The National Football League has put Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys, in charge of a committee that oversees the nascent NFL Network as it tries to gain some cable carriage. The net is in
less than 45 million homes, even as it hangs on to a late-season game package that might have gone for north of $400 million in an open market, putting Jones on the hot seat.
"Today, there
are more options than ever before for consumers in terms of choosing a television provider," says Jones, noting that satellite companies like DirecTV and Dish Network and telcos including Verizon and
AT&T offer NFL Network in packages at no extra cost to subscribers. "Those fans whose access to NFL Network is still being blocked by their cable provider will have both the opportunity and the
incentive to switch providers if cable continues to deny customers the programming they want," he says.
Jones takes over his unenviable position from New England Patriots owner Bob Kraft, who
remains on the panel along with Pat Bowlen of the Denver Broncos, Mark Richardson of the Carolina Panthers and Stan Kroenke of the St. Louis Rams.
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