NFL Network Dark on Comcast in First Carriage Dispute Under ESPN

NFL Network has gone dark on Comcast’s Xfinity systems as the cable provider’s deal to carry the network expired Friday morning.

This marks the first carriage dispute for NFL Network under the Disney/ESPN umbrella after ESPN’s acquisition of the formerly league-owned cable channel earlier this year. RedZone Channel, which ESPN has the distribution rights for with cable, satellite, and OTT bundles, is also dark, but does not air any content in the offseason.

“We understand how disappointing and disruptive this is for football fans who have lost access to NFL Network and RedZone Channel as part of their Xfinity TV lineup,” Disney said in a statement to Front Office Sports. “We proposed keeping these channels available while we continued good-faith negotiations, but unfortunately Comcast declined and took them down. Despite this, we remain fully committed to reaching a fair agreement and restoring access to our best-in-class NFL programming as quickly as possible.”

A Comcast spokesperson said, “Disney/ESPN acquired NFL Network and Red Zone just months ago and are already demanding double the fees for the same content. Their distribution demands would also make millions more pay for a channel they don’t watch. We remain open to continuing to talk and reach a fair deal for our customers.”

Disney and ESPN acquired NFL Network in exchange for a 10% stake in ESPN earlier this year, and inherited the carriage contracts from the league. This dispute does not affect Disney and ESPN’s other channels. 

During the offseason, NFL Network airs some talk shows like Good Morning Football and The Insiders, as well as evergreen content such as documentaries and game reruns. ESPN eventually plans to expand the content offerings, including the possibility of populating the network with digital shows as it has been doing with ESPN2. 

FOS reported earlier this week that ESPN is finalizing a new deal with longtime NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport. Rapoport is the first NFL Network talent to agree to terms with ESPN following its acquisition of the cable channel.