Starting on Thursday night the NFL Network will start its second season of broadcasting games with Bryant Gumbel and Cris Collinsworth on the call for the holiday game. From Thanksgiving until the end the season the NFLN will carry 8 games live in primetime on Thursdays and Saturdays.
The only problem with the NFLN is that some cable operators do not offer the network. While others have the network but it is only available to customers who subscribe to the digital channel tier or an all sports programming tier that cost extra each month.
And for rabid NFL fans and fans of the teams in the games the NFLN is covering this is a problem. Ever since ESPN got involved in carrying NFL games, first on Sundays and now on Mondays, those cable only broadcast games have been available to over the air (OTA) stations in the visiting and home teams (as long as the game was sold out 72 hours prior to kickoff) primary market.
Since most of the country receives ESPN on basic or expanded basic cable tiers this hasn’t been much of a problem unless you don’t subscribe to cable or a satellite service.
With the NFLN only being in 38 million homes in the U.S. those cable only broadcasts are also made available to OTA stations (your local network affiliates) in the primary markets of the visiting and home teams.
The problem for fans without the NFLN is that only the primary market of the teams can receive the game. The primary market is defined as the market in which the team plays. So if you live in Hartford CT, Portland ME, Springfield MA, Burlington VT and other locations in New England and you’re a Patriots fan you are most likely screwed. If you do not get the NFLN the only chance you will have to see this game is to:
- hope your cable company carries that over the station
- pray the NFLN and your cable/satellite provider offer a free preview weekend
- get tickets
- go to a market in which the game is shown on an OTA channel
- hope you’re close enough to hook up some sort of big ass antenna to grab the OTA signal
- find a sports bar you like and watch the game in a crowded, noisy (some places smoky) atmosphere while guzzling over priced drinks
- find a friend who has the NFLN available to him/her on their cable/satellite provider and invite yourself over for a few hours
So for you lucky bastards who have NFLN access here is a list of games the NFLN is showing in 2007 and the OTA affiliates that will have the game:
Thursday November 22 – Colts at Falcons (WTHR – Indianapolis & WATL – Atlanta)
Thursday November 29 – Packers at Cowboys (WISN – Milwaukee, WFRV – Green Bay & KDFI – Dallas)
Thursday December 6 – Bears at Redskins (WPWR – Chicago & WDCA – Washington, D.C.)
Thursday December 13 – Broncos at Texans (KWGN – Denver & KTXH – Houston)
Saturday December 15 – Bengals at 49ers (WLWT – Cincinnati & KNTV – San Francisco)
Thursday December 20 – Steelers at Rams (KDKA – Pittsburgh & KTVI – St. Louis)
Saturday December 22 – Cowboys at Panthers (KDFI – Dallas & WCNC – Charlotte)
Saturday December 29 – Patriots at Giants (WCVB – Boston & WWOR – New York)
The NFL Network is available on Comcast down here in New Haven. It’s channel 275 and only available if you buy the Sports Entertainment package for $4.99 a month right now for 3 months. Unfortunately, WWOR is the only New York channel not offered down here because we have MyTv9 already.
Another solution would be to find a P2P (peer-to-peer) site on the internet to hopefully catch the game.
yes but you need high speed internet which I dont have and from what I’ve read on a broadcast message board it’s illegal so I didnt list it as an option.
Im going to ammend the article I read so much stuff on the battle between the NFL and the cable operators that I started to cross companies. So for accuracy sake I removed the cable operators names.
It’s still pretty crappy that we have to pay more to watch our team play when you live in a in-between market like Connecticut. I know if i went out to my parent’s lakehouse, they get some Boston channels on Charter out there in a similar fashion to me getting most of the NY channels on Comcast here.
Yeah I know it’s illegal for P2P and from what I just read, they are really cracking down on it, especially for the NFL games.
Great article though. This will definitely help out the readers. When I saw the ad for the game on Thursday night, I was like damn can’t watch that blowout game.
yeah but on those Boston stations available on cable I’d be shocked if they got affliliated stations from the networks because those stations have to prove to the cable company that the area is an area where they are available OTA. Even here in North Central CT where I am on the MA/CT line Cox just took away the NBC affiliate in Springfield from us a few months ago. Yet I still have the ABC affiliate in Springfield. I don’t get it except that maybe because the CT ABC affiliate is in New Haven that Springfield is considered more of our local market.
It doesn’t surprise me that the NFL is the one cracking down they are very controlling when it comes to the media and broadcast rights.
They get WCVB-TV – ABC and WBZ-TV – CBS but no NFL Network on Charter where the lakehouse is. I get CBS2 NY, FOX5 NY, NBC4 NY and WABC NY, plus WPIX Channel 11 NY on Comcast. Plus I get the Connecticut ones too.
It’s nice when the Patriots and Jets play at the same time because I get the Jets on CBS2 and the Patriots on CBS3. Not that I would watch the Jets but they could be playing someone good.
well your parents should have the game on WCVB then.
I now have the NFL Network. - SpartanTailgate.com - Michigan State Spartans Forums // Nov 28, 2007 at 9:53 am
[...] thats weird I know the Colts are usually picked up on a local station when on a cable channel NFL Network Over The Air Affiliates | SOX & Dawgs NFLN is telecast over the air in the team’s home markets. Thursday November 29 – Packers at [...]