The Federal Communications Commission last night tabled a measure that might have provided some relief for fans caught in the middle of the fight between the NFL Network and cable companies.

Citing a lack of support from commissioners, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin decided against presenting a proposal that called for mandatory arbitration to resolve disputes between cable companies and broadcasters.

Yes, it seems like arcane bureaucratic nonsense, but here's the relevant background for football fans:

The NFL Network is a 24-hour cable channel devoted entirely to pro football. The NFL owns the network, and wants to have it distributed to as many people as possible. It's available on basic tiers through satellite providers DirecTV and Dish Network, but several major cable companies, including Time Warner, Comcast and Cablevision, said they believe the NFL is asking too much in carriage fees. The companies have placed the network on a sports tier, which usually costs about $5 more per month for subscribers. In essence, this makes the network unavailable to millions of people who don't want to pay for the sports tier.

The battle between the network and the companies has heated up in recent months because the NFL Network now shows eight live games per year, including some key contests like the Cowboys-Packers game this Thursday and the Patriots' season-ending game against the Giants. In the NFL's view, these games are must-see events and justify moving the network off of a sports tier. Cable companies have disagreed, and said the network does not offer enough unique programming to justify the NFL's carriage fees.

The NFL Network's games will be broadcast over the air in the home markets of the teams involved, but many other fans will find themselves unable to see these games unless they pay their cable company extra for the network or switch providers.

Disputes like this between cable companies and broadcasters are very common. Martin, the FCC Chairman, sought to introduce the arbitration measure as a way of resolving these disputes. Essentially, the new rules would allow each side of a dispute to present their case and an independent third part would decide the course of action.

Officials from the NFL Network supported the Martin's arbitration proposal because it would have, at the very least, brought the cable companies to the negotiating table. NFL Network officials said they were getting frustrated because cable officials wouldn't even sit down and talk.

Martin's proposal could be resurrected, but looks dead for the time being. Thus, it does not appear like the NFL Network-cable situation is getting resolved anytime soon.

- Tim Lemke