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Buffalo News

By Alan Pergament

The NFL Network, which was thrown for a loss by Time Warner Cable Tuesday when it took over local Adelphia systems, won at least temporary reinstatement Thursday.

The Federal Communications Commission sided with an NFL Network petition and ordered Time Warner to reinstate the 24/7 football channel on systems that were carrying it before Tuesday's takeover, including those in the NFL markets of Buffalo, Cleveland and Dallas.

Time Warner has until Aug. 15 to respond to the petition, then the NFL Network has until Aug. 20 to counter the response.

The instant dropping of the channel Tuesday was a minor surprise since cable systems generally need to give 30 days notice before doing so to allow subscribers to voice their opinions or seek alternative carriers.

Gordon Harp, the Buffalo division president for Time Warner executive, said last week it is "preferable" to give such notice but added "it is more like a moving target. It is your best effort."

However, the NFL filing alleged that Time Warner violated FCC rules by failing to give 30 days notice. In its reinstatement order, the FCC apparently agrees that Time Warner was guilty of illegal procedure.

"It appears," states the FCC, "that Time Warner discontinued carriage . . . without providing customers with the requisite 30 days notice."

While "it was unable to issue a final decision" on the NFL's petition, the FCC added it believed the interim relief "will further the public interest."

The FCC order maintained that the start of NFL training camps and the arrival of NFL's preseason schedule on Aug. 11 makes the NFL Network's programming more important to fans now. "Therefore, each day that Time Warner customers go without The NFL Network significantly and irreparably harms many of them, particularly those in Buffalo, Cleveland, Dallas, each of whom is home to an NFL team," the FCC stated.

"Based upon the current record, it does not appear that Time Warner objects in principle to carrying The NFL Network. Rather, Time Warner merely wishes to carry it on different terms than those agreed to by the relevant cable systems' prior owner."

Time Warner has argued that it is concerned with a substantial rate increase. The NFL Network is seeking to offset the costs associated with a new eight-game prime time package that premieres on Thanksgiving night. It wants to put the channel on a sports tier, which would throw The NFL Network for a loss in visibility and affect its bottom line.

e-mail: apergament@buffnews.com

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