HBO Programming President Michael Lombardo said that the NFL "hasn't put any pressure on the pay-cable service" for its production of "Ballers," according to Scott Pierce of the SALT LAKE TRIBUNE. Lombardo said, "We are incredibly respectful ... of their intellectual property and the protection that it deserves. At the same time, they're incredibly cognizant and respectful of our need for creative license to do the shows that we need to do. And so we've been in conversations, and I'm confident we will find a place that makes them comfortable." But Pierce notes it is also possible that the NFL "hasn't put much pressure on HBO because it doesn't have that much pressure to apply." HBO and its "corporate siblings (like TBS and TNT) don't have part of the NFL's game package." Should Time Warner "go after any part of NFL game telecasts at some point in the future," it will be "interesting to see if real games could co-exist with 'Ballers.'" The show is about fictional coaches and players on the Dolphins, who are "seen wearing the team's uniforms and playing against other fictional players in real uniforms." It has "more comedy than 'Playmakers,' but it still deals with issues like violence, infidelity, drug and alcohol abuse and more" (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 8/12).
