jmkcool2002 7 Posted October 28, 2013 Share Posted October 28, 2013 Today in the NYT it was revealed that ESPN was close to buying a 50% stake in NFL Net until it said no to the NFL's request to give up college football games to the NFLN. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/28/business/media/nfl-networks-10-year-gains-13-games-and-72-million-homes.html?pagewanted=2 ESPN definitely did the right thing for itself because it kept college football on all of it's properties but I wonder as the NFL begins to accept bids for a new Thursday night package if it's also looking for a partner for NFLN in the process, who can bring college football to the network such as Fox, so that it doesn't lose the value it has already gained in carriage fees. (Selfless promotion, you don't have to click, I wrote my take here:http://jmanmediazone.blogspot.com/2013/10/should-espn-try-doing-news.html) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerseyfla 196 Posted October 28, 2013 Share Posted October 28, 2013 I'm glad ESPN didn't buy it but I have bitter feelings towards the NFL Network. I'm a big NFL Films fan and I feel that the network killed the NFL Films franchise that was developed and built up by the Sabol family. In fact, in 2003 NFL Films built a new building on the other side of Mount Laurel, NJ just to house its operations and the then-planned NFL Network but Steve Bornstein who was hired from ESPN to run the network didn't want to uproot his family from Los Angeles so they shifted their plan and based NFLN in LA and now the NFL Films building sits half empty. NFL Films was a huge contributor in the success of the league and the network as far as I'm concerned has pissed on everything the Sabols did. Here's a story from Philly.com http://articles.philly.com/2011-07-29/sports/29829579_1_nfl-films-nfl-films-nfl-network Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viper550 268 Posted October 28, 2013 Share Posted October 28, 2013 Didn't NFL Network want to buy a stake in ESPN Classic (which has, by the way, become a severe joke over the years due to, well, things like NFL Network) awhile back so they could usurp their better carriage? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess 1110 Posted October 28, 2013 Share Posted October 28, 2013 I'm glad that ESPN didn't get its hands on NFLN. The less stuff they control, the better in my opinion. I've grown incredibly tired of "Bristolese" - the name I give to the obnoxious tone and style that ESPN and SportsCenter boast. (This is why I didn't like Keith Russell on WPVI.) And I think that some of their journalistic practices are far, far worse than anything Sinclair has ever done. Granted, NFL Network is Bristol-lite and jerseyfla made a good point about the network marginalizing the majesty of NFL Films. Regardless, they DO bring me NFL RedZone each week, so I can't hate them entirely. I'm not a fan of Fox Sports either, but I like that they're trying to become a worthy alternative. I'm a fan of NBCSN but I sure wish they'd add some studio shows. Their Premier League coverage has been nothing short of fantastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrtraveler01 737 Posted October 28, 2013 Share Posted October 28, 2013 I'm glad that ESPN didn't get its hands on NFLN. The less stuff they control, the better in my opinion. I've grown incredibly tired of "Bristolese" - the name I give to the obnoxious tone and style that ESPN and SportsCenter boast. (This is why I didn't like Keith Russell on WPVI.) And I think that some of their journalistic practices are far, far worse than anything Sinclair has ever done. Same here. ESPN seems to be more NY/Boston/Miami centric than it ever was in the past for whatever reason. When the 2-6 New York Giants get more airtime than the 8-0 Kansas City Chiefs, you know something is amiss. It gets really tiring I'm not a fan of Fox Sports either, but I like that they're trying to become a worthy alternative. I'm a fan of NBCSN but I sure wish they'd add some studio shows. Their Premier League coverage has been nothing short of fantastic. I can take or leave Fox Sports but Fox Sports Live really is growing on me mainly because I was so sick of hearing about New York and Boston teams on Sportcenter all the time. I just wish NBC Sports would have their own show like that too, I thought one was in the works but maybe they're waiting until they acquire more rights to sporting events, which is pretty slim right now (since the only one is NBA and I don't see NBC snagging that away from ESPN or Turner). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmkcool2002 7 Posted October 29, 2013 Author Share Posted October 29, 2013 I'm glad ESPN didn't buy it but I have bitter feelings towards the NFL Network. I'm a big NFL Films fan and I feel that the network killed the NFL Films franchise that was developed and built up by the Sabol family. In fact, in 2003 NFL Films built a new building on the other side of Mount Laurel, NJ just to house its operations and the then-planned NFL Network but Steve Bornstein who was hired from ESPN to run the network didn't want to uproot his family from Los Angeles so they shifted their plan and based NFLN in LA and now the NFL Films building sits half empty. NFL Films was a huge contributor in the success of the league and the network as far as I'm concerned has pissed on everything the Sabols did. Here's a story from Philly.com http://articles.philly.com/2011-07-29/sports/29829579_1_nfl-films-nfl-films-nfl-network You make a very good point. Although NFL Films does house NFL Matchup and Inside the NFL, it doesn't do much else. There's no talk of this and I doubt this happens but maybe ESPN Classic should give NFL Films an outlet to produce new programming to keep that part of the company busy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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