If it wasn't past my bedtime (the alarm jolts me awake at 2 a.m. on weekday mornings), I would certainly tune into tonight's NFC showdown between Green Bay and Dallas. However, my only options would be to belly up to a local sportsbar, or befriend one of the 35 million people who have the NFL Network. May sound like a lot of couch potatoes, but it's a heavy minority considering there are 111 million households with televisions.
If you haven't heard (you obviously don't root for the Cowboys or the Packers), the NFL Network is in a dispute with major cable providers. That means cable subscribers never get into the game.
A lot of people are taking sides. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones broke a cease and desist order to tell people to drop their cable subscriptions in favor of satellite television. The USA Today editorial staff calls the situation "unnecessary roughness" by the NFL Network. Star media critic Aaron Barnhart agrees, writing today that the NFL is being greedier, especially considering its already extraordinary financial success and popularity around the country.
I spoke with a Time Warner spokesperson this morning. He told me the company has been fielding calls about the channel situation throughout the season, but there hasn't been much of a spike locally for the Packers/Dallas game. He did tell me Time Warner offered to carry NFL Network games on a pay-per-view basis (where the league would reap all the revenue), but has yet to hear back.
The Chiefs don't play a game carried by the NFL Network this season. However, as long as we're on the topic of not being able to watch games, will the local football team escape 2007 without its first blackout in years?