Handful of Comcast Customers Cancel Sports Tier

Comcast saw several thousand subscribers cancel their digital sports tier subscriptions in the days after NFL Network's telecast of the Cowboys-Packers game, reports the Sports Business Journal, citing a cable source who has seen the numbers.

Comcast has about one million subscribers nationally for the tier. Some reports suggested that fans were buying the tier before the game, then canceling it immediately afterwards, costing the subscribers a couple of dollars.

That's a likely scenario. Comcast won't care. Neither will the NFL, which has to be collectively beaming over the huge (relative) ratings for last Thursday's Dallas Cowboys-Green Bay Packers showdown.

The NFL Network, available in just 38 percent of the 112.8 television homes in the U.S, still "led all Big Four networks last Thursday in the key" 18-49 demo as it carried the Packers-Cowboys clash, according to Media Post.

In that demo, NFL Network earned a 4.1 average Nielsen rating, ahead of CBS' 3.5 and NBC's 3.0, and averaged 5.4 million viewers, "nearly 850,000 ahead" of CBS. NFL Network also won the 25-54 demo in the live plus same day ratings with a 4.29, ahead of CBS' 4.26.

Once again proving the NFL is king no matter where and when the games are played. This will just be more fodder for the league to continue pushing its brazen money-grab with cable operators.

"Make them pay,'' should be the league motto.

CBS drew 11.9 million total viewers, and NFL Network came in second with 9.7 million, an average of 879,000 ahead of third-placed Fox. NFL Network "likely benefited from CBS and ABC airing repeats."

The game was also viewed by an additional 3.7 million homes over-the-air in Dallas, Milwaukee and Green Bay.

Imagine if it were on free TV...