NFL Network Returns to Comcast After One-Day Blackout

By Daniel Frankel
( NextTV )
published

Agreement on reset carriage fee reportedly came after Comcast chief Brian Roberts had a phone chat with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell

Kansas City Chiefs
(Image credit: NFL.com)

NFL Network is back on Xfinity TV, after a carriage dispute between the NFL and Comcast blacked out the channel on the No. 1 U.S. pay TV provider for a brief period on Monday. 

“We have renewed our agreement with the NFL Network,” Comcast said in a terse statement. “At this time, all content has been restored, and you are able to access NFL Network programming as normal.”

According to the Sports Business Journal, the dispute revolved around the very basic, core matter of carriage pricing. And with the NFL Draft out of the way and the regular season four months away, there was a consensus belief that the blackout might drag on for a bit.  

However, SBJ said the kerfuffle was settled at the highest levels, with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell lobbing a call to Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts on Monday to work things out. 

Comcast lost a record 614,000 pay TV customers in the first quarter and now has a remaining linear base of 15.528 million subs. 

Daniel Frankel
Daniel Frankel

Daniel Frankel is the managing editor of Next TV, an internet publishing vertical focused on the business of video streaming. A Los Angeles-based writer and editor who has covered the media and technology industries for more than two decades, Daniel has worked on staff for publications including E! Online, Electronic Media, Mediaweek, Variety, paidContent and GigaOm. You can start living a healthier life with greater wealth and prosperity by following Daniel on Twitter today!