NFL Sunday Ticket / NFL Network - Article

[DanGarion]

Here is a pretty long and thorough article regarding all things NFL, Direct TV, and Cable.
This was on ESPN.com http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print...magesPrint=off

It's time to open up NFL Sunday Ticket to everyone
Reader Scott Larson of Grand Rapids, Mich., notes that after the NFL owners meeting last week, commissioner Roger Goodell complained, "We have some great games that are going to be on, and some [viewers] won't be able to see them because the cable operators are not distributing them." Reader Steve Lucianetti notes that after the same meeting -- called to help the owners strategize about the refusal of Time-Warner and Cablevision to carry the NFL Network -- Jerry Jones, owner of the Cowboys, complained the cable companies "depend on privileges at the government level, and they shouldn't use those privileges to keep fans from being able to see the NFL."

The doublespeak here is rich. The NFL restricts its magnificent Sunday Ticket product, which enables viewers to choose for themselves which game to watch, to the lucky few who get the satellite service DirecTV. Millions of homes cannot receive DirecTV for technical reasons or can pull in the signal only after expensive special installations. Frank Hawkins, the NFL's chief negotiator for television contracts, told me that when he lived in Virginia, his home could not receive DirecTV until he had a tall metal pole installed in his backyard. Yet although the NFL won't let anyone in the U.S. except DirecTV subscribers watch Sunday Ticket, the league is furious that Time-Warner and Cablevision won't buy the NFL Network and Comcast will buy the NFL Network for its premium sports tier only. The NFL wants NFLN on every basic cable system, which was the path to success for ESPN and CNN. A war of words has broken out, in which the NFL is denouncing the cable carriers in consumer-rights language while asking that Congress intervene to force the NFL Network onto basic cable. The cable carriers are firing back, accusing the NFL of all manner of perfidy. Meanwhile, 35 million households already get the NFL Network, while only 1.6 million get Sunday Ticket -- and the consumer's barriers to Sunday Ticket are much higher than the barriers to the NFL Network.


How did the problematic Sunday Ticket monopoly arise? Here is a simplified chronology, parts of it as described by Hawkins. In the early 1980s, sports bars and some people who lived in rural areas began buying huge C-band dishes to pirate the network game feeds that then went out unscrambled. In 1987, the NFL drew up a plan to encrypt Sunday afternoon broadcasts and sell decoders to consumers, hoping that CBS and NBC (Fox did not then air the NFL) would market what eventually became Sunday Ticket. But CBS opposed the idea. In autumn, NFL broadcasts are the ratings drivers for the networks' local affiliates. The local affiliates feared that consumers switching away to distant games -- a viewer in, say, Atlanta choosing a broadcast from Seattle -- would dilute their ratings. This was especially important to CBS because its local affiliates rebate cash to the main network using a ratings formula; other networks accept in-kind advertising time from local affiliates.


Trumped by the CBS objection and "stepping lightly because maintaining relationships with the broadcast networks was our principal objective," Hawkins said, the NFL signed a deal in 1994 to beam Sunday Ticket over startup satellite carrier DirecTV. The goal, Hawkins said, was universal availability -- the NFL strongly wanted everyone to get access to the maximum number of games. During the startup years, the technical limits of direct-to-home satellite television distribution were not yet clear; the NFL believed DirecTV would be universally accessible, which turned out not to happen. It also turned out that before digital cable, most cable carriers lacked the bandwidth to show multiple viewer-elected channels simultaneously, so in the 1990s, Sunday Ticket probably couldn't have gone on cable anyway.

