M Willner
Premium
join:2006-05-12
New York, NY
|  [Cable] NFL Games
To our NFL fans:
At Insight, we understand that you are disappointed that we are not carrying the football games that are being aired on the NFL Network. We are disappointed too. Insight was one of the first cable companies that agreed to carry the NFL Network when it launched in 2004, and we agreed to pay them a significant license fee per customer for the channel.
After the agreement was signed, the NFL Network secured the rights to a handful of late-season games on Thursday and Saturday nights. However, they decided that the fee we were paying for the network was not big enough and they would only allow us to carry the games if we agreed to a rate 4 times higher than the already aggressive rate we pay for the channel. But it doesn’t stop there; they also want to charge the new higher fee not just when the games are on TV, but every month, year round. It’s a rate increase that would literally amount to millions of dollars.
We would love to bring these games to our customers, so we offered the NFL Network a substantial additional payment, but the NFL Network rejected it the same day. It simply wasn’t enough to satisfy their greed.
Make no mistake about it, the NFL Network is looking for customers to pay a whole lot more than they currently pay to watch football, while at Insight we are trying to keep the cost of sports programming in line for our customers. That is what this disagreement is about, and that’s why we are not carrying these games.
We stand ready to add the games to our NFL Network package at a rate that should be acceptable to both our customers and the NFL. In the mean time, we will continue to bring you great NFL programming on NBC, CBS, FOX, ESPN and NFL On Demand.
We apologize for any inconvenience that this may cause you. And, we welcome your comments about the NFL Network. Send them to us at NFL@insightbb.com. |
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Earl46012
join:2002-08-31
Anderson, IN | For me, drop those jerks completely and give me Boomerang. |
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gone4now
join:2002-09-10
Noblesville, IN
1 edit | I second the boomerang!
My kids love it! |
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tuff_gong
join:2004-04-10
Lexington, KY
| reply to M Willner
You know, this explanation from Insight would've been a whole lot more welcome if it had come *before* the Thursday night game was supposed to be on. Instead I imagine a lot of other people with Insight probably did what I did, turned to NFL Network expecting the game to be on and instead seeing a documentary about a minor league football team from 1970. Not that I would've been happy to miss seeing the game had they explained the situation ahead of time but I'd at least have known and been prepared. Instead they said absolutely nothing and left people like me in the dark and out in the cold when it came to watching the game. FEH, I say! |
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Shack
join:2002-01-17
Bloomington, IN | I wish I would have known this before I upgraded to get the sports package. I mainly wanted NFL network for those games. I understand Insights dilemma and my anger is at the NFL. |
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MADx
join:2005-05-25
Richmond, IN
 ·Comcast
1 edit | reply to M Willner
I am a big football fan, but I would love to see Boomerang also. In my opinion, the NFL Network is trying to compete with other major networks for NFL games, and those contracts are not cheap. I also think they are trying to charge ridiculously high prices to be able to compete for top rated games, and cover the price to produce a high production value television network. |
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cwm1276
join:2004-01-16
Stillman Valley, IL
| reply to M Willner
Are there other "limited" Digital Channels? I keep toying with the Idea to upgrade to Digital cable, but then something happens, that makes me rethink that decision. Past reasons included poor customer service and a poor internet "conversion". Now I find out that some of the Digital channels are limited and will not provide what they advertise. Classic cable requires no box and works well, yes we might have some blacked out games, but then they tend to be on another channel already. |
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blackduck99
join:2004-07-11
Evansville, IN | reply to M Willner
Thanks for the explanation!
Dropping the NFL channel sounds good to me. |
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EvilMoose
join:2003-02-26
Urbana, IL | reply to M Willner
It would have been unfair to non-NFL fans, so I respect the opinion due to the price the NFL was asking. |
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compugeek
I love making my own beer.
Premium
join:2002-07-30
Pickerington, OH
 ·Insight VOIP
·Vonage
| reply to M Willner
I think you should blame more of the players and owners. They all get paid way to much and are always wanting more. Not to mention the blackmail they pull on cities to build new stadiums, Colts come to mind... I wish they has a sports tier that had all the ESPN's, Fox Sports, etc in them so us consumers that don't watch those channels don't have to subsidize them. But the networks want to get cash for everyone, if you watch the channel or not, so they won't let the cable companies put them in a tier this way. No I'm not talking about ala carte so don't bring it up.
Geek
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»www.itsnewtoyou.biz |
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Cyro
@insightbb.com
| reply to M Willner
If you read my started topic Inight does do some things that make me mad. This is not one of them. Keep fighting for us and I will back you up and stay with you. This is coming from a NFL season ticket holder, so I don't like missing games. However, if the NFL is allowed to get away with this it may not stop here. We may end up at a point of pay per view superbowls and who knows what else. Thank you Insight for fighting for the little man! |
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INTENS1
Never Stop Trying
Premium,MVM
join:2002-04-21
Midwest
clubs:
·Insight Communicat..
1 edit | reply to M Willner
Thanks for the post regarding your concern for Insight's NFL fans...but if you look around the forum, I'm sure you will agree there are many more concerns about the current upgrade. 
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Anticipate Nothing...Expect Everything |
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ComTech6
Premium
join:2006-01-20
Cicero, IN | Its not like you will miss any home team games, they are on local channels in your market anyway. Its just a matter of time before all sports are Pay-Per-View anyway. |
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INTENS1
Never Stop Trying
Premium,MVM
join:2002-04-21
Midwest
clubs:
·Insight Communicat..
| said by ComTech6  :Its not like you will miss any home team games, they are on local channels in your market anyway. Its just a matter of time before all sports are Pay-Per-View anyway. It's not like I even care...now back to broadband which is why we're all here.
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Anticipate Nothing...Expect Everything |
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indy0365
join:2001-08-25
Franklin, IN | reply to Earl46012
got boomer rang I need mainstreet (kids) |
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IGGY
No Guru Just Here To Help
Premium,MVM
join:2001-03-30
Chatham, IL
| reply to M Willner
I'm the odd one out on this. While there are concerns that seem to need addressed in regards to the upgrade for many here. What has been posted in this thread is welcome in my opinion. Several forum members have expressed their unhappiness in regards to this. It is nice to see the company's point of view. No matter how late coming some may feel that is. I've always been for a mix of content here. Unfortunately here lately it seems that will earn a lock ASAP. No I'm not a sports watching addict. Far from it.
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Cable Diagnostics
BLOG ZoneAlarm Help Vista x64 Insightbb Plus 15000/1500 |
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illini25
join:2002-01-19
Urbana, IL
| reply to M Willner
I dont think the Bears are scheduled for the NFL Network this season, so dropping it would be fine be me.   Although I never realized that the NFL Network is trying to renegotiate on an already agreed apon deal. Typical. |
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OraNoS
join:2006-11-24
Chatham, IL | reply to M Willner
definitely was the smart move.
Too bad they are covering the Bengals game on Thursday  |
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dvd536
as Mr. Pink as they come
Premium
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ
| reply to ComTech6
said by ComTech6 :Its not like you will miss any home team games, they are on local channels in your market anyway. Not if they aren't sold out 72 hours prior to game start. if not sold out then they'd be blacked out in the local markets.
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You can never be too rich, too thin or have too much Bandwidth |
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insomniac84
join:2002-01-03
Schererville, IN
| reply to M Willner
Why didn't insight make the original agreement binding? It really does seem like it is their fault for making an agreement that somehow lets the nfl change it at any time. If the agreement is binding, people should be getting a notice about a lawsuit against the nfl network, not an excuse. |
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