Why you may not be able to see Cowboys Packers tonight

[JaredOfNazareth]

In my view there is no right or wrong with any of this. If I didn't have DishNetwork I would try to watch online using Sopcast or TVUPlayer. Or I would find a sports bar. If I wanted to watch it I would find a way. The NFL is using the games to leverage their position. Good for them. Big Cable doesn't want to play ball. Good for them too. As long as there is a way to watch games I will use it. I have no local channels so I even get local CBS and Fox stations from three major markets on both coasts. So I can watch like 10 games a week with out NFL Sunday Ticket. Maybe a friend from Dalles has a Slingbox hookup you can use.

 

[RayClay]

Most people have access to DirecTV or Dish Network, both of which carry NFL Network. Yes, some people live in apartments or condos where they absolutely CANNOT use a dish. Which is unfortunate. But short of those people, everyone can get a dish if they choose. At least where I live, neither of the Dish companies is more expensive than our local cable.

Do I love DirecTV ? No. I would prefer cable where I don't have to deal with a receiver per room, etc. I lose some capability, flexibity and simplicity with DirecTV. But the plusses (NFL Network, Sunday Ticket) outweigh the minuses - for me. Most people are simply making a choice. It's too bad that we all don't have a perfect option - but that's life.

Most people have lives and expenses beyond paying for NFL games LOL!. Believe it or not, a lot of people choose to avoid watching TV altogether.

 

[TheGodInAGreyHoodie]

The biggest problem with the NFLN initiative is the precedent. By forcing cable companies to make a sepific program available to every subscriber and making every subscriber pay, the door is open for HBO and the rest of the premium programs to follow.

I agree with you but would add there is a huge difference between NFLN and HBO.

HBO is commercial free. One should pay more for a channel in which there is no commercials. If NFLN gave the station away for free they would still make money on the beer commercials. I am not saying NFLN should not charge anything for the content, but it should be priced more along the lines of Lifetime, Golf Station or Outdoor Life, then Showtime, HBO or Cinimax.

 

[Remix 6]

whos got the site with the links and channel #s for streaming NFL games? I had it but lost it when i redid my whole comp

 

[DaBruinz]

Cox has a portion of NFLN, but not the full Sunday Ticket. That is on lockdown by Direct TV, because that's the only thing keeping that satalite company afloat is the fact that they are the only company to offer the sunday ticket.

You think that them paying the NFL 700 Million a year for the rights to Sunday Ticket is the only thing keeping them afloat? WOW. You really don't know much.

DirecTV doesn't lie about the HD channels it offers. Unlike Comcrap. Comcrap claims that it offers over 200 channels in HD. Problem is that most of the channels they claim they offer in HD aren't in HD. Those companies broadcast in SD. So you gain nothing.

 

[DaBruinz]

You bring up a good point. I have Cox as wel. I'm having trouble figuring out the NFL's strategy with some of their moves with broadcasting.

When they re-upped with DirectTV the league talked about it being the best option for their fans. That's patently false. The number of cable subscribers in this country dwarfs that of both Dish and DirectTV.

If they really cared about their fans, they'd make the same product available to their cable companies and let the consumer choose. The NHL and the NBA are both on inDemand, which is basically a consortium of cable companies' answer to the NFL Ticket for those sports. It's not like it hasn't been done.

I go back and forth between keeping my current cable set up and switching to DirectTV. What keeps me from switching is the nickle and diming you get with satellite. THere are advantages to both. DirectTV has more HD, but you have to pay for it. I don't pay for HD with Cox. We have cable in 3 rooms with digital and a DVR in the living room and analog basic in the two bedrooms. Currently i dont have to pay for that, but if I had sat. it would be 5 bucks a month per room extra for essentially the same thing.

I had 2 HD boxes, a DVR, and a regular box, and I was still paying less for my DirecTV than my neighbors were for cable....

 

[SoonerPatriot]

I had 2 HD boxes, a DVR, and a regular box, and I was still paying less for my DirecTV than my neighbors were for cable....

Good for you.

 

[DaBruinz]

I read an article somewhere about what channels charge the Cable companies. It had a nice breakdown of various different channels. The NFLN charged 90 cents per subscriber. Not cheap, but certainly not outrageous. There were channels charging 3 and 4 dollars a subscriber...

 

[TheGodInAGreyHoodie]

I read an article somewhere about what channels charge the Cable companies. It had a nice breakdown of various different channels. The NFLN charged 90 cents per subscriber. Not cheap, but certainly not outrageous. There were channels charging 3 and 4 dollars a subscriber...

90 cents per subscriber for NFLN is outrageous compared to 3 or 4 dollars for HBO or showtime.

NFLN is a niche channel that has 30 hours of worthwhile programming per year.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

It's not the dollars or cents, it's the precedent if cable gets legislated on this.

 

[Gopats!!!]

I have DTV so I can have the Sunday Ticket (I live in NC). I get the NFL Network. If I had a cable provider that wouldn't let me watch the NFL Network I would cetainly change providers.

I'm a football addict though. I don't really blame the NFL for it. If it was up to them everyone would have the NFLN.

 

[Water Boy]

Just give me a list of channels and a price for each and let me check off what I want to watch.

Amen. And what the hell is with all the friggin commericials on cable.