League Receives More Prodding by Congress to Settle NFL Network Disputes

The dispute between the league and several large cable television carriers over distribution of the NFL Network continues to draw scrutiny from Capitol Hill.

Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) sent a letter Wednesday to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell threatening to reconsider the sport's exemption from federal antitrust laws if deals are not struck with the cable companies to make the games carried by the league-owned TV channel available to more viewers.

"The NFL appears to be moving incrementally closer to limiting distribution of its programming to subscription television," the letter says. "Businesses are generally free to set their own prices and to decide with whom to deal, but unlike most other businesses, the NFL and its member teams have long been beneficiaries of exemptions from some aspects of federal antitrust law relating to broadcast rights to their games. These exemptions may have made sense at one time, when leagues were far less commercialized and were committed to making their television rights available for free, over-the-air broadcast. Now that the NFL is adopting strategies to limit distribution of game programming to their own networks, Congress may need to reexamine the need and desirability of their continued exemption from the Nation's antitrust laws.

"We ask that you take prompt action to make games like the Patriots-Giants and Steelers-Rams games more broadly available than just on the NFL Channel. We also ask you to provide us with a justification for the decision by the NFL and its member teams to restrict distribution of game programming in light of the fact that such conduct is not immune from the antitrust laws."

Leahy is the chairman of the Senate judiciary committee, and Specter is the ranking member.

Previously, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) wrote a letter to Goodell and a cable executive urging a settlement.

The NFL Network is in only about 35 million U.S. households and carries an eight-game package of regular season games, including the Dec. 29 game in which the New England Patriots could be attempting to complete a 16-0 regular season when they face the New York Giants at Giants Stadium. The league remains embroiled in disputes with several large cable carries, including Comcast and Time Warner, over pricing and distribution.

By Mark Maske |  December 20, 2007; 10:15 AM ET  | Category:  League , Television
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