Tangerine to Offer NFL Network via HD in Hotels

Tangerine Global, a firm that provides HD programming to high-end hotels, has reached a worldwide agreement with relatively new sports channel NFL Network, which is owned by the NFL itself.

Under the terms of the agreement, the Marina del Ray, Calif.-based company will offer NFL Network games in HD to its luxury hotels around the world, according to The Associated Press.

The NFL Network has had problems reaching carriage agreements with several major cable companies and critics say it's been a bit thin-skinned when it comes to hearing criticism of itself. The network ran into controversy last summer when one of its future announcers, Bryant Gumbel, appeared to have criticized the league in its dealings with the players union, according to published reports.

The first property to receive Tangerine's HD services will be the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Miami, a host hotel for Super Bowl XLI on Feb. 4. Tangerine said it will continue to roll out additional cities around the world before and during the 2007-08 season starting next fall.