The good news for the NFL: the NFL Network may soon be leaving Comcast’s sports tier. The bad news: the NFL Network may be leaving Comcast altogether.
The NFL Network’s contract with Comcast ends in April, and the NFL “has said that it would not cut a new deal that would keep the channel on Comcast?s sports tier.” Comcast sources told the Sports Business Journal that several high-ranking NFL officials, including Commissioner Roger Goodell, “visited [Comcast’s] Philadelphia offices” last month to “try to complete a last-ditch deal.”
Despite those efforts, Comcast insiders were pessimistic about a deal being done.
While the NFL Network has clashed with Comcast, Major League Baseball and the NBA have been far more successful. MLB used its MLB Extra Innings package as leverage to get cable operators to carry NFL Network. Similarly, the NBA threatened not to renew its NBA League Pass deal with Comcast unless NBA TV was moved onto the digital basic tier, a move that is now expected by this spring.
According to the Sports Business Journal, it is “unclear if the [NFL’s] out-of-market Sunday Ticket package would be part of the league?s negotiations” with Comcast.
Should Comcast drop NFL Network, it would result in a loss of 2 million subscribers.
