Carolina Panthers President Urges Passage of Cable Resolution Act To Help Resolve NFL Network Dispute

Carolina Panthers President Urges Passage of Cable Resolution Act To Help Resolve NFL Network Dispute

Richardson Cites Recent Survey Showing 59% to 17% Support for Neutral Arbitration

COLUMBIA, S.C., April 8, 2008 /PRNewswire/ -- At a hearing today in the South Carolina House Public Utilities Subcommittee, Mark Richardson, President of the Carolina Panthers, called on lawmakers to adopt the Cable Antidiscrimination and Dispute Resolution Act of 2008 (H. 4374) -- creating a neutral arbitration system to resolve disputes between cable companies and independent programmers like NFL Network.

"The dream to bring a football team to the Carolinas took a long time to realize," said Richardson. "Our fan base has grown every year, but we are still a young team compared to some NFL stalwarts like the Packers and Cowboys. NFL Network has something for everyone -- those who know little can learn about the Panthers, and those who know more can become avid fans. NFL Network is going to be a huge component of the Carolina Panthers future success, and we could not succeed without our South Carolina fan base and the ability to continue creating new Panthers fans here."

"But the nation's largest cable companies -- two of which, Comcast and Time Warner, are also dominant cable providers in the Carolinas -- discriminate against NFL Network and other independently owned networks. They favor channels that they own by refusing to carry our content unless we agree to allow them to charge their customers extra for a premium package," said Richardson.

"Simply put, NFL Network is treated unfairly because it is not owned by a cable company.

"Those cable companies have 'bottleneck' power -- they control access to their customers, so they are able to pay more attention to their profit margins than what their customers want," said Richardson. "As a result, customers aren't getting the programming they want."

Richardson cited a recent public opinion survey showing that by a six to one margin, South Carolina voters blame cable for their lack of access to NFL Network. By a 59 to 17 percent margin, voters overwhelmingly support a neutral arbitration process to resolve the dispute between big cable companies like Time Warner and NFL Network.

The survey also showed South Carolina voters believe cable companies are a monopoly that blocks competition -- with high rates, poor service and a lack of quality programming. Two thirds of voters believe the cable companies are trying to use the NFL Network's popularity as a way to make higher profits, and they also believe that cable companies force consumers to pay for dozens of channels they own while refusing to add channels they don't own like NFL Network.

"The arbitration system created by H.4374 is an efficient, consumer- focused dispute resolution system to level the playing field between the cable operators and independent networks such as the NFL Network," said Richardson. "It will quickly and fairly get consumers the programming they want, on market terms not distorted by 'bottleneck' carriers like Time Warner."

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Source: Football 24/7

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