The NFL is going to get pricey

[fett]

This is just the start. Pretty soon, you will have to sign-up for a premium cable package to watch a game. http://www.nfl.com/nflnetwork/home Just wait and see.

[rjohnstone]

I get the NFL network as part of my DirecTV service. Didn't ask for it, it was just included with my regular non-premium package.

[St.James]

I'd prefer all sports be on a sports channel like ESPN than have it on network TV anyway. That way only those who choose to watch it can and those who don't wouldn't have to put up with the bullshit.

[dg]

Damn, I don't know what I'll do this Thursday if I don't get to see that Cleveland / Pittsburgh barnburner.

[fett]

I get the NFL network as part of my DirecTV service. Didn't ask for it, it was just included with my regular non-premium package.

You are lucky. Comcast will stick it to us. This is just the start. The NFL Network will snag the good games and the advertisers will eat this up. Pretty soon, you will not see a game on a regular channel, once the contracts are up.

[SouthPlatteDemon]

Damn, I don't know what I'll do this Thursday if I don't get to see that Cleveland / Pittsburgh barnburner.

My thoughts exactly. LOL

Why is it that as I get older, the less I care about professional sports?

[FusionFarmer]

The NFL network was added to our Dish top 180 programming (middle level, not premium to speak of) at no additional cost, With ESPN carrying MNF now, you will definitly have to have cable/sat to watch football. Ditto with most other sports now, the days of free TV are over

[danastas]

I got rid of cable once I bought an HDTV. Now I get tons of HD channels over the airwaves for free, and I subscribe to Netflix so I can watch all my favorite HBO shows, plus receive a ton of movies. I still don't have enough time to watchh TV.

[fett]

There are millions of people that can't afford level 2 or 3 cable. They will be left behind. Do you think those guys at the NFL Network or cable people care? NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!! It's all $$$$$$$$.

[dg]

I hear you Fett, and agree to some extent. When ad revenues no longer add up to enough $$ to pay the huge broadcast fees the leagues are getting, we'll see more & more of this. Hell, Cox Cable almost dropped ESPN before they got MNF. I fully expect it to become a premium channel by the next time they renegotiate their deal. The sad truth is that people who can't afford to pay for the pricier cable & satellite packages probably don't fit into the desired advertising demographic anyway, so they don't give a crap. If the NFL's bottom line takes a hit due to fewer casual viewers and lower popularity, then they might care.

[VitaminG]

of course it's all about $$$$ these days. If you can't afford cable tv, you can't afford all the big buck primo official merchandise anyway, so why would the NFL care about you?

[danastas]

Advertising doesn't work that way. It doesn't discriminate between eyeballs. The NFL wants high RATINGS. That's what they sell to the advertising companies. If they get smaller ratings, then their advertising will suffer, and the networks will pay them less.

I wonder why Merrill Lynch is advertising during football games. The only things that should be advertised during football games are beer, pickup trucks, sports clothes.

[atomic charvel guy]

The N.F.L. won't get hurt one bit. I have direct T.V., and I also paid $400.00 for a pirate card which now gives me about 926 channels, 7 of them being triple xxx educational programs. All the pay per vies are free, so are all the regular channels, I get boston channels, new york-YES!!!!, chicago, Detroit Philly,Vegas, it's fukkin' great, and who wants to watch Pittsburgh and cleveland anyway even if it was on Fox or CBS unless you have a parlay or at least a 50 on it? Not me. That's what those games are for, gambling, and being that this is on the NFL network in the end will not hurt the NFL revenues at all in my opinion. The cost of living is a fukkin' joke, but I spare no expense when it comes to munching out, t.v. viewing, or a bender with your friends. Oddly enough, sometimes jeanette and I can't find anything to watch with the 900 plus channels, now that's the sick thing of it all when you think about it.

[buzzsaww]

Last time I checked TV was not a necessity of life, sports even less so. Even if you wanted to make the argument people need TV for communication, news, education, these are available over the air F.O.C. Pivotal games will probably always be carried by the most available medium. Which again is over the air, F.O.C. I think you're barking up the wrong tree.

[danastas]

Come to Buffalo, Buzzsaw, where people literally live and die with this stuff. Trying to tell them it's not a necessity is like taking the crack away from the crackhead. There are shut-ins in this town who are only alive (if you can call it that) for 16 Sundays of the year.