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Block around the clock: Cowboys close to 24-hour channel deal

IRVING – Just like the Speed Channel and the Golf Channel, the Dallas Cowboys are preparing to join the world of cable television with their own 24-hour channel.

The Cowboys are close to reaching an agreement with Comcast Corp., the primary cable provider for Dallas and its suburbs, to create a channel that would air around-the-clock Cowboys’ programming, several sources said Monday. The Cowboys hope to launch the channel, available only to Comcast subscribers, this season.

The sources said an announcement is scheduled for Thursday.

Vice president Jerry Jones Jr. declined to comment. Comcast executive director of communications Angel Biasatti could not be reached for comment.

A deal between Comcast and the Cowboys makes sense because they already have a sponsorship agreement that has resulted in signage at Texas Stadium.

According to its 2003 shareholder report, Comcast serves more than 21 million customers nationwide - including 22 of the nation’s top 25 TV markets. Comcast has about 500,000 subscribers in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

The Cowboys, who would join the Atlanta Falcons as the only NFL teams with their own channel, would produce original content as well airing their own shows featuring owner Jerry Jones and coach Bill Parcells after they have appeared on KTVT-Channel 11, the Cowboys’ official station.

The Cowboys could also televise Parcells’ daily news conference as well as preseason games.

Although the Cowboys can’t show their preseason games in another NFL market like Houston, they could air the rest of their programming.

Because there is no NFL team in Los Angeles, the Cowboys could take advantage of marketing opportunities in southern California by having the channel available to Comcast subscribers in that part of the country. The Cowboys completed their training camp in Oxnard, Calif., on Aug. 20 and have agreed to return in 2005. Oxnard is about an hour north of Los Angeles.

Comcast announced last week that it will place the 24-hour, league-produced NFL Network on “Digital Plus,” which costs $5 more per month than “Digital Classic,” its basic digital package. It’s not known if subscribers would have to pay extra for the Cowboys channel.

The Cowboys have contacted Babe Laufenberg of KTVT and local broadcaster Bill Jones about having roles on the network, several sources said.

Atlanta began Falconsvision, which repeats a four-hour loop of original programming, last year.

“We’re still developing content,” said Jim Smith, Atlanta’s director of marketing. “For us it’s about an extension of the brand and it gives Falcons fans an opportunity to see programming they can’t get access to anywhere else.

The Cowboys, who have in-house production and a video studio, studied Atlanta’s concept before deciding to launch their own channel. Sources said the Cowboys would also use a four-hour loop of original programming.

The Jerry Jones show and Cowboys Huddle, which features Parcells, are produced on site. They could add shows such as a Cowboys version of “SportsCenter,” roundtables with local print, radio and television reporters or their own Web site staff.

The Cowboys like the idea of their own network because it gives them brand exposure, the ability to create and support their own image and an opportunity to enhance fan development.