RUMOR: DirecTV could pull plug on Sunday Ticket

[DaBruinz]

Didn't see this posted, but I know it affects quite a few people here.

DirecTV could pull plug on NFL Sunday Ticket | ProFootballTalk

DirecTV CFO Pat Doyle said at a Wednesday investors conference that, if the price goes up too high when the current NFL Sunday Ticket deal expires after the 2014 season, DirecTV would consider “striking a non-exclusive deal with the NFL or possibly even dropping the popular package,” writes the Hollywood Reporter, via SportsBusiness Daily.

This is the part I found really interesting.

Regardless of how it turns out, the fact that there’s no deal less than two years away from the expiration of the current one suggests that change is coming for the way fans purchase the ability to watch any/all Sunday afternoon games.

Maybe the NFL will petition the FCC to do away with the idiotic blackout rules. I'd love to be able to get stuff like NESN and be able to watch the Bruins all the time and also get the Pats games with the New England feed so that they don't cut over to some other BS game..

 

[Avenger]

The NFL wants the blackout rule.

 

[Spergon Wynn]

I'd probably be saying "bye bye" to DirecTv then.

 

[Joker]

Had Directv for almost 12 years..since fiber ops, I do not miss it. NFL Red Zone has me hooked now

 

[supafly]

Had Directv for almost 12 years..since fiber ops, I do not miss it. NFL Red Zone has me hooked now

And that's one of the reasons why they are losing some business. Some people are fine watching the Redzone channel instead.

 

[signbabybrady]

Whoops my father's house is wired for direct tv, universal remotes, DVRs, 5 tv man room.

Not being able to get every game on direct tv would mean an expensive conversion.

 

[BradyBranch39]

I'd love if this meant an mlb.tv-style online package became available.

 

[supafly]

The NFL wants the blackout rule.

Absolutely. Without that they'd lose a ton of leverage as far as selling tickets go. As it is now, teams often end up paying .33 cents on the dollar for the remainder of the required ticket sales so the rest of the city can see the games.

This is the part I found really interesting.

Regardless of how it turns out, the fact that there’s no deal less than two years away from the expiration of the current one suggests that change is coming for the way fans purchase the ability to watch any/all Sunday afternoon games.

I don't get the same impression that you get reading this, DaBruinz. To me all this says is that there may be a change to the way that the NFL games are offered, whether that is through Directv, through a cable sharing program, or through both.

One way or another someone will likely shell out the big bucks to purchase the contract from the NFL. Directv has been paying exclusively, which means that the cost is ALL theirs to incur. If they decided to split the contract and allow other cable providers to purchase it, they'd only be paying 1/2 of the cost, and that is exactly what they are hinting at here.

The NFL isn't going to lose that money. It's millions and millions of dollars, possibly billions. They'll certainly sell it (or part of it) to someone.

There very well may be change coming after the next 2 years, but I think there's almost a 100% chance that we'll be able to see the games through someone. Maybe Verizon FIOS decides to purchase it, thus forcing all of the Directv customers who have it solely for the SundayTicket over to their carrier. One way or another we'll still have to pay someone for it, and we may even be forced to change our providers.

 

[Froob]

Just my take, but I think it would be great if there were no non-exclusive deals(like madden, **** you EA) would be nice if different networks could have their own Sunday ticket. Personally, I live in New England so I get the pats and I just watch whatever games that usually cbs puts on in between the pats and if there's something else I wanna watch I just watch it online by sites that aren't illegal in anyway

 

[Bhelmet]

Whatever happens I hope it becomes available through Roku - I expect an On-Demand type service.

 

[Rob0729]

The problem for DirecTV is that the word is out that if you threaten to drop Sunday Ticket, they will give it to you for a third the cost with a the extras for free. So very few people pay full price.

They are also touting their technology like their Genie product for new customers over free year of Sunday Ticket. I think the whole Sunday Ticket thing to attract new customers is not much of draw especially vs a server box that will allow you to DVR five shows at once and watch the saved shows anywhere in the house.

I don't think having exclusivity of all the NFL games is all that important to them anymore even with the NFL as popular as ever.

I will keep DirecTV because their picture is still better than cable (although when I get FIOS, that might not be the case). If they upgrade me to Genie for free or a low cost, it probably will keep me.

 

[supafly]

I'd love if this meant an mlb.tv-style online package became available.

The way it stands now I have to pay for service at my parent's house so that I can watch the Directv Sunday Ticket on my iphone or ipad where I live, since I can't have the dish where I live now. Directv forces you to be a carrier of their service to be able to watch games online, so I'm paying for a physical connection to a TV that no one watches, which is ridiculous.

If the NFL offered the kind of service you're suggesting they'd make more money, which could also allow them to offer a lessened contract to Directv. I imagine we'll have more options that are better after this 2 yr contract is up.

