Time Warner Restores NFL Network
By Ted Hearn -- Multichannel News, 8/4/2006 12:55:00 PM
In response to a Federal Communications Commission order, Time Warner Cable early Friday restored the NFL Network to about 1 million former Comcast and Adelphia Communications subscribers who lost the channel earlier in the week when they became Time Warner customers.
“The channel appears in the same position and tier as it did before it was removed three days earlier,” Time Warner spokesman Mark Harrard said in a statement.
On Thursday, the FCC ordered reinstatement of the NFL Network, finding that Time Warner appeared to violate the rule that subscribers require 30 days notice about a channel deletion under normal circumstances. The NFL filed a complaint with the agency that also discussed its difficult carriage talks with Time Warner.
“Because we still do not have a contract with the NFL Network, we have also begun the official 30 day-notification period with an on-screen crawl that began running last night at midnight alerting our customers that the network may be withdrawn again should we not be able to conclude an agreement with the NFL Network,” Harrad said.
The FCC order was handed down by Donna Gregg, chief of the Media Bureau.
“Time Warner Cable believes that the Media Bureau's order is wrong as a matter of law.Accordingly, last night we filed papers with the FCC appealing the order to the full Commission,” Harrard said.
