Another year, another carriage dispute that involves Disney and ESPN. This latest television blackout involves NFL Network and Comcast.
This is the second time in three years where this has happened.
Should ESPN continue to demand more money from Xfinity/Comcast, that will likely fall back on the consumer. Don’t be surprised if this leads to a price increase for NFL fans.
ESPN, which is owned by Disney, owns NFL Network.
ESPN acquired the NFL Network and other National Football League assets in a deal that gave the NFL a 10% equity stake in ESPN. The NFL Network is owned an operated by ESPN, which now controls the network’s linear and digital rights. The NFL Network was also integrated into the direct-to-consumer streaming product in addition to the traditional pay TV providers.
“By combining these NFL media assets with ESPN’s reach and innovation, we’re creating a premier destination for football fans,” ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said. “Together, ESPN and the NFL are redefining how fans engage with the game — anytime, anywhere. This deal helps fuel ESPN’s digital future, laying the foundation for an even more robust offering as we prepare to launch our new direct-to-consumer service.”
ESPN platforms also licensed three additional NFL games per season, bringing its total to 28. Some of those games will air on the NFL Network, which now falls under the same umbrella.
The NFL will continue to own, operate and produce the RedZone Channel in the fall and kept the rights to distribute it digitally but ESPN will distribute the channel to pay TV operators. The league also kept the rights to NFL Films and NFL.com. It was a monumental deal that changed the landscape of television.
Disney is holding Comcast hostage, again.
NFL Network went dark on Comcast earlier this week. Its previous agreement expired so the channel was removed from the airwaves. This kind of thing happens fairly often. Most recently with the YouTube TV dispute that took ESPN channels off of the digital streaming platform for more than week during the fall.
However, this latest dispute is unique.
Now that ESPN owns NFL Network, the negotiations are between Disney and Comcast, not the NFL and Comcast. Roger Goodell solved a similar dispute in 2023. He does not have a say in the matter this time.
ESPN issued the following statement to Awful Announcing:
“We understand how disappointing and disruptive this is for football fans who have lost access to NFL Network and RedZone Channel as part of their Xfinity TV lineup. We proposed keeping these channels available while we continued good-faith negotiations, but unfortunately Comcast declined and took them down. Despite this, we remain fully committed to reaching a fair agreement and restoring access to our best-in-class NFL programming as quickly as possible.”
Comcast also released a statement to Awful Announcing. It claims the self-proclaimed Worldwide Leader in Sports is already holding its newest purchase hostage:
“Disney/ESPN acquired NFL Network and Red Zone just months ago and are already demanding double the fees for the same content. Their distribution demands would also make millions more pay for a channel they don’t watch. We remain open to continuing to talk and reach a fair deal for our customers.”
Both of these statements are pretty standard for these kinds of disputes. One side blames the other. The other side blames the other. Both parties are at fault.
But, at the end of the day, it is ESPN asking Comcast for more money to carry NFL Network. Not the other way around. That will likely fall back on the customers. If Comcast has to pay more, so do you.