RALEIGH - State Rep. Drew Saunders, D-Mecklenburg, termed it "a simple question with complex answers."

Why can't the National Football League and Time Warner Cable reach an agreement for the NFL Network to be offered to basic cable television subscribers?

Saunders is co-chairman of the Joint Legislative Utility Review Committee, which today held a public hearing at which each side explained why the other is wrong and neither side appeared inclined to make a deal.

NFL Senior Vice President Frank Hawkins said the league has offered the 24-hour-a-day network to the cable company for 70 cents per customer per month and received no counteroffer from Time Warner.

On the contrary, TWC representative Mark Prak told the committee, the cable company offered to pay for the NFL Network's eight live game telecasts last fall without raising the rates it charges customers — a deal that Hawkins called a "non-starter." Prak estimated that the 70-cent deal would cost Time Warner $8.4 million a year and that consumers might see a markup on their bills.

What the NFL wants from the General Assembly is a bill requiring an expedited arbitration process that would lead to an agreement between the two sides. The league is pursuing such a remedy in a few other states where it has teams. Time Warner argues that there's already a federal procedure to deal with cases like this.

After presentations by both sides, Saunders asked whether any fans or cable customers wanted to speak. No one came forward.

Saunders expects additional committee meetings on the dispute but no legislative action in the upcoming short session.