All comcast customers get NFL Network
 

Well, the story confirms what I always thought. Comcast was paying $.15 per subscriber while the NFL was trying to force the other cable companies to pay $.70 per subscriber, then run ads attacking them if they refused. $.40 per subscriber is still pretty stiff but it is being put on a tier that subscribers can opt out of. It's a decent compromise and Comcast customers will get a few other upgrades such as the Red Zone channel, ESPNU and ESPN 360.

Incidentally, if you are a huge football fan but you don't really care about the other sports, I can see signing up for the tier in August and dropping it in February then signing up for it again the following August, etc. I've seen a lot of people do that sort of thing to watch Wimbledon on HBO or the Tour de Farce on OLN. Customers will sign up just for that and then drop it after the event is over.

I do this sometimes with soccer channels, but for NFLN, I actually watch it more during January - April than any other time per year. Since they televise games during the season and whatnot, I could maybe see some subscribers try to drop it just for the summer, but the pre-draft buildup (senior bowl, combine, etc) is a major benefit of having the channel imo.

where does this leave us time-warner schmucks?

At the sports bar I expect. Bummer for you guys.