DISH Network ratcheted up its NFL Network drive this week, launching a national advertising campaign aimed at cable and tagged, "Football Playing 24/7 at DISH Network." Ironically, one of the first national ads from DISH appeared in a DC-area daily newspaper. Not only does DC operator Comcast carry NFL Net, but sources say the MSO is close to signing a deal to show the 8 regular season games on some level of service this fall (recall that Comcast was actually in the running for the rights to those games last year). DISH’s national ads feature NY Giants running back Tiki Barber, while local market ads feature local players (Drew Bledsoe in Dallas, a Time Warner market, and Rams QB Mark Bulger in St Louis, a Charter market). DISH, the first cable rival trying to capitalize on the NFL Net-cable spat, launched IWantFootball24-7.com and a sweeps to the NFL Pro Bowl in HI. The ads tout 10 months of DISH for $24.99/month after mail-in rebate. This past weekend, DISH had NFL stars signing autographs at retailers (Cfax, 8/18). — Meanwhile, the L.A. City Council passed a resolution Fri urging the FCC to force Time Warner to keep NFL Net on its recently acquired L.A. systems indefinitely. Under the FCC’s order, TW would be able to stop carrying the network Sept 3. The resolution passed 7-1, with former Adelphia exec Bill Rosendahl providing the nay vote.

The Daily

Subscribe
Wednesday–May 14

Why Now? Fox Embracing Imminent Entrance in DTC

Fox Corp. President/COO John Nallen and the rest of the company’s leadership no longer have to dance around questions on whether a direct-to-consumer product is on the horizon. That doesn’t mean the goalposts haven’t shifted, though.

Read the Full Issue
The Skinny is delivered on Tuesday and focuses on the cable profession. You'll stay in the know on the headlines, topics and special issues you value most. Sign Up

Calendar

Sep 11
2025 Faxies Awards Faxies Nominations Open! Final deadline: 4/4/25
Full Calendar

Jobs

Seeking an INDUSTRY JOB or hiring for one?
VIEW JOBS

In conjunction with our sister brand, Cynopsis, we are offering hiring managers a deep pool of media-savvy, skilled candidates at a range of experience levels and sectors. The result will be an even more robust industry job board, to help both employers and job seekers.

Contact Carley Ashley, [email protected], for more information about posting a job on the website and our Jobs newsletter, sent twice weekly to 85,000 media professionals.