In 2002, the DirecTV exclusive on Sunday Ticket expired. By then, digital cable was on the horizon and Sunday Ticket was widely expected to shift to cable. The cable carriers wanted games sold individually, pay-per-view. The league wanted an all-encompassing package, which now -- as Sunday Ticket -- retails for $250 per year plus DirecTV-bundled costs that seem to vary depending on what phase the moons of Saturn are in at the exact moment you order. A power struggle ensued, with the big egos in the executive suites of the cable carriers essentially saying, "We'll decide how to market your games." This not only offended the big egos in the executive suites of the NFL but was totally different from the league's traditional partnership relationships with the broadcast networks and ESPN. In the background, the cable carriers were jockeying against each other to start their own sports networks and were angered by rumors the NFL would found what became NFL Network. In December 2002, the league gave the cable carriers a deadline for an offer for Sunday Ticket; the deadline passed, so the league re-upped with DirecTV; the cable carriers then presented a too-late offer and issued press releases denouncing the league for not waiting.

The 2002 turn of events pleased the broadcast networks, which still weren't happy about loss of local ratings and local advertising -- when a Sunday Ticket subscriber watches an out-of-market game, local ads are not inserted into the blank time a network computer leaves. After Fox joined NFL broadcasting, Fox said it would object unless Sunday Ticket subscribers were capped at 1 million, a restriction on access that belies what the NFL now says about how the NFL Network should be widely available. The 1 million Sunday Ticket subscriber ceiling has been expanded somewhat since, but not by much: The NFL continues to tell the broadcast networks not to worry about Sunday Ticket because its availability isn't growing, and that belies everything the NFL is saying to Congress about the NFL Network. In 2004, the NFL renewed the DirecTV exclusive again, until 2010, after fighting again with cable carriers about how to present the games. The NFL wants Sunday Ticket sold to cable roughly the way iN Demand movies are sold, through a single source with a single national price. (iN Demand is a consortium that markets movies to cable provides, not a service of individual cable firms.) The cable carriers rejected this, and again the over-the-air broadcast networks were relieved.

The 2004 meltdown of NFL-cable carrier talks over Sunday Ticket reflected two forces: hostile relations among the carriers themselves and DirecTV's threatened market position. Television networks compete mainly on the quality of their programming, or lack thereof; because the competition is based on quality, this makes their relations with each other relatively civilized. The cable carriers compete to attach lines to your house, and they stab each other in the back at every chance. That makes it hard for them to get along in talks with a strong-willed organization such as the NFL. From DirecTV's standpoint -- and remember I have no complaint whatsoever with satellite television, it's the Sunday Ticket monopoly to which I object -- keeping Sunday Ticket was about remaining in business. A decade ago, observers thought satellite television would supplant cable, but this hasn't happened. Satellite TV's technical limits (not only can millions not receive it but the signal pixelates in rain) have proved a bigger obstacle than once assumed. By 2004, DirecTV worried that if it lost Sunday Ticket, it would deorbit and go out of business. So DirecTV bid about $400 million a year for Sunday Ticket, a fantastic sum -- roughly two-thirds as much as NBC pays for "Sunday Night Football" broadcasts to the entire nation, plus a Super Bowl broadcast every third year. With 1.6 million subscribers at $250 apiece, DirecTV has about $400 million in Sunday Ticket revenue, essentially all of which goes directly to the NFL. Sunday Ticket became DirecTV's loss leader.

Around the time of the 2004 Sunday Ticket renewal, the NFL Network had just gone on the air, and its finances came into play. The NFL wants to charge $7 to $9 per household per year for the NFL Network on basic, a fee the carriers strongly resist. This price would make the NFL Network, a seasonal product for a specialized audience, one of the most expensive items in the national cable universe. ESPN, which is to cable what cheeseburgers are to McDonald's, charges $30 to $35 per year for multiple channels with very broad appeal. CNN charges about $5 a year to the cable carriers, NBA TV about $4, and most cable channels charge far less or nothing at all. (The ones that charge nothing subsist on advertising.) Cable carriers want the NFL Network exiled to a premium sports tier so they will meet less resistance passing the price along to consumers, but that means a far smaller audience for NFLN, and hence lower ad revenues. While the money fight was going on, Comcast founded Versus, which is vaguely a competitor to ESPN, Fox College Sports and the NFL Network. Comcast features Versus on low channels. Channel 44, where I get Versus on my Comcast system, is considered highly desirable digital real estate compared with channel 180, where NFLN dwells, and channel 263, the lowest channel where Comcast airs Fox College Sports. This low-channel treatment of Versus is driving the NFL Network crazy because Versus ratings are lower than NFL Network ratings and, needless to say, not remotely in shouting distance of ESPN ratings.

