A sight to behold courtesy of NFL

Yes, New England, there is a Santa Claus. And, apparently, an Easter Bunny and a Tooth Fairy.

That's the conclusion after dissecting the NFL's humanitarian - fanitarian? - decision to cave in on its position of airing the Patriots-Giants game tomorrow night only on WCVB-TV (Boston) and WMUR-TV (Manchester, N.H.) and the NFL Network, excluding much of New England. Instead, in the interest of public relations and congressional pressure (protect that antitrust exemption, people!), the NFL has decided to not only do the right thing, but do it so loudly and ostentatiously that even the non-sports fan has to sit up and take notice.

This will be the first three-way simulcast in the NFL's history and the league's first national simulcast since the inaugural Super Bowl in 1967. For weeks, the NFL was steadfast in its refusal to yield. In the end, though, the public pressure - in the form of letters authored by Washington bigwigs, and media and fan backlash - became too enormous to ignore. The only reason the league changed its position is the Patriots' quest for history.

Let's not get carried away. If the Patriots were 9-6, this would not be an issue. The game would've stayed where it was. Let's not forget lobbying didn't do the suburban Packers-Cowboys fans any good earlier this season. But this is a special circumstance and congratulations to the people in the NFL offices (commissioner Roger Goodell?) who had the presence of mind to realize it.

There will be plenty of interesting material for football fans. The difficulty will be choosing what to watch and what to DVR or TiVo. For example, Channel 5, which had exclusive rights to broadcast the game in the Boston market on over-the-air TV until the switch was made, will air a live one-hour "All-Access" pregame show at 7 p.m. hosted by Mike Lynch and featuring Mike Dowling and Bob Halloran. One part of the coverage will involve several big names (still being lined up at press time) who will comment on the Patriots' place in history; coach Bill Belichick breaking down the Giants; an interview with Patriots' owner Robert Kraft; and an interview with Patriots' offensive lineman Matt Light.

Channel 4 will counter with a one-hour pregame program, also at 7, with Bob Lobel, Steve Burton, and Scott Zolak handling on-air duties. Following the contest, the station will air its "Fifth Quarter" show from the Meadowlands, recapping the action.

Over at Channel 7, final plans were still being formulated but that station, too, will have pre- and postgame shows, anchored by Larry Ridley.

The availability of the game and the quality of coverage promised to be one of the most substantial victories ever for fans.

For those who want to rail against the cable companies, feel free, but we've chronicled that time and again. Even those in the industry don't bother to bolster their own positions given how little sympathy they know they deserve. But, give it this: The cable industry held fast to its position while the league did not. That is all the more reason the sides should sit down during the next six months and find a compromise that, to quote Dr. Phil, everyone can be excited about.

There is more than enough money to go around and more than enough power. That's not to say it's not complicated. It is, given cable's multitier system and the NFL's insistence on the network being on basic cable. There's a fundamental disagreement on the level of fan interest in the network that needs to be resolved. It isn't realistic or reasonable to force the cable companies to eat the per-subscriber fee it wants to impose for 24 hours total of live football-game programming during the entire year.

This issue isn't going away. See you next year. Same time and, probably and regrettably, same channel, because it's impossible to expect a repeat of the potential milestone that led to this change. The NFL did the honorable and fair thing this time. It's time to make that same choice for the future.

Consumer credit

According to Jim Hughes, the director of public relations for Comcast, customers who signed up for the Sports Entertainment Package after Dec. 22 will receive a credit for the service for up to one month. The credit will occur automatically. Those customers who no longer want the package need to call customer service at 1-800-Comcast . . . NBC (Channel 7) will ring in the first day of 2008 with the broadcast of the first US outdoor hockey game in NHL history. Beginning at 1 p.m. Tuesday, the network will air the contest between the Pittsburgh Penguins and host Buffalo Sabres from Ralph Wilson Stadium. Bob Costas will serve as host, with Mike Emrick handling the play-by-play duties, Eddie Olczyk as the analyst, Mike Milbury the studio analyst, and Darren Pang doing the inside-the-glass reporting . . . If you're looking for a sporting event to watch prior to the Patriots-Giants showdown, Channel 7 will air taped coverage of the 16th annual ADT Skills Challenge tomorrow and Sunday at 4 p.m. from the Fairmont Turnberry Isle Resort & Club in Miami. Dan Hicks, Gary Koch, and Roger Maltbie will provide commentary as four top golfers will pair with other athletes in a competition of long drives, greenside bunker play, putting, long irons, trouble shots, fairway bunkers, chip shots, and short irons. The teams are Natalie Gulbis and John Elway; Bubba Watson and Dan Marino; Greg Norman and Roger Clemens; and Peter Jacobsen and Jerry Rice.

Nancy Marrapese-Burrell can be reached at marrapese@globe.com.