NFL Network goes dark on Comcast as ESPN takes ownership
TL;DR
NFL Network has transitioned to ESPN ownership, leading to a carriage dispute with Comcast as their agreements expired. This marks the second time in three years that NFL Network has gone dark on the platform.
Key points
- NFL Network moved to ESPN ownership
- Comcast agreements expired this week
- NFL takes 10% stake in NFL Network
- Second carriage dispute in three years
- ESPN responsible for negotiating new deal
Mentioned in this story
Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
NFL Network moved from league ownership to ESPN as part of the equity deal that saw the NFL take a 10% ownership stake in the network. And they are bringing a carriage dispute with them.
NFL Network and the linear RedZone Channel saw agreements with Comcast expire this week. Now that the networks are under the auspices of ESPN, it will be Bristol that is charged with negotiating a new deal.
Itâs the second time in three years that NFL Network has disappeared from Comcast after a 2023 carriage dispute. Thankfully it was resolved almost instantly after NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and Comcast CEO Brian Roberts got directly involved.
A Comcast spokesperson told Cord Cutters about the new outage, âOur contract to carry NFL Network and NFL Red Zone has expired, and weâre in discussions with the new owner, Disney/ESPN, about our future carriage of the network.â
From the ESPN/NFL Network perspective, a Disney spokesperson told Awful Announcing, âWe 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.â
Disney and Comcast quickly reached their own agreement last fall to avoid the plight of the extended YouTube TV blackout of Disney networks in the middle of football season that caused several games to be missed. However, the acquisition of NFL Network and RedZone were not finalized until this year, so they have to be newly negotiated through ESPN now that the original agreements with the league have come to an end.
If thereâs any good news for football fans, itâs that this time of year is about as low stress as it can be for missing NFL Network programming with the NFL Draft complete and the preseason not for a few months. That certainly increases the leverage on the Comcast side, but it will slowly tilt the other way towards ESPN and the NFL as football season approaches. Hopefully we donât get too close to that cliff, though, and a decent compromise can be worked out by both sides.
The post NFL Network goes dark on Comcast as ESPN takes ownership appeared first on Awful Announcing.
Q&A
Why did NFL Network move to ESPN ownership?
NFL Network moved to ESPN as part of an equity deal where the NFL acquired a 10% ownership stake in the network.
What happened with NFL Network's agreement with Comcast?
The agreements between NFL Network, RedZone Channel, and Comcast expired, resulting in the networks going dark on the platform.
How often has NFL Network gone dark on Comcast?
NFL Network has gone dark on Comcast twice in three years due to carriage disputes.