So now the NFL and the cable carriers are blasting each other in public, suing each other in court (a federal judge ruled in May that Comcast is not legally required to put NFLN on basic cable) and running to Congress for special favors. Meanwhile, Sunday Ticket remains available only to the select few whose places of dwelling have an unobstructed view of the southwest sky, where the DirecTV satellites hang. And, as TMQ endlessly complains, Sunday Ticket is offered on cable in Canada and Mexico, plus offered via Yahoo broadband everywhere in the world except the United States. So most American taxpayers who paid for the stadia that make NFL profits possible can't watch the games they choose -- but anyone in Canada, Mexico or Liechtenstein is free to watch any NFL game.

Sunday Ticket might come to cable in 2010, especially if local affiliates' ads can be inserted into out-of-market broadcasts, and out-of-market viewing can be folded into local affiliate ratings. Neither of those sounds like an insurmountable obstacle. So is the real strategy to combine Sunday Ticket and NFL Network into a new mega-channel? "I can assure you there are no plans to make Sunday Ticket an NFLN product," NFLN spokesman Seth Palansky told me. Well, there might not be plans …

The NFL's smackdown with the cable carriers about the NFL Network proves the NFL cannot always get its way, which is reassuring, in a sense. Aspects of the cable carriers' position are hard to fathom: NFL Network is a good product; don't the cable carriers want to offer viewers the best possible sports coverage? Otherwise, lack of diligence in finding a way to offer true universal access to Sunday Ticket is a major failing of the league. The National Football League must find a way to offer anyone the chance to buy Sunday Ticket. If the league does not, Congress ought to follow the NFL's advice and intervene. Members of Congress ought to pressure the NFL to stop offering Sunday Ticket to the entire populations of Canada and Bulgaria but restricting access here. This sounds like a nice populist cause for the right senator or representative.

Meanwhile, there's the cell phone factor. Some cable executives contend there is little point in chasing Sunday Ticket because all the people who want the service already have migrated to DirecTV. Sure -- all the people who want it at $250 a year, plus bundled charges, plus the hassle of installing and maintaining a satellite dish. If Sunday Ticket were $50 a year and came hassle-free through cable or any other hassle-free electronic pipeline that might evolve, instead of 1.6 million households getting Sunday Ticket, 25 million might sign up. Then consumer costs would be lower but business revenues higher -- $1.3 billion instead of $400 million in that example -- and what was once a luxury for the privileged few could be possessed affordably by almost anyone. Just like what happened with cell phones! Come on NFL, let us choose which game to watch. We'll pay, you'll be richer and you can stop speaking out of both sides of your mouth, demanding public access to the NFL Network while restricting public access to Sunday Ticket.

[Pumpy Tudors]

That's a really interesting article. I don't have anything to say about the numbers that are being thrown around in the article, but I can speak for my own personal experience. I don't want to go through the process of getting a satellite dish installed (if my landlord even allows it). I'd rather just do cable and get NFL Sunday Ticket that way. If the NFL offered that at $250 a year or $50 a year or whatever, I'd be all over it.

Unfortunately, since I choose not to get DirecTV, I'm essentially choosing not to give the NFL any of my money through Sunday Ticket. There are millions of others like me, I'm sure. At the end of the day, it's the NFL's loss, not mine.

I hope things change in 2010, but I'll survive if they don't.

[astrosfan64]

I really just don't like satellite. I like cable. The cost of satellite TV and a Cable Internet is more the cable internet and cable tv.

I want NFL sunday ticket. I want the NFL network. I'm pissed I can't get either. I wrote my Senator, Congressman the FCC and I can't remember who else regarding this.

Cable companies have a monopoly in our area. I don't have a choice of my cable provider, I can only choose one. And mine doesn't offer the NFL network on any Tier. It is complete crap.

