Both sides have been fighting over Comcast’s decision to put NFL Network on a premium sports tier that customers must pay extra to get. NFL Network sued Comcast in October 2006 over the move.

A judge first ruled in Comcast’s favor. But, in February of 2007, an appeals court reversed the ruling and sent the case back to the lower court, saying the language in the contracts between NFL Network and Comcast was too “ambiguous” to rule in favor of either one.

Comcast also filed a suit against NFL Network in December 2008, alleging that league officials’ attempts to persuade customers to leave Comcast violated their contract.

NFL Network will contend in its Federal Communications Committee complaint that Comcast is engaging in discriminatory and anticompetitive conduct because it includes less known sports channels it owns, Versus and Golf Channel, on a basic tier.

“Comcast has taken NFL Network away from millions of fans and placed it on a costly sports tier,” NFL Network president and CEO Steve Bornstein said.

Sena Fitzmaurice, Comcast’s senior director for corporate communications and government affairs, said in a statement, “Comcast makes the NFL Network available to all of our customers on a tier of service that the NFL agreed to by contract. The NFL has immense power in the marketplace, yet it keeps running to the federal and state governments to try to force changes in the deal it freely accepted in negotiations with Comcast. The agreement we have to carry the NFL Network is pro-consumer. It allows us to place this expensive channel on a tier of service for those who wish to pay for it, not on a tier where everyone must pay for it.”

NFL Network’s lack of availability has become an especially contentious issue because of the eight live regular-season games a year it started airing in 2006. Members of Congress got involved in December ‘08 when it appeared that a lot of fans would not be able to watch the historic game between the New York Giants and undefeated New England Patriots.

At the last minute, the NFL decided to simulcast the game on CBS and NBC.

Digital cable vs satellite, which do you prefer?

Digital cable vs satellite…….On March 14, 2008, a Proton launch vehicle carrying the SES Americom AMC-14 satellite experienced an anomaly which left the satellite in a lower orbit than planned and temporarily taking Dish Networks HD plans with it.  While further testing will no doubt be necessary, the satellite appears to be functional. Engineers from SES Americom and Lockheed Martin, the manufacturer of the satellite, are exploring options to bring AMC-14 into its proper orbit.  If those efforts work, station keeping fuel would be required to correct the orbit, so the service life of the satellite would be substantially reduced.

Dish Network says that they intended to lease the entire capacity of the satellite from EchoStar Corporation in order to, among other things, increase the number of high definition channels they offer.  Therefore, the launch anomaly will result in a delay in their roll out of some high definition channels, including some local network channels.

Personal video recorders are changing the way people watch television shows and movies. But for the most part people like to watch sports and other live events…….live. The odds of taping CSI and then walking down the street the next morning only to have the plot spoiled by a front page newspaper story isnt going to happen. But that’s exactly what happens if you record last night’s basketball game with plans to save it until the weekend.

While video on demand is the right business model for most online video, the ability to provide live streams of some content seems crucial. Now let’s see how many people actually turn to Joost instead of, you know, a television set for their NCAA March Madness coverage.

Which do you prefer? Digital cable vs satellite

What that means too you is that one day you’ll be able to buy a TiVo box that has support for advanced digital cable functions like switched digital video, video on demand, and pay per view. Right now, the closest you can get is a Motorola box from Comcast that runs TiVo software. If you happen to live in the Boston area, that is. For folks in the rest of the country, you have a choice: TiVo, or video on demand. You can’t have both on the same set top box.

Of course, by the time TiVo gets this new box to market, Comcast and Cox may have already rolled out TiVo software outside of New England.

You know the shows I’m talking about… some bleach blonde bimbette prancing around a Malibu condo paid for by MTV, trying to work up some fake tears because some skank just bonked her boything in the hot tub. Never mind she is reading from a script, under the direction of a producer, and trying not to run into the hordes of cameras, lights and boom mics littering the room, this is reality man….this is real!

If you have ever wanted to be on one of these shows the kind folks over at RealityWanted.com are eager to help you lose your dignity. The site has a list of existing and new “reality” shows that are currently looking for rubes, er, talent. Shows like Americas Top Model, Biggest Loser, Rock Opposites and more are casting now.

The initial line up is impressive, starting with the Gabriel Byrne drama In Treatment. You can also catch up with Entourage episodes, which are always fun. There are more laughs with Flight of the Conchords, Extras, Stand Up Comedy, Def Comedy Jam, and Real Time With Bill Maher. On the dramatic front, there’s The Wire. In addition, you can watch episodes of the award-winning magazine show Real Sports, as well as the Latino documentary series Habla y Habla.

Extra Innings is an out of market sports package distributed by most digital cable and satellite tv providers in North America. The package allows its subscribers to see up to 60 out of market Major League Baseball games a week using local and national television networks.

Currently, the only major satellite tv company to offer MLB Extra Innings package is  DirecTV. In March, 2007 DirecTV signed an all exclusive deal with MLB, but that offer was met with much critism from fans as well as anti-trust complaints from politicians (mainly Massachusets senator John Kerry) so by April 1 of that year MLB decided to offer the package to the cable networks as well as Dish Network with the stipulation that the companies would have to pick up MLBs new Baseball Channel (set to debut in 2009). When the smoke cleared an agreement was reached with the cable entity iN DEMAND. Cable providers that had the iN DEMAND sevice could now offer the Extra Innings package to its customers. Some of the cable companies that offer iN DEMAND/MLB Extra Innings are: Time Warner, Cox, ComCast, Charter among others. Dish Network opted not to carry the Extra Innings package, you can see an explanation from them here.

Baseball game broadcasts of a major league team in its home market are blacked out in that area if the same game is on the Extra Innings schedule. In almost all cases, these games are available on a local channel or cable channel anyway.

Nationally-broadcast games on Fox, Espn or TBS are not available on Extra Innings.

FOX TV has exclusive broadcasting rights for Saturday afternoon games. Any game starting prior to 7:00 Eastern time on Saturdays will not be broadcast on MLB Extra Innings.

The ESPN Networks have exclusive broadcast rights for Sunday evening games. Any game starting after 8:00 PM Eastern time on Sundays will not be broadcast on MLB Extra Innings. ESPN also televises a number of other games throughout the week. These, however, are not blacked out.

DirecTV is going to roll out a Masters Mix Channel for all four rounds of the Masters this year. The mix will include one channel devoted to Augusta’s Amen Corner (holes 11, 12 and 13) and one devoted to holes 15 & 16. Both channels will have dedicated cameras and announcers.

A third channel on the DirecTV mix will be totally devoted to tournament highlights, and the last one will have ESPN coverage from the first 2 rounds, and CBS coverage of the final two rounds.

All four of the above channels will be on the mix channel and will be viewable simultaneoulsly for subs with the correct (interactive) receivers.

And best of all this expanded coverage is free. In the digital cable vs satellite battle, score another one for DirecTV.