NFL Sunday Ticket, the NFL Network, and plans for world domination

[Spider-Dan]

For years, I could not figure out what possible reason the NFL had to exclude Dish Network, Comcast, and AT&T from the Sunday Ticket package that DirecTV offers.  There's absolutely no way that DirecTV can offer anything remotely close to what the other 3 can, combined.

With the creation of the NFL Network (NFLN), I had an inkling.  With the introduction of the Thursday night NFLN-only games, I became more certain.

It is my opinion that the NFL plans to grow the infrastructure and buy-in numbers of the NFLN to the point where they have serious clout with the other cable/broadband/satellite providers, then allow DirecTV's deal to expire and do one of two things:

1) (the moderate plan) Offer their own NFLN-branded Sunday Ticket, and make it a package deal with NFLN

2) (the extreme plan) Expand their staff/infrastructure sizably over the next few years, then take over all broadcasting (even from CBS/NBC/Fox) and put in their own broadcasting/commentary crews, and sell the games to the broadcast networks in pre-packaged NFLN form.

The latter scenario is, as stated, rather extreme.  But given that the NFL seems to believe itself to be invincible, I don't think this strategy is out of the question.

[NADS]

Nice post.  I think option 2 isn't all that extreme considering the NFLs history with TV contracts.  NFLN doesn't have the juice to pull it off and probably never will (distribution-wise).  Cable companies put the smackdown on NFLN by not offering their service or putting it in a premium package.  If it came to the point that NFLN could become large enough to circumvent cable it could be an issue.

I think the government would somehow step in if the NFL solely used NFLN or NFL Films(assuming they could pull enough viewer money to cover) by citing monopoly laws plus anti-trust violations and/or repealing the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 that Commissioner Rozelle helped push through congress.  No doubt about it though, the NFL would if it could.