 

[SoCal Pmen]

I would love to be able to get the Pats games without having to shell out the $$ for the NFL Sunday Ticket. I'm hoping this recent news will mean an end to the monopoly that DirecTV has enjoyed at the expense of us out of town/market fans.

 

[supafly]

The problem for DirecTV is that the word is out that if you threaten to drop Sunday Ticket, they will give it to you for a third the cost with a the extras for free. So very few people pay full price.

That rumor hasn't held much water since the lockout occurred in the 2011 summer. I and 2 others I know tried it this past season, and they couldn't have cared less.

This may be because they dropped the price across the board this past season in order to try and draw more people in. Everyone's SundayTicket package went down from 399 to 199 (299 if you had the premium online pckg).

Whether that worked or not remains to be seen, although I doubt it since the new automatic billing kicks in at the old price previous to last year (399 again).

Don't they offer you the genie 5 DVR package for a cost? They did for me.

 

[Froob]

The problem for DirecTV is that the word is out that if you threaten to drop Sunday Ticket, they will give it to you for a third the cost with a the extras for free. So very few people pay full price.

They are also touting their technology like their Genie product for new customers over free year of Sunday Ticket. I think the whole Sunday Ticket thing to attract new customers is not much of draw especially vs a server box that will allow you to DVR five shows at once and watch the saved shows anywhere in the house.

I don't think having exclusivity of all the NFL games is all that important to them anymore even with the NFL as popular as ever.

I will keep DirecTV because their picture is still better than cable (although when I get FIOS, that might not be the case). If they upgrade me to Genie for free or a low cost, it probably will keep me.

If only the Genie from the commercial came with it

 

[PatriotsWin!]

This is good news (from someone who doesn't want to bother with DirecTV). If DirecTV isn't willing to pay for exclusivity then there's a great chance Sunday Ticket will be offered on many other cable/sat providers, and at a lower price. It's a win/win for everyone involved (even Directv, they've been paying a ridiculous amount to the NFL for that exclusivity and it might not be worth it)

 

[Rob0729]

That rumor hasn't held much water since the lockout occurred in the 2011 summer. I and 2 others I know tried it this past season, and they couldn't have cared less.

This may be because they dropped the price across the board this past season in order to try and draw more people in. Everyone's SundayTicket package went down from 399 to 199 (299 if you had the premium online pckg).

Whether that worked or not remains to be seen, although I doubt it since the new automatic billing kicks in at the old price previous to last year (399 again).

Don't they offer you the genie 5 DVR package for a cost? They did for me.

I got it this year, but that was because I threatened to drop the service all together around this time last year and they threw that in to keep me.

Yeah, the Genie service is at a price although they supposably gave an one to two week window where they gave it for free when they first launched it. I am holding out hopes they do it again. I am also waiting for them to come out with the thinner Genie box later this year. The one they have now does not fit into my AV rack.

 

[DaBruinz]

That rumor hasn't held much water since the lockout occurred in the 2011 summer. I and 2 others I know tried it this past season, and they couldn't have cared less.

You clearly didn't talk to the right people. I had great success numerous times bending DirecTV over a barrel for a reduced price on Sunday Ticket. You need to talk to Someone in the retention department. You need to be threatening to drop DirecTV as a whole, not just the Sunday Ticket Package.

Also, per their own rules, they are supposed to notify you in advance of any change in the cost of the billing. They didn't do that with this past year's reductions (for me anyways). So, when I called, I had the Regular Package at $75 for the year. I dropped them and moved to FIOS because with the TV/Phone/Internet (75/35) I am paying the same as I was with DirecTV. The games I didn't get on TV, I watched online..

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

Redzone > Sunday ticket

 

[naF staP]

The problem for DirecTV is that the word is out that if you threaten to drop Sunday Ticket, they will give it to you for a third the cost with a the extras for free. So very few people pay full price.

They are also touting their technology like their Genie product for new customers over free year of Sunday Ticket. I think the whole Sunday Ticket thing to attract new customers is not much of draw especially vs a server box that will allow you to DVR five shows at once and watch the saved shows anywhere in the house.

I don't think having exclusivity of all the NFL games is all that important to them anymore even with the NFL as popular as ever.

I will keep DirecTV because their picture is still better than cable (although when I get FIOS, that might not be the case). If they upgrade me to Genie for free or a low cost, it probably will keep me.

Very true. I have had it for 3 years and only paid for it once. And for that one time I paid $14 for it because of the discount and credits they gave me. The first year was free due to being a new customer. All ya gotta do is ask for the retention department and tell them another cable company would like to buy you out of the directv contract and hello free sunday ticket! Sometimes you have to call a couple times to get the right person.