I would like to have someone (perhaps DCDeac or rkunces) to explain exactlky why the financial landscape has shifted so much in the 22 months since DirecTV signed the last (5-year) contract with the NFL.
Here is how DirecTV announced the deal then:
NFL and DIRECTV Extend and Expand Exclusive NFL SUNDAY TICKET Agreement for Five Years
NFL CHANNEL to Launch on DIRECTV
New York, NY and El Segundo, CA Dec 11, 2002-- The National Football League and DIRECTV, Inc., the nation's leading satellite television service provider, announced today a five-year agreement to extend and expand DIRECTV's exclusive rights to carry NFL SUNDAY TICKET, the subscription television package that delivers up to 14 games each week during the NFL season. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
The agreement includes a commitment to expand services to NFL fans, including the launch of the NFL CHANNEL on DIRECTV as early as next year. The NFL CHANNEL will be the first year-round television programming service fully dedicated to the NFL and the sport of football. The NFL CHANNEL will be available seven days a week, 24 hours a day, on a year-round basis.
DIRECTV will continue to have exclusive satellite television rights to NFL SUNDAY TICKET through 2007 and exclusive multichannel television rights through 2005. In addition, the new agreement gives DIRECTV the opportunity for the first time to offer NFL SUNDAY TICKET subscribers exclusive enhanced technical innovations, including high-definition game telecasts, viewer-selected cameras and replays, and other advanced digital technology.
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So, please explain.
Exactly how did the Comcast/DirecTV dynamic change so drastically in the 22 months since then (except that DirecTV has closed in substanitally on Comcast's once seemingly insurmountable subscriber advantage) that a change in the NFL ST package is not only possible, but in the words of rkunces: "...it's simply not possible for DirecTV to compensate the NFL enough to warrant their continued lockout of Comcast.."