Time Warner Cable Forces Nfl Network To Alter Ad Campaign

NFL Network Agrees To Alter Ad Campaign

The NFL has agreed to alter print ads under its reported $100M campaign targeted at cable companies not carrying NFL Network to make it clear that cable customers will be able to see games of their local teams, after Time Warner Cable [TWC] called them “false and deceptive.” NFL Network is now tacking on a statement in the ads saying the telecasts will be available on local broadcast networks (THE DAILY). However, the net said that the original ads “are entirely truthful and violate no consumer-protection rules.” CABLEFAX DAILY reports the station pledged to continue running the ads “that make clear [TWC] subs will miss NFL games that are available to customers of their competitors”
(CABLEFAX DAILY, 8/9).

NEGATIVE REACTION LIMITED: TWC Senior VP/Corporate Communications Mark Harrad said that the number of calls the company has received so far since taking over Adelphia and several Comcast systems August 1 “show the demand for [NFL Network] is limited.” TWC has received fewer than 8,000 calls from affected customers who lost NFL Network and just 88 cancellations. But Pilson Communications President Neal Pilson said, “The NFL is the largest single entertainment property in the U.S. today, by a huge margin.” He added that NFL Network “will probably be available in [50-60] million homes within the next couple of years.” Pilson: “Most of the pressure will be on the cable operators. The force is with the NFL” (CNNMONEY.com, 8/8).