As of today, Xfinity and the NFL Network no longer have a valid contract.

1PW

Hence, no service.

Tshirt

I assume you mean this story
https://broadbandbulletin.com/d/9092-as-of-today-xfinity-and-the-nfl-network-no-longer-have-a-valid-contract

"In a statement to Cord Cutters News Comcast said: ””Disney/ESPN acquired NFL Network and Red Zone just months ago and are already demanding double the fees for the same content. Their distribution demands would also make millions more pay for a channel they don’t watch. We remain open to continuing to talk and reach a fair deal for our customers.”

the roles may be reversed when ESPN seeks channel space or linkage on Xfinity systems
Owning the rights doesn’t mean you can easily reach potential customers

1PW

Tshirt

Thank you for the additional valuable info.

I found out by selecting the Xfinity/Comcast channel in my area of service, where a posted discontinuance notice was being broadcasted.

telcodad

Also:

NFL Network, now run by ESPN, goes dark on Comcast amid carriage dispute
By Mike Florio, NBC Sports - May 1, 2026
https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/nfl-network-now-run-by-espn-goes-dark-on-comcast-amid-carriage-dispute

…. Via Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports, NFL Network has gone dark on Comcast’s Xfinity service amid a carriage dispute: https://frontofficesports.com/nfl-network-dark-on-comcast-first-carriage-dispute-under-espn/

And it’s not an NFL Network issue. It’s an ESPN/Disney issue.

Said Disney, in a statement issued to Glasspiegel: “We understand how disappointing and disruptive this is for football fans who have lost access to NFL Network and RedZone Channel as part of their Xfinity TV lineup. We proposed keeping these channels available while we continued good-faith negotiations, but unfortunately Comcast declined and took them down. Despite this, we remain fully committed to reaching a fair agreement and restoring access to our best-in-class NFL programming as quickly as possible.”

Comcast said this, in a statement to Glasspiegel: “Our contract to carry NFL Network and NFL RedZone has expired, and we’re in discussions with the new owner, Disney/ESPN, about our future carriage of the networks.” ….

jweaver

telcodad Disney proposed keeping it available but Comcast said no, that makes Comcast look like the ones in bad faith.

Donut417

These disputes are just going to get more common. Ended up buying Detroit Sport Net for my dad so he could catch the Tigers game. I think the future for Sports will likely be streaming. Because I have a feeling cable providers are going to become less inclined to make a deal as they loose more customers. Not to mention some providers have already left the TV game.

jweaver Disney proposed keeping it available but Comcast said no, that makes Comcast look like the ones in bad faith.

They probably feel its better to just take the channel away now, because who knows if they will come to a deal. Comcast might just decide to go without. Worst they can do is loose some customers, I highly doubt they care as much about the TV side now days. I think Internet and Cellular are probably quickly becoming their bread and butter at this point.

InternetJeff

If Disney/ESPN/NFL is so proud of their product, they can just offer it up as a direct-to-consumer stand-alone streaming option/platform, and anyone who wants to watch that stuff can go sign up and pay for it.

I’m no defender of cable companies in general, but Comcast should just tell them to pound sand, and that the content will never be allowed on Comcast’s network at an increased price that get’s passed along to subscribers. Play hardball. Subsequent savings from not paying fees to Disney/ESPN/NFL can be passed along to cable subscribers.

urbanriot

InternetJeff If Disney/ESPN/NFL is so proud of their product, they can just offer it up as a direct-to-consumer stand-alone streaming option/platform, and anyone who wants to watch that stuff can go sign up and pay for it.

Remove the NFL from the equation because they don’t want to offer a direct-to-consumer standalone product as they make an insane amount of money with the current, messy situation:

CBS / Fox: Sunday afternoon regional games
NBC / Peacock: Sunday Night Football
ESPN / ABC: Monday Night Football
Amazon: Thursday Night Football
YouTube: Sunday Ticket out-of-market package
Netflix / others: occasional special packages
NFL+: mobile/local/radio/replay-type access

It’s estimated they made around $12 billion in 2025 with those airing rights which is far, far more than they’d make if they were direct to consume… which sucks because I hate trying to access all of these platforms to get the games I want to see.

jweaver

Donut417 I’d disagree with that notion. They still care about the TV side otherwise they wouldn’t have made a new deal with ESPN in general. While they are still losing pay TV subs, those losses are in decline so that is a good thing. Considering this is NFL offseason, they probably figured it wasn’t worth it much.

crucialcolin

Donut417 think the future for Sports will likely be streaming.

It certainly seems that way. Either streaming or a return to local OTA broadcasting as several NBA team are now doing. Eventually most sports teams will probably directly operate their own apps/streaming platforms that fans can
subscribe to for a monthly fee. If not teams then the leagues definitely will. What may throw a kink in all this is sports betting or those that follow multiple team sports wanting a package deal to access everything.

lesmikesell

jweaver They still care about the TV side otherwise they wouldn’t have made a new deal with ESPN in general.

They probably have enough long term contracts that they can’t abandon TV completely, but they are clearly not interested in losing money with promo pricing just to keep customer numbers up.

Donut417

crucialcolin ither streaming or a return to local OTA broadcasting as several NBA team are now doing.

Well Im not sure your keeping up on current events. If the broadcasters get what they want OTA broadcasts could get harder to use. Thats if the FCC allows DRM and forces the transition. Also another proposal was presented for the FCC to sell more of the spectrum to cellular companies. So OTA might not be an option in the future.

iahawkeye83

This is unusual for Comcast because they usually rubber stamp contract renewals with programming providers and just raise cable TV prices with every bill they send or move channels to higher priced packages (like NESN with my Boston Bruins). The number of channels being moved from the Popular TV tier (which would be known as expanded basic back in the day) to their higher priced packages is growing. As long as my three channels (WWLP-TV, The Weather Channel and Fox News) remain available I’m keeping my package. NESN would be nice but I’ll take the cost difference and put it towards tickets to seeing the Bruins in person at the Garden.

dishrich

Honestly, I DO believe both channels WILL be back on Comcast, as soon as the new NFL season begins. Why…because if you think about it, nobody is really watching these 2 channels during the off-season, & Comcast is betting on loosing a tiny minority of subs at best, & saving $$$ during these non-season months by NOT carrying these expensive channels for a minuscule amount of viewers. As long as they are back up before the new season, nobody’s going to really notice now.

DISH Network has done this very thing with these same channels for years now.

dishrich

The REAL reason why Comcast dropped both NFL channels…ESPN wants MORE TV subs to pay for these channels, that most also do NOT care to watch: (ie: ESPN wants NFL channels in the same, basic tier as ESPN, instead of a la carte sports tier)
https://thedesk.net/2026/05/disney-espn-nfl-network-comcast-cheaper-package/

Tshirt

dishrich ESPN wants MORE….

That’s been a problem with ESPN, the NFL and Disney for a long time they want MORE $$$$
NFL finally figured out their dreams exceed realistic expectations.
so ESPN is taking a last ditch effort to bump the price on over priced, overhyped sports programming.
This is a gambling industy/mob/cartel demonstrating RICO activity