NFL Net calls a double reverse
NBC, CBS also will air Pats game
                                                                        
By Steven Zeitchik and Kimberly Nordyke
Hollywood Reporter
Dec 27, 2007

After being almost nowhere, (**except TSN across Canada!!**) Saturday's Patriots-Giants game suddenly will be everywhere.

The NFL Network has hammered out a deal with NBC and CBS for those networks to broadcast the teams' season finale, in which New England will try to become the second team in NFL history to finish with a perfect regular-season record.

If the Pats win Saturday, they will be the first to wind up 16-0. The 1972 Miami Dolphins finished the then-14-game regular season undefeated.

The full NFL Network telecast will be shown on both networks, which will pick up the production work, halftime show and booth calls of NFL Network broadcasters Cris Collinsworth and Bryant Gumbel.

Sources said the game also will be shown mainly with NFL Network commercials, providing a massive boost to the network's advertisers by increasing by tens of millions the number of households that will see the ads. It's possible that some local spots could be sold by network affiliates.

It was unclear at press time whether CBS and NBC would be allowed to swap in their own in-game sponsorships or air their own pregame and postgame shows. No money is believed to have changed hands in the deal.

The unprecedented pact essentially will have two broadcast networks showing the same programming in primetime. In several markets -- including New York, Boston and Manchester, N.H. -- the game will be seen on as many as four networks since it will be telecast on a local station, as previously planned, as well as on the NFL Network.

While the situation of having a game on so many networks is unusual, the NFL was believed to be in a position where they couldn't really play favorites.

Because the matchup at East Rutherford, N.J., is an away game for the AFC, it would have gone on CBS if it had been broadcast on a Sunday afternoon. NBC, for its part, would have had broadcast rights if the matchup had been a Sunday primetime game. So the NFL opted to make the Saturday primetime game available to both.

Sources said Fox, which also airs NFL games, had not been offered the contest. A Fox rep declined comment.

Cable operators have been ratcheting up the rhetoric against the NFL Network, and some fans could have blamed the network for not making the game available. But the move could have been a response to pressure from the federal government. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., had called on the NFL Network to make a deal with over-the-air television, and other parties are thought to have exerted pressure behind the scenes.

Still, the deal is a boon for carriers; the NFL has been battling with such operators as Time Warner Cable and Charter, and the decision eliminates the possibility of customers putting pressure on operators.

"In light of the interest in this particular game, we are pleased that the NFL has made this decision," TWC spokeswoman Patricia Rockenwagner said.

A Charter representative declined comment.

At the same time, by making available one of the premier broadcasts to all over-the-air viewers, it threatens to strain lucrative deals that the NFL Network has signed with such carriers as Cox, DirecTV and Dish Network. DirecTV declined comment, while reps for Dish and Cox did not return messages seeking comment at press time.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said that "we have taken this extraordinary step because it is in the best interest of our fans" and an NFL Network spokesman called it "a one-time decision." The move sets the stage for the next phase of the carriage battle next season between TWC and other carriers who have declined to carry the network.

Still, the NFL Network couldn't resist firing a shot, with president Steve Bornstein saying Wednesday that "the only channel devoted 24/7 to America's favorite sport is not programming that should be relegated to a poorly promoted, pay-extra sports tier that takes advantage of our fans' passion for the NFL."

Steven Zeitchik reported from New York; Kimberly Nordyke reported from Los Angeles.

We've since learned that neither NBC or CBS will be required to pay a rights fee for the game, and they will each get to sell 18 30-second commercial units.

Since that's only a fraction of the commercial load I gather a lot of the NFL Network's commercials will air on CBS & NBC for free!!

It will be interesting to see how the NFL honours its exclusivity agreements with both local affiliates in Boston and New York.  The ABC station in Boston (WCVB) and the MyTV network station broadcasting in the tri-state area (WWOR) are supposed to be the only stations in those markets to carry the game other than the NFL Network.  They probably paid handsomely for that right and then the NFL goes and does this.  I am sure WWOR lawyers are probably creaming their pants right now.

Spiffy sure predicted the legal niceties correctly.

TV stations in Boston, New York talking to NFL about contractual issues

By Rachel Cohen, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
    
NEW YORK - Three local U.S. TV stations thought they had one of the NFL's biggest games all to themselves. When the potentially historic Patriots-Giants matchup landed on their competitors, too, they accused the league of violating their contracts.

The NFL and the stations were "working through contractual issues" on Thursday, league spokesman Greg Aiello said.

"We are having private and confidential conversations with the NFL and are very hopeful that this unfortunate situation can be worked out to our satisfaction, in light of the fact we do have a valid contract for exclusive broadcast rights to the Patriots vs. Giants game in the Boston market," said Bill Fine, the president and general manager of ABC affiliate WCVB.

Read "the rest of the story" at
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/MediaNews/2007/12/27/4742102-ap.html

So... what does this mean to Louongo and Canucks fans.....?

Looks like WCVB (and sister station WMUR) in Boston have come to an agreement with the NFL.  The terms of the agreement are confidential, but according to reports, WCVB will be given exclusive access to host their pre-game show inside the stadium.  Also, in an effort to lure more viewers, the league and Patriots have given the station three pairs of tickets to the first Pats playoff game to be given away during the pregame show and the game itself.  WCVB will also have preferred position for post-game for interviews with players.  

No word on any agreement with WWOR at this point.