Will the NFL Sunday Ticket Survive the NFL Labor Dispute?

NFL Sunday Ticket is a popular satellite TV package allowing viewers to access to basically every NFL game of the season through their televisions, something usually not possible due to agreements between television networks and the NFL. However, the ongoing labor dispute between players and owners is calling into question the viability of the upcoming NFL season. While nobody knows how the dispute will eventually turn out, there are a few places we can look for information on how this situation might eventually be resolved—or not resolved.



What everyone wants to avoid—sports fans, professional players, owners, and league employees alike, is a repeat of the 1994 Major League Baseball strike, which effectively curtailed that entire season. The World Series that year was even canceled, a virtually unprecedented historic event. The promising seasons of many players were brutally cut short, and professional baseball suffered massive short-term financial consequences as well as long-term consequences that some argue are one of the factors the sport continues to lag in popularity behind basketball and football. Replacement players (traditionally called "scabs" in union parlance) were brought in at one point, and are still shunned by baseball organizations today. The Second Circuit of the United States federal courts had to get involved, and the strike effectively destroyed the Montreal Expos franchise. The 2004 NHL strike also had similar effects on the sport of hockey, although apparently not as severe.



Strikes often have a long term impact on a sport beyond the immediate economic effects. Visitors from foreign countries are often shocked to learn that two of the strongest labor organizations in the United States represent professional athletes and professional entertainers. Union density in the private sector of the United States is under 10% according to some recent figures, and yet labor organizations representing people whose job is basically to entertain people are demanding multimillion dollar raises for work that most of us would consider relatively trivial when compared to the work performed by firefighters, teachers, factory workers, or other traditional union employees. Some people argue that this is necessarily the result of economic policies that grossly favor income inequality in the United states. On the other hand, in other countries, strikes by unionized workers regularly shut down industries, arguably leading to economic damage, and undeniable inconvenience for the people that rely on the affected industries. Depending on your perspective, the NFL players' strike can signify any number of things for American society, but it is clear that it could mean huge disappointment for fans of the sport.



For the moment, the two sides of the current NFL labor dispute are agreeing to talk, keeping hope alive that the NFL Sunday Ticket might again hit the airwaves. It is hopeful that negotiations have not broken down completely for the moment; unfortunately, however, it seems to all be a matter of which side will budge and when. Only time will tell how the current dispute will be resolved.



CannonSatellite is a provider of satellite TV services you can use to catch all the games and news for your favorite sport. You can find out more about their products, which you can use to watch games and get updates on the NFL situation, at http://www.cannonsatellite.com/.