I might be able to get a dish if I cut down a tree. But, I don't want to do that either.

Shit pisses me off.

[SirFozzie]

Easterbrook's yearly tilt at the Sunday Ticket windmill.. at least it spent time on it rather then going Pats hunting.. oh wait.. he did that too.

[astrosfan64]

Sort of related. I can't WATCH the damn PATS vs Colts game this weekend. I'm in houston and I have the Texans vs Raiders. YAY!

Don't get me wrong, I watch the texans faithfully each week, but in this one case I don't think I would.

[DanGarion]

Originally Posted by astrosfan64

Cable companies have a monopoly in our area. I don't have a choice of my cable provider, I can only choose one. And mine doesn't offer the NFL network on any Tier. It is complete crap.

Having a choice of cable companies is not going to solve everything. Cable companies are not a monopoly, they have direct competition with dish services, and more recently phone companies (such as Verizon FiOS and ATT U-Verse.

I hear people complain all the time that cable companies are a monopoly, but they aren't there are direct competitors, they just use different mediums to provide the service.

Unless you want even more cables ran aerial or underground through your neighborhood, I don't see another cable company providing service is 95% of the country any time soon. Additional cable providers in a city will double the # of cables you see on utility poles through your city. Plus the upfront investment of installing more cables is usually too great for a new company to come in and do such a thing. Not to mention the need to sign a franchise agreement with the city/county/state (whichever way it's done where you are). You can't just run different cable companies service through the same outside lines and if you did, those lines were installed and are maintained by your current company anyway.

[Daimyo]

I'd gladly pay $250 for Sunday Ticket on digital cable. Until then $6/month for streamtv is as good as it gets I guess.

[panerd]

Interesting article and count me as a current Sunday Ticket subscriber (and if the article is correct about '94 being the first year, then a subscriber for the entire length of Sunday Ticker) who would jump back to cable in a heartbeat if they were allowed Sunday Ticket.

However I have to take exception to a really LAME argument being made in the article...

"Meanwhile, Sunday Ticket remains available only to the select few whose places of dwelling have an unobstructed view of the southwest sky."

I could be wrong, but I call complete bullshit on this arguement. Select few? What percentage of people can't get directv? Maybe people don't want it, but can't get it? I seriously doubt it is overwhleming like he argues.

[astrosfan64]

Originally Posted by dangarion

Having a choice of cable companies is not going to solve everything. Cable companies are not a monopoly, they have direct competition with dish services, and more recently phone companies (such as Verizon FiOS and ATT U-Verse.

I hear people complain all the time that cable companies are a monopoly, but they aren't there are direct competitors, they just use different mediums to provide the service.

Unless you want even more cables ran aerial or underground through your neighborhood, I don't see another cable company providing service is 95% of the country any time soon. Additional cable providers in a city will double the # of cables you see on utility poles through your city. Plus the upfront investment of installing more cables is usually too great for a new company to come in and do such a thing. Not to mention the need to sign a franchise agreement with the city/county/state (whichever way it's done where you are). You can't just run different cable companies service through the same outside lines and if you did, those lines were installed and are maintained by your current company anyway.

My choice is pretty much cable or cut down tree's.

[astrosfan64]

Originally Posted by panerd

Interesting article and count me as a current Sunday Ticket subscriber (and if the article is correct about '94 being the first year, then a subscriber for the entire length of Sunday Ticker) who would jump back to cable in a heartbeat if they were allowed Sunday Ticket.

However I have to take exception to a really LAME argument being made in the article...

"Meanwhile, Sunday Ticket remains available only to the select few whose places of dwelling have an unobstructed view of the southwest sky."

I could be wrong, but I call complete bullshit on this arguement. Select few? What percentage of people can't get directv? Maybe people don't want it, but can't get it? I seriously doubt it is overwhleming like he argues.

It is actually a pretty high number. People in cities have issues putting dishes out. People in apartments, again have issues with dishes.

