Several of you may be following the recent issues over cable companies such as Time Warner, Charter, Cablevision, and Cox's refusal to carry the new NFL and Big Ten Networks. The debate is over the cost of the network, and how it should be distributed to subscribers:

The owners of the Big 10 Network and the NFL Network want all cable operators to put the channel on standard (non-digital) service. Big Ten Network wants to charge cable systems a rate of $1.10/month in the Big Ten States and .10 a month in non Big Ten States. The cable companies say the cost is too high, and want to distribute the channel on an optional digital sports package, where people who don't want to pay for the channel do not have to receive the service. (Where I live, with TWC, Digital Sports Package is 4.95/mo extra and has about 10 sports channels.)

The NFL and Big Ten Network says that the cable operators do not know how to negotiate. Satellite Dish systems (Both Direct TV and Dish) offer Big Ten Network. But dish is not an option for everyone, especially for people who have consolidated billing (Cable, Internet, and Phone Service) from the cable company. A question raised is how many people would switch for just those two networks, especially those with consolidated billing from their cable company.

We all know that globally cable companies PR has not been good. Rising rates and poor customer service have been serious issues. Cable says that they are "looking out for the customer, because the Big Ten Network does not represent a strong enough value." The downside of that argument is that both NFL Network and BTN are already on Dish systems. Thousands of people who don't have a dish system could not view the much hyped Packers-Dallas game UNLESS they lived within reasonable range of the home team market. (An NFL mandate says that over the air broadcasts must be made available to sports teams within the home market.)

So who do you side with in this debate and why? If an agreement is reached, what do you believe will happen?

Jack

IMHO...ALL of that shit is a total F'N sham!

There is zero reason for any of this "premium" nonsense....

Over the years as technology has advanced broadcasting SHOULD (and I think has) gotten cheaper. BUT...to screw us over they try to jazz everything up and say "oh it's costing us so much more".....NONSENSE!

If you think about it EVERYTHING that once was free...now costs....

Television
Radio
local phone calls (on a cell)

Hell come Feb. 2009 ALL air based broadcasts will cease.....which means all the poor people and older folks that cannot afford some type of cable/dish will simply be ass F/N out!

In this argument...the cable industry is FULL OF SHIT....but then so is the dish industry....IF EITHER were actually looking out for the best intertests of their customers as they claim, they would not be fighting so damn hard against Congress and the attempt at the ala carte format.

This is a huge issue with TWC. But customers here do have the option for dish and can still have internet and phone services with TWC. Of course it will be two separate bills, but it is still an option. It has been a big headache with TWC here and they should just pick them up. Recently TWC, in the Raleigh Division anyhow, has started taking a count of customers calling in complaining about the absence of those networks, specifically the NFL Network as of lately. They are hoping to get something done about the problem.

The TV networks are very competitive. It is true that cable companies rates are high, but I have worked on both sides of the fence. While there have been increasing problems within TWC since the lauinch of the new navigator screen, you have to keep in mand that not only are they in the process of working out the bugs, but on a whole, the service is more a more reliable one than a satellite service. Not only that but for a service tech to come out and service an outage or any problem with satellite, it is going to cost you. It does not cost a thing with a cable company, well with TWC anyhow. The time I had worked with DISH, I had received endless complaints about service difficulties, you get complaints no matter what, but the difference in complaints between the two systems as a whole is like night and day.

So it is really difficult to be happy with any one service when it all comes down to it. DIRECT has the season ticket, which they charge an outragious price for seeing as how they overbid on it in the first place, but if you have the money and are a big enough fan, have at it. I have seen many customers with two and sometimes all three services. It is almost impossible to satisfy everyone with one service provider.

Anyhow, on a side note. Whenever another football game comes on NFL Network, for those of you with cable, go to nfl.com and they have a link to view the game via a live feed.