NFL Network complaining to FCC

The NFL Network is filing a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission against “cable TV giant Comcast in the latest legal wrangling between the two,” according to the Associated Press.

NFL Network is accusing the nation’s largest cable operator of discriminatory and anticompetitive treatment in violation of the Cable Act of 1992.

The feud stems from Comcast’s decision to put the NFL Network on a premium sports tier that customers pay extra to receive. The duo has been fighting over the move since the network filed suit in October 2006.

Full disclosure: I’m no huge fan of Comcast. I had Time Warner Cable here in Minneapolis when Comcast took over the market in some trade. Comcast claimed to be looking out for the little guy by not putting the NFL Network on its basic package so it would have to raise people’s rates.

But at the same time, I was frequently losing other channels, such as ESPN Classic, that I’d had since moving into my current living quarters – and certainly not paying any less on my bill every month.

More disclosure: I switched recently to DirecTV, in large part so I could watch the NFL Network – and most of the time I enjoy their coverage.

Still – I find ridiculous AP’s description of Comcast as “cable TV giant” without describing the NFL in similar terms as well. The league seems to be accusing Comcast of being a bully in this case.

The NFL is a huge industry – remarkably successful. Yet like a petulant child the league is whining about not getting its way in a case where, ahem, the market is working.

Let the league kick and scream all it wants. This isn’t a case for the courts or for government to step in and apply force. If enough Comcast subscribers were to rise up and demand the NFL Network on their basic packages Comcast undoubtedly would break down and make it so.

I love the NFL. But this particular move, in my opinion, is not only hypocritical, but downright laughable, as well.