New England Patriots

Many In New England Won't See Patriots-Giants Game

WASHINGTON (WBZ) ― Once again Massachusetts Senator, John Kerry, is appealing to the NFL, and cable companies on behalf of the thousands of New England Patriots fans who won't see the team's historic regular-season finale.

The Dec. 29 game against the New York Giants will be shown on the NFL Network, which is available by subscription only on cable TV.

Under league rules, games scheduled on the NFL Network must be shown on local television in the team's primary market -- which in the case of the Patriots, is Boston. It will also be shown on a local channel in New York City for Giants fans that don't have the NFL Network.

So while the game will be shown on regular TV in Boston and New York City, the same will not be true in other New York and New England markets, such as Providence and Albany.

Following the Patriots win over the Dolphins on Sunday, Kerry made another appeal to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to take action to ensure that all Patriots fans in New England, and across the country, are able to see the Pats go for a perfect season this Saturday against the Giants.

"Unless immediate action is taken, thousands of fans outside the Boston area will not even have access to the broadcast," said Kerry.

"If this isnt fixed in a hurry, it speaks volumes about how some big interests see the fans. I hope the NFL sees the error of its ways and allows every twelfth man to see this unprecedented event." 

Kerry also sent copies of the letter to the heads of two major cable TV companies.

This is not the first attempt to find a solution to this problem. Kerry already made a similar attempt earlier this year, as have politicians from Rhode Island, Vermont and Connecticut.

Kerry argues that not even everyone in the Patriots home state of Massachusetts will be able to see the game; because it is being shown on a Boston TV station that's not carried on cable in many areas of central and western Massachusetts.

The game also won't be seen in many parts of New York State, including Albany, where the Giants hold their training camp every summer.

Kerry has previously offered to convene the parties for a meeting to achieve a resolution, but neither the NFL or cable companies have taken him up on his offer.

Now he's saying that if immediate action isn't taken, he will ask the Senate Commerce to hold hearings on "how the emergence of premium sports channels is impacting the consumer, as well as to determine if any legislative action will be necessary to ensure consumers are treated fairly."

Perhaps the only people happy with the situation are local sports bar owners who are likely to see their patronage spike, when no one is able to watch the game at home.

(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)