Thursday, November 16, 2006

NFL Defends TV Policies Before Senate

(From The Hollywood Reporter -- By Brooks Boliek)

The NFL played defense on Tuesday before a Senate committee investigating the nation's premier sports league's television policies.

At issue are several deals the NFL has made or is attempting to make that either grant exclusivity to one carrier or another or dictate the tier on which cable operators can place pro football programming.

NFL Executive VP JEFFREY PASH told the Senate Judiciary Committee that the league's primary desire is to get its games on more viewers' TV sets by keeping a majority of its games on broadcast TV.

"The centerpiece of the NFL's television policy is free, over-the-air broadcasting of NFL games," Pash told the committee. "The best way to do so has been and continues to be through broadcast television."

SEN. ARLEN SPECTER, R-Pennsylvania, is concerned that new TV packages such as the one on THE NFL NETWORK and the league's Thursday/Saturday package of games will drive up cable prices.

He also expressed concern over the NFL's decision to limit its SUNDAY TICKET package to satellite TV.

NFL Defends TV Policies Before Senate

John Santamaria, thanks for the post.

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