Dishes in poor neighborhoods are big time targets to get jacked.

Dishes in wooded neighborhoods are again hard to place.

Dishes in windy areas are not the most reliable.

I work in the oil field and we have a dish on every rig. They are far from reliable.

Almost forgot, dishes in areas with heavy snow can have major issues. Snow can collect on the dish and heavy snow will cause a bad picture.

[Eaglesfan27]

Before DirecTV made the recent upgrades to their HD service, I would have said that I'd go back to cable in a second if they had the Sunday Ticket. Sunday Ticket was the only reason I got DirecTV in the first place. Now, if both cable and DirecTV offered Sunday Ticket, I'd probably stay with DirecTV for the extra HD they offer.

[FBPro]

We haven't had "cable" since the mid-90's and especially based on my son's most recent experience I have no plans of returning. As for the Sunday Ticket issue, also count me as a VERY happy subscriber and will continue as long as it is offered and is possible.

[Atocep]

The guy really seems to have a grudge against satellite despite saying otherwise earlier.

I had Directv and the Sunday Ticket for 4 years. Had no problems with service or anything of that nature. When I moved from San Antonio to Tacoma I switched to cable, it sucks, but it was choice because I could get TV/Phone/Internet for the price I was paying for Directv before. The only bad things I have to say about directv involve their customer service, no problems outside of that.

The rumor I've heard is the NFL wants to move the Sunday Ticket online, similar to how MLB has with their package, after the contract expires in 2010. Seems like the logical step to make for them, it'll be interesting to see if they can come to an agreement with cable operators in the meantime.

What it comes down to is its the NFL's right to sell their product in any way they see fit. Just about everyone has the basic ability to get Directv if they want, for various reasons. For those that don't want to or can't get dish it sucks, but there's little congress can do other than try and mediate the disagreements between the NFL and cable companies.

[DanGarion]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Before DirecTV made the recent upgrades to their HD service, I would have said that I'd go back to cable in a second if they had the Sunday Ticket. Sunday Ticket was the only reason I got DirecTV in the first place. Now, if both cable and DirecTV offered Sunday Ticket, I'd probably stay with DirecTV for the extra HD they offer.

So if the cable provider in your area was to have more HD channels that would be a factor on possibly changing if Sunday Ticket was on both?

We (Time Warner Cable) currently have 21 HD channels in the Los Angeles market. But we are also in the midst of a cable plant upgrade that will increase our channel bandwidth about 250 MHz (roughly 4 HD channels per 6 MHz spread) so theoretically that could be 160 or so more HD channels, but I know we aren't planning on using it only for that.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by dangarion

So if the cable provider in your area was to have more HD channels that would be a factor on possibly changing if Sunday Ticket was on both?

We (Time Warner Cable) currently have 21 HD channels in the Los Angeles market. But we are also in the midst of a cable plant upgrade that will increase our channel bandwidth about 250 MHz (roughly 4 HD channels per 6 MHz spread) so theoretically that could be 160 or so more HD channels, but I no we aren't planning on using it only for that.

Yes, number and quality of HD channels would be one important factor if Sunday Ticket was on both.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by Atocep

What it comes down to is its the NFL's right to sell their product in any way they see fit.

But when the NFL execs go off on cable companies not putting NFLN on the basic tier for harming the consumers, then its fair game to bring up their Sunday Ticket policy. It's the hypocrisy that's the issue.

[Kodos]

Being without DirecTV the last 2 football seasons has sucked. Weekend after weekend of having to watch the damn Patriots.

We'll have a new house soon... Soon.

[KWhit]

Sunday Ticket is $250?!? Are you kidding me? That's pretty ridiculous, IMO.

[rkmsuf]

Originally Posted by KWhit

Sunday Ticket is $250?!? Are you kidding me? That's pretty ridiculous, IMO.

people love foosball

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by KWhit

Sunday Ticket is $250?!? Are you kidding me? That's pretty ridiculous, IMO.

