nov. 7, 2007
Jerry Jones, the owner of the Dallas Cowboys, feels your pain, Green Bay Packers fans.
But in a telephone interview Wednesday from Cowboys country, Jones said he's not optimistic a solution to the ongoing dispute between the NFL Network and major cable carriers will be found in time for the Nov. 29 televised matchup between the Cowboys and Packers.
The stalemate means that large areas of Wisconsin will not be able to see what is shaping up to be a key National Football Conference game with possible playoff implications. That's because major cable carriers such as Time Warner Cable and Charter Communications, both major players in Wisconsin, and the NFL Network have been at odds over where the network belongs on the cable spectrum.
The NFL Network, available in only 35 million homes across the country and owned by the National Football League, has the television rights to the game.
Fortunately for Milwaukee and Green Bay, the game will be available on over-the-air television. But for pieces of Wisconsin, particularly in the Madison area, the game will not be available. A number of smaller cable companies around the state have signed agreements to carry the NFL Network.
Still, the lack of an agreement steams football fans as well as the boss man of the Cowboys.
"How often are you going to have an opportunity to see Brett Favre and a really great Green Bay Packers team play an up-and-coming player that has a lot of flair to his game," Jones said Wednesday in referring to Cowboys' quarterback Tony Romo, who grew up in Burlington. "And a Dallas team that is playing well. If you miss that live, you've missed it. And it may not come again."
In recent weeks, Jones has become the NFL's point man on the issue. Jones was named the head of the league's NFL Network Committee, and he has used the bully pulpit to speak out.
To that end, Jones has said football fans ought to drop their cable subscription and sign on with the satellite television companies that carry the NFL Network.
"They're not going to get that game on cable," Jones said. "That's it, and I don't think they are going to get it for this season, and certainly not as it pertains to when the Dallas Cowboys play the Green Bay Packers."
Fans frustrated
In Green Bay, the Packers have been relatively low key about the issue. But Bob Harlan, chairman of the Packers' board, acknowledged that fans are unhappy.
"We have been hearing from our fans in areas of Wisconsin that don't have access to NFL Network, and we know they are frustrated," Harlan said. "Our desire is to have our fans be able to watch all our games, so we share their anxiousness about the situation."
A Time Warner spokeswoman said the company was talking with the NFL. "We continue to work with them in good faith to come up with a mutually beneficial agreement," said spokeswoman Stacy Zaja. "Everything comes down to a cost, and how it relates to the customer. We feel this programming does belong on a sports tier so that customers who want that type of programming can subscribe to it for their home."
Time Warner Cable serves more than 600,000 households in eastern Wisconsin. Charter says it has over 500,000.
Jones said, in Texas, cable companies are playing hardball, telling subscribers that something might get worked out. But Jones said that's not the case, at least not yet.
The battle for the hearts and minds of football fans surfaced last season when the NFL Network had the rights to a Packers-Minnesota Vikings game that left some fans without a way to watch. A similar situation occurred last weekend when the fledgling Big Ten Network, which also has not reached agreement with major cable carriers, had the rights to the University of Wisconsin-Ohio State football game.
Extra costs sought
The NFL Network debate is clear-cut but contentious. Supporters of the NFL Network, who had hoped to be in 50 million homes by now, say they believe the network belongs on expanded basic cable. The major cable companies disagree, saying the network belongs on a special sports tier at an added cost to subscribers.
News reports have suggested that if Time Warner were to place the network on digital basic cable, subscribers would pay from 60 to 80 cents for it per month. It would cost even more if the network were placed on a digital sports tier.
But Jones said the cable companies do not understand there is value to the NFL Network.
"We are reminding our fans as well as anybody we can remind legislatively, that cable companies are obligated to put on the best programming to their standard digital subscribers," Jones said. "There are more than 240 cable companies, plus the satellite companies and the telecoms, plus over the air networks, that recognize the value of NFL games to fans and their customers around the country. We know they are losing subscribers, and they want to gain subscribers. We know how valuable the programming is to them. And in the face of all that, they try to put us on a (sports) tier, and that is not logical."
In Wisconsin and in Texas, state legislators say they will introduce legislation to address the problem. Meanwhile, the NFL has tried to entice the Federal Communications Commission to intervene and provide arbitration. So far, the FCC has not moved on the matter, Jones said.
In the meantime, Jones said, he will continue to be vocal to rally football fans around the country.
"The reason we have a rights fee, the reason why we want to develop this network is to expand fan interest and expand fan availability to our ball games," Jones said. "That's the content. So by building the games and providing real football information and football content, our fans will have a greater benefit. The cable companies want to build an asset for themselves that won't benefit Dallas Cowboys fans."
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