CNN is not worth more than NFL Network

As one of the millions without NFL Network, I was pretty pissed that I couldn't watch the Boys beat the Packers. As much as I would like to rant about the unfairness of not having NFL Network but having to put up with crap like C-Span, QVC and the WB, I will instead take Peter King of SI, HBO and NBC to task over this issue.

In his last two editions Monday Morning QB, King has bitched about how much NFL Network wants to charge cable companies to carry it versus how much they are charged to carry other channels, notably CNN, which he feels has to be a staple of cable systems. King feels that it is an absolute travesty that NFL Network charges more per customer than other, according to King more important channels.

Said King: "I expressed my disbelief to one cable analyst that cable companies viewed the value of the NFL Network almost double that of CNN, which has to be a staple of every cable system in the United States, with instantaneous coverage of wars and disasters worldwide. "You've got to understand one thing about sports and cable TV,'' the analyst said. "Sports rights fees are the one thing in the business that keep spiraling up and up, while the cost of a lot of these other channels, even the ones that seem so important, are remaining relatively flat.''
It still seems insane to me. Even the NHL Network -- and I don't even know what that is -- costs cable companies, on average, five cents more than CNN. NBA TV (36 cents per subscriber per month) is nine cents more than CNBC."

I really like Peter King and read his column every week but he is flat wrong about CNN vs NFL Network. Check the ratings Peter, CNN continues to get it's tail whipped by FOX and somethimes even MSNBC so people don't watch it nor do they share your opinion of its importance to them. If CNN was so important to people, they would watch more than Larry King.
He also provides a breakdown of how much each channel costs per household. I find two things interesting: first that he has no trouble with ESPN charging over 7 times as much as CNN but he is outraged that NFL Network charges less than twice as much. Second, he does not provide any data on the channels that he is on. I understand that NBC is a "free" channel but they still get something from the cable companies since they own MSNBC, CNBC among others and he says nothing about how much HBO collects per household. As is always the case, the media reports the story to fit their own biases, I won't stop reading King, he's just plain too good a writer and has good insight and info, I just disagree with him on this issue. Thanks for reading.


COST PER SUBSCRIBER HOUSEHOLD (per month)
Leading non-sports channels TNT: 91 cents Disney Channel: 83 cents USA Network: 51 cents CNN: 46 cents TBS: 44 cents Nickelodeon: 43 cents FX: 36 cents

Leading sports channelsESPN: $3.26 Fox Sports Net: $1.92 NFL Network: 80 cents Fox College Sports: 63 cents NHL Network: 51 cents ESPN2: 46 cents NBA TV: 36 cents