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House Subcommittee Opts To Avoid Fight Between Cable Companies, NFL Network
April 9, 2008
Spartanburg Herald Journal (SC)
By Robert W. Dalton
COLUMBIA - A House subcommittee on Tuesday blitzed Carolina Panthers President Mark Richardson and threw the NFL Network for a loss.
The Public Utilities subcommittee voted unanimously to adjourn debate on a bill that would have allowed an arbitrator to settle an ongoing dispute between the network and major cable television companies. The bill is technically still alive, but chances are slim it will advance this session.
Rep. Mike Anthony, a co-sponsor of the bill, said Tuesday's decision means consumers are the real losers.
"That's the reason I signed onto the bill," said Anthony, D-Union. "I wanted to look out for the average consumer."
At the heart of the dispute is money.
The cable companies want to make the network part of a sports "tier" and charge consumers an extra $5 to $10 a month to receive the service. The NFL Network wants to be part of the basic package -where it would receive wider viewership and thus be able to charge more for advertising.
The bill would have created a system that would have allowed an arbitrator to settle the issue.
Richardson, who also is vice chairman of the NFL owners committee that oversees the network, said the large cable companies - Time Warner, Comcast and Charter - discriminate against the NFL Network and other independently owned networks in favor of channels they own.
"Simply put, NFL Network is treated unfairly because it is not owned by a cable company," Richardson said. "Versus and the Golf Channel are owned by Comcast. And guess what? Versus and the Golf Channel are part of Columbia and Charleston cable subscribers' basic digital packages, while NFL Network is relegated by Comcast to an expensive premium sports tier in Charleston and - because it has resisted Time Warner's efforts to put it on a sports tier - has been denied carriage in Columbia altogether.
"I like outdoor sports, but implying that Versus' Tour De France coverage is more important to viewers than coverage of Carolina Panthers football is simply absurd."
The NFL Network, which was founded four years ago, is carried by 240 smaller cable providers and both major satellite providers. This past season, the network carried several key games - including a mid-season matchup between the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys and the Panthers vs. the Cowboys.
It also was scheduled to be the exclusive carrier of New England's regular-season finale against the New York Giants - a game the Patriots entered with a 15-0 record. Many fans would have been unable to watch the game if the NFL - under pressure - hadn't stepped in and arranged for a simulcast with NBC and CBS.
Frank Ellerbe III, an attorney representing the cable companies, countered that deciding where cable companies should place the NFL Network should be decided by the market, not the state Legislature.
"This is not a state issue," Ellerbe said. "South Carolina doesn't have an NFL team. There's no reason South Carolina should take the lead on this. No other state has passed or moved along this legislation."
Bill McCall, a district sales manager for The Inspiration Network - an independent network based in Indian Land - said he feared his network would be harmed if an arbitrator required the cable companies to carry the NFL Network. He said the companies wouldn't bump their own channels to make room for the NFL Network, so small independents such as The Inspiration Network would pay the price.
It didn't require a playbook to see the direction the subcommittee was headed. Rep. Skipper Perry, R-Aiken, said he didn't understand what Richardson wanted and that people unhappy with their cable companies could simply opt for a service that carried the network.
Subcommittee Chairman Bill Sandifer, R-Seneca, said the NFL Network was trying get cable companies to carry its programming at a wholesale price without having the ability to "mark up" the cost.
Sandifer said he was a Clemson fan, and when he realized a game he wanted to see wasn't being televised, he bought the package that included the Tigers. When asked what he would recommend for an NFL fan who couldn't afford to pay the extra money, Sandifer said that was a decision that should be left to the cable companies.
Richardson said it was the people who couldn't ante up who were going to be hurt the most by the subcommittee's failure to advance the bill.
"Not everyone can afford to come to one of our games," he said. "But they can afford to turn on the TV."
Rep. Olin Phillips, D-Gaffney, said he would like to have the NFL Network as part of his cable package and said he had received many calls about the bill.
"But I don't think South Carolina should be in the business of determining programming for these companies," he said.
http://www.goupstate.com/article/20080409/NEWS/804090349/1051/NEWS01
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