DIRECTV once again paying big money for the premium sports product in America today- the NFL Sunday Ticket.
In an announcement today, the NFL and DIRECTV confirmed they have reached a deal to extend the current NFL Sunday Ticket contract through the year 2014. The massive price tag on the deal? A reported $1 billion dollars annually, up from the current $700 million per year that DIRECTV pays the NFL.
While the contract will provide a few alternative channels for subscribers to other pay television channels, the main Sunday Ticket package will remain a DIRECTV exclusive. That no doubt will enrage customers of Comcast, Time Warner, Dish Network and other cable TV companies who will continue to be locked out of the package unless they switch to DIRECTV.
The one piece of the NFL Sunday Ticket that will be available to cable TV and Dish Network customers is the “Red Zone” channel. The Red Zone channel jumps from game to game, generally when one team is in the red zone and about to score. No word yet on what the Red Zone channel will cost for new subscribers.
Another piece that the NFL offered up to DIRECTV is the online rights to all NFL games. While the NFL streamed some games for free to fans via its website last year, one complaint from fans is that not all games were made available. DIRECTV promised fans will have online access to streaming, even if they don’t have the NFL Sunday Ticket package on satellite TV, by the year 2012. Hopefully it won’t actually take three years to put NFL Sunday Ticket online into action.
DIRECTV customers who subscribe to NFL Sunday Ticket and the Superfan package will again receive all Sunday games in HD. Included in the package are the Game Mix channel, the Red Zone channel, and the SUPERCAST service which will deliver all of the games to a computer via broadband connection. Unfortunately, nothing has been released to indicate that DIRECTV will roll the Superfan package into the main NFL Sunday Ticket, meaning customers will still be paying extra for games in HD. That will continue to be a sticking point with many DIRECTV HD customers, who already pay and additional $10 per month for HD service.
DIRECTV and the NFL also announced an extension of the carriage agreement for the NFL Network. The all football all the time station will continue to be available to DIRECTV subscribers of the Choice package or higher.
The move by DIRECTV indicates they are confident that the NFL will continue to bring in subscribers. While DIRECTV may not make back what they pay the NFL on Sunday Ticket package sales, they certainly are making money in the long run by growing their subscriber base which continues to generate huge amounts of cash year in and year out.
Other pay television providers have to be fuming that they will once again be locked out from the NFL cash cow. Comcast in particular has battled the NFL in recent years, mainly over carriage of the NFL Network, and Dish Network too has been battling in court with the NFL. Newcomers like Verizion FIOS and AT&T U-Verse will also be locked out of the full NFL Sunday Ticket package, being restricted to the Red Zone channel offering. While the NFL may have made more money by distributing the Sunday Ticket package to a wider network, they obviously feel happy with what they make with DIRECTV.
Commenting on the deal, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said:
“We are pleased to extend a partnership with DIRECTV that has complemented and supported our broadcast television packages for 15 years. 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.”
DIRECTV CEO Chase Carey seemed happy as well:
“The NFL SUNDAY TICKET service has been a part of DIRECTV since our first year of operation and is one of the defining characteristics of our best-in-class positioning. This latest extension allows us to retain and broaden our most popular sports subscription service. Through our wireless offering to NFL SUNDAY TICKET™ customers and the new broadband service to non-customers, we’re now able to expand the reach to even more NFL fans everywhere.”
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thanks to sharing this informative news.i am a good user of dish network.there is no problem till now,but your suggestion is good..be cool…
I have been a subscriber for the NFL Sunday Ticket since its inception and am happy with it. Its the only sports package I subscribe too. I use to have the MLB pakcage but stopped subscribing because they dont show the Saturday afternoon baseball.
Thank God I have directv I couldnt live without the NFL ticket.
This is an absolute joke. Isn’t Roger Goodell responsible for growing his sport, and the revenue it brings in. Sure the NFL gets a billion a year, but how much more could they make if Sunday Ticket was on Dish Network, Comcast, Time Warner, Cox cable, Cablevision, Verizon Fios, AT&T U-verse. Hellooooooooo? Wake up NFL. Your pi$$ing off your fans more and more, and if you make it worse with a labor dispute and stupid NFL Sunday Ticket decisions, you are going to lose a lot of fans.