I think it's a good value. I get to watch my Eagles every week from the comfort of my own house (I'm not a big fan of sports bars) for about 16 dollars per week. Plus, I get to pick and choose the best of games each Sunday to watch. To me, it is well worth that price.

[Kodos]

Agreed. Compare that to the cost of going to even one game, and you see what a bargain it is.

[Honolulu_Blue]

I think the $250 price is about right. I bought the NFL Ticket when I lived in DC and I think I would do it again if I ever lived outside of Detroit.

That said, since I do live in Detroit (and therefore get to see all the Lions' games locally), I don't have the NFL Sunday Ticket and don't think it'd be worth the $250 just to watch "the best games each week". I loved the ability to do so when I had it, but I would pay $250 just for that.

[Radii]

Sunday Ticket is well worth the price to me. Even when Carolina sucks and I'm not terribly concerned with catching all of their games, i'd really like the option to watch someone other than Atlanta.

And I agree w/ astrofan pointing out that the number of people who don't have access to DirectTV is pretty high, if for no other reason than the difficulty installing it at many apartment complexes. In the Atlanta area at least, most apartments only allow you to have a dish if you can attach it to your balcony. Many apartment complexes have apartments with sun rooms instead of balconies, thus no satellite availability. Many more are in wooded areas, no/limited satellite availability. And for those that do have a view of the sky and a balcony, you have to be facing the right direction. I would be willing to bet that less than 40% of the people living in apartments have access to DirectTV.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

I think the $250 price is about right. I bought the NFL Ticket when I lived in DC and I think I would do it again if I ever lived outside of Detroit.

That said, since I do live in Detroit (and therefore get to see all the Lions' games locally), I don't have the NFL Sunday Ticket and don't think it'd be worth the $250 just to watch "the best games each week". I loved the ability to do so when I had it, but I would pay $250 just for that.

I agree with that. If I ever moved back to South Jersey/Philly area, I wouldn't pay for Sunday Ticket. It is only worth that price because I get to see my favorite team when I otherwise wouldn't most weeks. Most likely I'll be in Louisiana for a very long time, so I'll continue to be a subscriber for a long time.

[chesapeake]

NFL Sunday Ticket is the greatest thing ever. It's worth every penny.

The author's claims that the DiercTV signal pixilates in the rain is inaccurate. Massive electrical storms are problematic, but other than that, weather isn't a big deal.

[miked]

Originally Posted by Radii

Sunday Ticket is well worth the price to me. Even when Carolina sucks and I'm not terribly concerned with catching all of their games, i'd really like the option to watch someone other than Atlanta.

Sit tight, this weekend's game will be blacked out and you won't have to endure the crapfest that will be ATL-SF. Sadly, I'll be out of town and won't get to bask in the glow of watching real football from my couch.

[lordscarlet]

Originally Posted by chesapeake

NFL Sunday Ticket is the greatest thing ever. It's worth every penny.

The author's claims that the DiercTV signal pixilates in the rain is inaccurate. Massive electrical storms are problematic, but other than that, weather isn't a big deal.

This is hands-down the biggest excuse I hear for not using DirecTV, and it is just patently false. I have had DirecTV in the distant suburbs as well as in the city and had the signal go out a maximum of 4 times over 6 years. One of those times was during a hurricane.

[Eaglesfan27]

I think it is very dependent upon the setup and location. Here in Louisiana, our DirecTV pixellates and even occasionally goes out with very heavy rains/lightning storms. However, we get them more frequently than some other parts of the country. I'd say ours has gone out about 5-10 times in the last 18 months, but it is usually only for 10-15 minutes until the worst of the storm passes.

[DanGarion]

What I would like to see is both an option for the package deal, a PPV weekend deal (for just the weekend, for those of us that aren't always at home), and a PPV per game deal. That would cover all the reasons people might want to watch games, and I think in the long run create more revenue, since they would charge more on the single deals.

Something like
$250 for year package
$25 for 1 week package
$10 for 1 game package

[DanGarion]

There currently is a deal on the table from Time Warner Cable to the NFLN to do PPV for the games on NFLN and TWC would give all the revenue to the NFLN. This is just something we are trying to do to appease those fans that want those games.

