All-Access TV For Historic Pats Game

The New England Patriots' shot at history Saturday night will be available for every household in the country with a television after months of wrangling.

The game against the New York Giants, in which the Patriots could become the first NFL team to go 16-0 in the regular season, was originally scheduled to be shown only on the NFL Network, which is available in fewer than 40 percent of the nation's homes with TVs.

But the league announced Wednesday that the NFL Network feed will be simulcast on NBC and CBS. It's a major concession by league officials, who repeatedly said they would not show the game anywhere but the NFL Network. The NFL had faced mounting pressure from politicians in recent weeks to make the game available to more viewers.

This will be the first three-network simulcast in NFL history and the first simulcast of any kind of an NFL game since the first Super Bowl in 1967, when CBS and NBC both televised the first meeting of the champions of the newly merged National Football League and American Football League.

"We have taken this extraordinary step because it is in the best interest of our fans," commissioner Roger Goodell said. "What we have seen for the past year is a very strong consumer demand for NFL Network. We appreciate CBS and NBC delivering the NFL Network telecast on Saturday night to the broad audience that deserves to see this potentially historic game. Our commitment to the NFL Network is stronger than ever."

[random_radar]

"The NFL had faced mounting pressure from politicians in recent weeks to make the game available to more viewers. "

So rather than pony up the money to subscribe to NFL network and see the game, people complain to their congressmen to force the NFL to give it to them for free.

This is a laughable illustration of what is wrong with our country. People have become so carried away with getting something from the government that they think are entitled to force the NFL to let them see the game for free instead of paying for it.

Ron Paul for president! Pay your own way and mind your business!

[brianbwb-2009]

Circuses but no bread.

Even Caesar knew it took both.

As stupid as this story is, what is even more moronic is that this merits congressional attention, when we have a war criminal getting people killed who will never see the game.

[ichabod57]

"The NFL had faced mounting pressure from politicians in recent weeks to make the game available to more viewers."

So why the political input over a stupid football game? Don''t they have more important things to do, like sending more dollars to King Bush for his private war?

[runningralph]

rosesnpearls,
Stop! You''re breaking my heart. Couldn''t get cable. Boo-hoo. The injustice. I can''t stand it.

[rosesnpearls]

It''s all about the $$$. I''m tired of elitest media. It started when I was a child. We had tv and shows like Bewitched and other sitcoms. Then cable came out and the popular shows moved to cable. We lived two miles outside of town and cable is STILL not available at my mom''s house. I grew up without many of the programs that my classmates were familiar with. I didn''t see the Three Stooges or other classics until I grew up and moved to town where cable was available. Media companies haved continued to create layer after layer of elitest programming, unavailable to much of the nation. I will quit watching NFL before I fall for the NFL Network. Enough is enough. Why should someone pay extra to get NFL Network, then probably still have to watch commercials, etc.? No thanks.

[keithle1]

"We have taken this extraordinary step because it is in the best interest of our fans," commissioner Roger Goodell said. [Said with a straight face?]

Oh sure. "The fans." Puh-leeeze. Suddenly you''re all about "the fans."

Reality: they didn''t want to be called up to Capitol Hill to testify in front of a bunch of Senators. Answer a bunch of tough questions that might make them squirm.

"The fans..." Who are you trying to kid?