Note to NFL & DirecTV… I dropped my Sunday Ticket subscription last night because I refuse to pay for HD programming three-fold. DirecTV only presents the games in HD if you purchase the SuperFan package ($99) in addition to the Sunday Ticket package ($270). DirecTV is already charging extra for HD equipment and HD programming access. My argument is that if you’re already paying them for HD programming access, then every package you order from them should include HD if it is available. DirecTV is engaging in a money-grabbing monopoly with the NFL and should be litigated against. I will be cancelling my entire DirecTV service when it expires and WILL NEVER COME BACK!!! The money I save will pay for a great Super Bowl party. Luckily the Super Bowl is still presented on FREE TV!!!
This news is disappointing, it basically sends a message about having free enterprise and the ability to compete.. So its ok to elimate the your competition as long as you have the money?? Its not surprising though, I mean this is what they encouraged by eliminating the competition when it came to the NFL license football video games like Madden….Why is this franchise (ea SPORTS) only allowed to produce an NFL licensed football game on either on of the video game platforms……..What kind of message are they (the NFL) sending to our kids, by encouraging them to condone monopolization, as a form of competition? The service provider does not have to try anymore, once they elimate their competition by purchasing the rights to sell a product!! I’m a current customer of direct tv, and it’s discouraging to hear this news. They’re are arrogant, and overly priced just because of they have the excluve rights to the NFL sunday ticket…I just can’t stand Idly buy supporting this nonsense anymore…..What happen to the freedom to compete for customers?
I only stick it out w/ Direct TV because of the NFL Ticket. They are idiots when it comes to installations and problems. MY HD went out like 10 times in 2 months and it was due to them not doing something right w/ the installation of my dish. I have to pay a $6/mth just for a service program since i know they will be at my house a few times a year then they offer the public 5 months free if they sign up for Direct TV/NFL Ticket. BS!!! I have been w/ them for 7 years and never got even 1 month free. I called them and they gave me $10 off my bill for 6 months. Fios better outbid them in 2014.
Gregg is right. You only get to watch the HD games if you pay even more money for the superfan(bendover and take it like a man) package.I was thinking that Directv had screwed up their system once again but they really overdid this rip off. Cancelling NFL ticket since SD is a joke to pay 270 bucks for. As for the Double play and the apps that are “free” features. Those still don’t work. Apps worked for a day but only on one receiver. Router is setup correctly and the red button is worn out on my two month old HR23-700. Rain faid is rediculous in florida even with the large oval dish and totally clear path to the sky. Actually thinking about going back to Brighthouse as they added more high def channels. They need to get HDNET back though before I make the switch. I hope someone reads this before making the switch in hopes of the most HD like I did. Service is terrible along with software. The HD receiver on Directv does look and sound much better than the two different scientific atlanta receivers that I had through cable.
long time new england season ticket holder. moved to puerto rico,(nfl not a priority here for most)hooked up direct tv right away…what a joke,not worth the price ,quality hinging on pathetic. just switched over to dish then the drop the nfl ticket. i guess i’ll have to settle for the occasional bone they thow me on a local channel.(no pun intended) and the live internet streaming i paid $30 for ….another joke….. boy do i miss football/ i guess sundays are for surfing now. this is turning into just another big buisness.goodell and the rest can go to somewhere EXTREMELY HOT.
tommie, a very nfl home team starved member of the human race.
It is unbelievable that antitrust laws don.t apply here! All I would want is to watch my NY Giants, but I am OK paying for the NFL ticket. What outrages me is that I am to pay extra for the Mix games and the Red Zone. I pay $190.00 a month.
Aren’t the games broadcast in high def from the source?
After the switch from analog to digital over the air broadcasts, every local market can watch their local team on CBS or FOX in high def for free. What is directv doing? Taking the original broadcasts and compressing them into standard definition and then charging extra to decompress them?
Sounds like a scam to me.
NFL is exempt from anti-trust laws. They are allowed to exist as a monopoly. That is why they can engage in this type of behavior.
I wish someone in congress would step in and fix this, but they are just a bunch of corrupt pussies.
This is crap , you have to deal with a company like directv to watch an out of market game?Well I delt with them for 7+ years until I was tired of their sorry company practices.If all cable companies and satellite companies would be able to have NFL Sunday ticket the NFL would make double the revenue.But Directv promises they’ll pump the NFL down other countries throats so they continue to award it to Directv.NFL Europe didn’t make it shouldnt that tell them something?guess not.So it’s deal with directv’s scams and unethical business practices or don’t watch your team , what if you’re in a building that doesn’t allow satellite?Ohwell then you’re better off cause you dont have to put up with directv!