[Eaglesfan27]

There is a pay per week deal currently available. I have no idea how much it is for the Sunday Ticket, but it is available (but not advertised at all.) There is also a weekly deal for their ESPN Gameplan package for college games that I take advantage of only when it is the only way for me to see USC play (just once this year so far) and the weekly College plan is 21.95 IIRC.

[sachmo71]

Originally Posted by KWhit

Sunday Ticket is $250?!? Are you kidding me? That's pretty ridiculous, IMO.

Actually, I've gotten that value back from it, IMO. What is crazy is charging $100 extra for HD games.

[astrosfan64]

Originally Posted by chesapeake

NFL Sunday Ticket is the greatest thing ever. It's worth every penny.

The author's claims that the DiercTV signal pixilates in the rain is inaccurate. Massive electrical storms are problematic, but other than that, weather isn't a big deal.

Snow storms are huge.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Gosh but that was a hard read.

And here's the parts that leave me scratching my head most

don't the cable carriers want to offer viewers the best possible sports coverage?

Not at a price they aren't comfortable with.

The National Football League must find a way to offer anyone the chance to buy Sunday Ticket.

Umm ... why? Is there some inalienable right to watch pro football that I've missed in U.S. History classes?

And the most bewildering part of all:

If the league does not, Congress ought to follow the NFL's advice and intervene.

That's one of the most ridiculous suggestions I've ever heard, and believe me, I've heard a lot of them.

[Raiders Army]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

I think it's a good value. I get to watch my Eagles every week from the comfort of my own house (I'm not a big fan of sports bars) for about 16 dollars per week. Plus, I get to pick and choose the best of games each Sunday to watch. To me, it is well worth that price.

ditto. It's cheap, IMHO. I'd gladly pay $500 for the Sunday Ticket. Not only that but DirecTV is infinitely better than Time Warner who couldn't give two shits about its customers.

[Galaxy]

Let's stop funding these stadiums, in which the NFL wants to take some games every year overseas, then I will care about the NFL complaints.

[tucker rocky]

I also gladly pay for the Sunday Ticket on DTV, so I can pick and chose a game, instead of being forced to watch what a network exec wants me to.

[Raiders Army]

Originally Posted by sachmo71

Actually, I've gotten that value back from it, IMO. What is crazy is charging $100 extra for HD games.

We got the Superfan package this year for free. I've been a customer since 2001. The guy I work with got it for free and he installed DirecTV this Fall. I think there was a thread about this earlier this year and you could call them and get it for free.

[lordscarlet]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Gosh but that was a hard read.

And here's the parts that leave me scratching my head most



Not at a price they aren't comfortable with.



Umm ... why? Is there some inalienable right to watch pro football that I've missed in U.S. History classes?

And the most bewildering part of all:



That's one of the most ridiculous suggestions I've ever heard, and believe me, I've heard a lot of them.

Television seems to be a topic that I can agree with Jon on.

[DanGarion]

Originally Posted by Raiders Army

ditto. It's cheap, IMHO. I'd gladly pay $500 for the Sunday Ticket. Not only that but DirecTV is infinitely better than Time Warner who couldn't give two shits about its customers.

Yeah...

[gstelmack]

Apparently DirecTV has upped the ante and has extended its agreement past 2010, paying $1billion per year from 2011-2014, and even paying if 2011 is a lockout year:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...ngs/index.html

[Ksyrup]

Was wondering when someone was going to bring this up. According to something I read yesterday, though, it appears that they have carved out online/mobile access to games from this monopoly, so I assume that means we can pay for the privilege of watching games on Sundays from our computers or phones. Not exactly the best compromise for those who can't get DTV, but I guess it's better than nothing.

For as little as I'm able to watch NFL on Sunday afternoon these days, they've already priced me out of the DTV package, which I haven't bought for the past 2 seasons. Just not worth it.

