Carriage disputes always suck for the customers since they end up losing a channel and still paying the same amount.
When it comes to football, the country would likely go into riots if fans cannot get their fill of football. If a carrier is going to drop NFL Network, the best time to do it is probably after the NFL Draft.
This week, Xfinity announced the company will no longer be carrying the NFL Network. The network joined Xfinity’s available service in July of 2009, but recent negotiations have been taking place that came to an unfortunate standstill.
“Our programming agreement with the NFL Network has expired. This means that NFL Network, NFL RedZone, and NFL on Demand programming are currently unavailable through Xfinity.
We know unexpected changes to your TV lineup can be frustrating and we apologize for the inconvenience. We are committed to bringing you the entertainment you love, and we have made reasonable offers that NTFL Network has not accepted,” Xfinity stated in an update.
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Comcast and the NFL have had carriage battles over NFL Network since the network’s launch. It was just five years ago when Comcast shifted NFL Network back to its Digital Preferred tier after two years on the Digital Starter tier. Way back in 2009, Comcast and the NFL went public with their beef about the future of NFL Network, and a new carriage deal was eventually struck.
As recently as 2020, NFL Network and RedZone were dropped by Dish and Sling. They would return on the first Sunday of that NFL season, nearly three months later. Just the year before, AT&T U-Verse and DirecTV Now dropped NFL Network and RedZone.
It should be noted that NBC, which is owned by Comcast, is paying the NFL a ton of money to air live games, so you should expect a deal is going to get struck before the regular season.
Here’s how social media is responding to this news:
