It's all about the NFL Network "establishing a new tradition".For those of the viewers w/o NFLN, there is no break in the tradition because it really is only Dallas and Detroit. However there is no night game for them to watch which sucks.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (KyleOrton18 @ Nov 23 2006, 01:04 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>stupid idea to break tradition. Thanksgiving day should only be Dallas and Detriot</div><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>The NFL gives and it takes away in Thanksgiving TV showdownSometime late Thanksgiving Day, after the last piece of pumpkin pie has mysteriously vanished and Uncle Frank is snoring loudly on the couch, it might hit you that all was not right on this, the most American of holidays.Yes, the turkey was plenty tasty, as usual. Not that Uncle Frank would know, because he was too plastered by the time it finally came out of the oven to notice.And the traditional stuffing was a smash, much to the delight of lovers of warm, wet bread everywhere.Still, on a day to give thanks, there was something few could be thankful for.The NFL was playing, but for most Americans the battle for the Thanksgiving remote was between one set of relatives wanting to watch ??Survivor: Cook Island?? and the other side of the family intent on seeing ??Deal or No Deal.??Your chances of watching Denver against Kansas City? Those proved scarcer than slices of leftover pie.For the first time, the NFL gave the country an extra game to go with the traditional Thanksgiving matchups hosted by Detroit and Dallas. The league dangled it in front of a football-crazed nation like a plump turkey leg.Then it snatched it away, hoping to make enough of us so mad that we will run kicking and screaming to the local cable television office to demand the right to make an already obscenely rich league even richer.Not content with the billions it makes every year in various television contracts, the NFL is televising five Thursday night games and three Saturday games on its own this season in an attempt to add value to a network that basically replays old Super Bowls in an endless loop.The problem is only about 40 million of the 111.4 million homes in the United States with a television get the NFL Propaganda Channel, er, network. That means nearly two-thirds of the country couldn?t watch the Broncos and Chiefs even if they wanted.Greedy billionaires do things like that. It?s what helped them become billionaires.It?s not a bad strategy, considering NFL games are so valuable that ESPN is paying $1.1 billion a year just to televise one Monday night game a week. The NFL is in such demand that the league probably could put on games every night and still dominate the ratings.The NFL wants big cable companies to carry the NFL Network on basic cable, passing along the costs to millions of viewers who watch nothing more competitive on television than ??Iron Chef.??The cable companies say they don?t mind paying for the network but want to put it on digital cable or premium sports tiers where those who actually watch the games pay for them.Just whose fault it is that most won?t see Thursday night?s game depends on which dog you?re taking in this fight. The choice is a tough one.Do you go with the fat billionaires who own football teams and are intent in finding every way possible to separate you from your last dollar? Or do you go with the fat billionaires at the cable companies who have gotten rich by figuring out a way to get you to pay for what was once free?The NFL is betting it will win. The stakes are high, because the league gave up $400 million or so in rights fees to air the games itself. By forcing a Thanksgiving Day showdown, the NFL showed is not beyond using the extortionist tactics it usually reserves for looting taxpayers to build new stadiums.Ultimately, of course, it?s the fans who lose. Although, the NFL has long patted itself on the back for airing games on free television, the league is finding more ways to fatten its coffers while lightening your wallets.Most Americans probably don?t know it, but they already pay several dollars a month for the right to watch ESPN. A good chunk of that money goes to the NFL for Monday night games. The league sells a package of Sunday games to satellite subscribers, and now it wants money from every cable subscriber to watch eight games a year.That was enough to prompt some members of the U.S. Senate to hold a hearing last week to get some answers from NFL executives. What they got instead were vague assurances that the games would always be free in the teams? home markets.The NFL might be deluding itself into thinking there will be a mass uprising if Americans doesn?t get their Thursday night games. There are already games on two other nights a week.Then again, content is king, and the NFL is the undisputed king of content. Your cable bill might go up, but, by next Thanksgiving, the game will be on.Of course, someone will have to wake up Uncle Frank to tell him about it.----Tim Dahlberg is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at tdahlbergap.org</div>http://www.redskins.com/news/APNewsDetail.jsp?id=24681
This is a huge screw-up by the NFL.One of the best things about the NFL was how most relevant games were on National TV and now they've gone and fucked that up too by having Games on NFL Network when probably over 50% of America does not get their channel.
...oh wellCHIEFS WIN!We're #2 in the AFC West and have the 5th spot in the AFC playoffs! Herm's boys deserve 10 days off after this victory! Should be interesting to see how the Chiefs and Donks are ranked by the so called experts in power rankings.Boy, did LJ have a game or what!!Man, i'm stoked!!
Watched it. Plummer deserves to be pulled for Cutler.Like Salisbury (SP, and I think it was him) said last week. Denver: 7-0, Plummer 0-3. (Make that 0-4)
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (AdropOFvenom @ Nov 23 2006, 07:41 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>This is a huge screw-up by the NFL.One of the best things about the NFL was how most relevant games were on National TV and now they've gone and fucked that up too by having Games on NFL Network when probably over 50% of America does not get their channel.</div>That's not a huge screw up, that's the whole idea.Put games on TV that everyone wants to see, but most people can't see. It's simple human nature, people want what they don't have, and they will work harder for it and pay more to get it the more they want it.It's simple economics: Restrict the market and limit product. Lack of said product (short supply) drives up demand. Higher Demand + Shorter Supply = Higher Cost. The NFL is pressuring cable to include them in the better deals by making the consumers (natural desire for lower prices) suffer.A huge screw up? No. An asshole move to get more more money from our wallets, but a smart business move. The NFL has their wide and loyal following, so business wise now is the time to exploit the market.
I love when my team plays on Sunday or Monday Night games cuz I get to see them, guarenteed. I'm gonna hate when my team is featured on Thursday nights for years to come.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Jon_Vilma @ Nov 24 2006, 01:42 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>A huge screw up? No. An asshole move to get more more money from our wallets, but a smart business move. The NFL has their wide and loyal following, so business wise now is the time to exploit the market.</div>Buisness wise it might be smart, but you don't want to shit all over your fans in the Process. As that's only going to come and bite them in the ass.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (AdropOFvenom @ Nov 24 2006, 01:25 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Jon_Vilma @ Nov 24 2006, 01:42 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>A huge screw up? No. An asshole move to get more more money from our wallets, but a smart business move. The NFL has their wide and loyal following, so business wise now is the time to exploit the market.</div>Buisness wise it might be smart, but you don't want to shit all over your fans in the Process. As that's only going to come and bite them in the ass.</div>In 15 years when Football is losing it's appeal, they can do things to make up for decades old jackassery like lower prices and make games availible to watch online for a low price. But for now, ratings and sales will not drop a tick as a result of this.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (JHair @ Nov 24 2006, 11:13 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I love when my team plays on Sunday or Monday Night games cuz I get to see them, guarenteed. I'm gonna hate when my team is featured on Thursday nights for years to come.</div>Usually, the games are simalcast on local TV. I think DA BEARS got a game on NFLN, but I've seen that I will get the broadcast on local TV in Chicago, and the NFLN cast might even be blacked out in Chicago