[Ksyrup]

Here it is:

The NFL will start streaming the games online, allowing those who cannot receive DirecTV service to get the package via the Internet. According to the release, the service "will begin no later than 2012."

The NFL will also offer the package's "Red Zone Channel" to broadband users, as well as other service providers, such as cable and telecom companies. The channel offers constant live cut-ins to games across the nation during key moments.

"We are looking forward to having the Red Zone channel on cable and other media platforms as well as showing NFL Sunday Ticket via broadband to the homes that cannot get satellite. This new content enhances our tradition of being the most pro-consumer, widely available sport on television," Goodell said.

[stevew]

I think I read something like that if you had a LOS for DirectTV, you are not eligible to get the online package.

[sooner333]

Well, I won't get DirecTV for Sunday Ticket because I just don't care enough. I'll spend my $250 at a sports bar which gets the package and eat lunch. Of course, the bar I did go to just closed indefinitely due to structrual issues...but they had a great setup with 7 HDTV's all in one viewing area.

[albionmoonlight]

Even though I would lose Sunday Ticket, I am considering moving away from DirecTV. Our TiVo busted, and so we got the new DirecTV DVR, and it is buggy. Not horribly buggy, but still. Just not a great product.

Saving $250/year plus getting cable for cheaper than DirecTV seems worth it to me.

So getting cable and not having to lose my Sunday Ticket would be the best of all worlds.

But, if I were DirecTV, I would pay Howard Stern level money to keep the exclusive Sunday Ticket rights. I really think that, without Sunday Ticket, DirecTV has no advantage over cable for most people who live in the city.

[sooner333]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

But, if I were DirecTV, I would pay Howard Stern level money to keep the exclusive Sunday Ticket rights. I really think that, without Sunday Ticket, DirecTV has no advantage over cable for most people who live in the city.

Yeah...I mean, how many people have Dish Network??? I did at one point with some roommates, but that was because AT&T bundled it with phone and DSL and the landlord picked as bills were included in the cost. But with U-Verse taking off, Dish will get left out in the cold in those bundles.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

But, if I were DirecTV, I would pay Howard Stern level money to keep the exclusive Sunday Ticket rights. I really think that, without Sunday Ticket, DirecTV has no advantage over cable for most people who live in the city.

I totally agree.

I had DirecTV for a year. I liked the service well enough. At the time they had the TiVo DVR, which was great. I loved it. I only lost service two or three times due to weather.

When we moved from DC to Detroit, I decided to switch to cable, since I really only had DirecTV for the Sunday Ticket and Center Ice Package (my local DC cable company didn't offer it). Moving back to Detroit meant I got to watch the Lions (yay?) and the local Comcast had the Center Ice Package.

It was easier to have cable, and slightly cheaper due to the cost savings with the internet.

I also had a horrible experience in trying to cancel my DirecTV service. They made things exceptionally difficult to end the service and continued to harass us for a couple of months.

As for the Sunday ticket, I probably would cave at the end, but I am not sure if I would get it again. I liked having it and the first couple of weekends were glorious. But, realistically, you can only "watch" one early and one late game, unless you're flipping around. Also, if you have anything to do on a Sunday afternoon, you lose 1/17th of your money. In the one year I had it, I think I had to miss about 3 or 4 Sundays do to various comitments.

[Arles]

I moved to DirectTV last year and love it. I get about 70-80 more HD channels (which alone makes it worth while), add in the Sunday ticket, more options for the English Premier League, the OnDemand stuff, full access on all 4 TVs and the total cost (without Sunday ticket - about $10 more a month) and I've been very happy with DirectTV.

If you just want standard cable on 2-3 TVs and a 1 with expanded and DVR (with few frills), then cable probably wins the day on price. But, once you start adding in a few options (esp the additional HD channels), the advantages of DirectTV seem to start bubbling to the top. I've also noticed a much better picture with DirectTV over cable on the few HD channels cable had.

[Galaxy]

With the new price that DirecTV is paying, I wonder how much NFL Ticket will go up.