When the 9-1 Packers and the 9-1 Cowboys play each other in a high-profile, prime-time match-up a week from Thursday, viewers will not find the game on NBC, ESPN, CBS or FOX.
Instead, the NFL Network, in its second year of televising live NFL games, will air the battle between Brett Favre and Tony Romo. No doubt, FOX, NBC and ESPN are miffed that a game with the potential of huge ratings is airing on a niche network that does not even pay a rights fee to the league.
Fans may be more miffed. The NFL Network is embroiled in battles with major cable operators, such as Comcast and Time Warner, over the placement of the channel on sports tiers, as opposed to the more widely available digital basic tier. Richard Sandomir of the New York Times reports only 8 million of the 35 million NFL Network subscribers come from cable.
With marquee games airing on a network with limited availability, the NFL is taking a gamble. The league is hoping fan irritation will lead to major backlash — not against the league, but against cable operators. Already, the NFL is pressuring fans to punish cable operators; earlier this month, the league urged fans to cancel their subscriptions with cable operators that do not offer NFL Network on the digital basic tier.
Whether or not enough fans will be angry enough to take action against their cable operators remains to be seen. Packers/Cowboys is not the only big game airing on NFL Network this year; in Week 17, the New England Patriots could go for an undefeated season on the network, when they take on the New York Giants. That being said, for every Packers/Cowboys or Patriots/Giants, the NFL Network offers up a dud like Bengals/49ers or Steelers/Rams.
With NFL football ubiquitous on Sundays and Mondays on four different networks, can the league really expect fans to start an anti-cable uprising simply for missing out on eight games?
