Why is NFL Sunday ticket only on DirecTV?

NFL Sunday Ticket is an exclusive sports package only offered via DirecTV. This package was designed to allow customers to see NFL games from outside of their region every Sunday. The subscriber gains access to over 200 games over the course of the season, and up to 14 games every weekend. Sunday Ticket also provides the customer with the ability to track the stats of up to 18 players of their choosing throughout the season. Throughout the broadcast, you can check multi and single-game scoreboards, and there is a channel dedicated to providing updates and statistics from around the league. Sunday Ticket Superfans can also watch up to 12 games per week in HD.

DirecTV bid for, and won, the rights to be the exclusive provider of this extensive NFL broadcast package until 2010. Before DirecTV obtained exclusive rights to broadcast games, other cable and satellite providers were able to sell Sunday Ticket subscriptions. The only requirement was that they also carry the NFL Network. Since DirecTV is the only provider to carry this package, it has resulted in a large influx of new DirecTV subscribers, while the other satellite and cable companies are not able to legally produce a competitive package.

Right now, the only way for customers to see games out of their area is to try to view a FOX or CBS affiliate via antenna. If the game they are trying to watch is blacked out, they will not be able to watch the game without a subscription to Sunday Ticket.

The NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell, claims that the two largest cable networks, Time Warner and Comcast, use their size and power to discriminate against independent broadcasters , like his NFL Network. Goodell would like the House Telecommunications and Internet Subcommittee to investigate the anticompetitive behavior exercised by Comcast and Time Warner.

The CEO of Time Warner, Glenn Britt argued that it was “disingenuous” for Goodell to compel any cable or satellite carrier to carry the lower valued NFL Network in broad distribution and simultaneously limit access to the higher valued NFL Sunday Ticket.

Ultimately, the fans who cannot, or will not, switch to DirecTV to pay a very high cost for NFL’s Sunday Ticket package, and get tethered to a contract are the ones who lose. The bidding, exclusivity, blackouts, and partnerships among the networks and the cable and satellite companies are struck in the best interests of those companies. This particular deal has disappointed thousands of NFL fans, and if the broadcasts are not more widely distributed after the DirecTV deal expires next year, the fans will ultimately lose again.

Update: NFL Sunday Ticket Will Remain DirecTV Exclusive Until 2014

March 26, 2009 · Filed under Satellite TV

Comments

1  

Quentin Smith

May 13, 2009 @ 1:34 pm

I was a direct tv subscriber for almost 8 years only because of the sunday ticket offered by them. I think it’s completely wrong that you have to be with direct tv just to watch sunday ticket. They seem to take advantage to the fact that they are the sole provider and recently I left them after years of feeling like my business was never appreciated. They never gave me any reason to stay with them other than the sunday ticket and their customer service sucked. I also had a move that went less than smoothly and a upgrade that was supposed to drop my bill for my years of service that got screwed up and raised my bill a good bit. In the end the experience has left me very sour and bitter and I can honestly say I’ll never be back which saddens me since my beloved Steelers just won the super bowl and I would love to see all their games this year. I’ve talked to so many people even before my relationship with direct tv went south and they express interest in wanting sunday ticket but don’t want to switch. The amount of packages sold would greatly increase and fans would be better served if it were offered by other companies. Why doesn’t the nfl do something about this. It seems wrong and why is the nfl got to be the ones being exclusive with direct tv? Seems like they are out to serve some other people and not those who truly love to watch the game. It really shouldn’t suprise me though I mean they seem to want to take the game overseas and hook them up and forget about the lifelong fans their have been. Taking care of us like they did the early players of the nfl. They need to remember who helped get them where they are. Hopefully it will change but until it does I promise I’ll never go back to direct tv.

2  

Scott

August 9, 2009 @ 6:15 pm

Quentin, I feel your pain. I myself am a 49er die hard living in Colorado and at best have watched a handful of games in the past 5 years. Before that I lived in Southern California and had to suffer through predominately San Diego and Raider broadcasts. Prior to moving from Northern California I was a Sunday faithful with season tickets making a three hour trek south. Suddenly I feel like a used up toy tossed aside by the current NFL dictatorship simply because I refuse to cough up ridiculous amounts of money. I find it particularly ironic that Mr. Greedy Goodell is screaming about discrimination when he himself is doing just that to so many fans. If you ask me the NFL is doing nothing less than what amounts to extortion of its fan base. Surely with today’s technology there must be a viable and economical compromise which would allow fans to watch out of area games without breaking the bank. Up until the 08 season I could at least listen to the games over the internet by logging into a local Bay Area radio station. That came to an end with the birth of NFL field pass. Once again the NFL wants more money. Where will it all end?

3  

dan

September 11, 2009 @ 1:25 am

I totally agree with all of you and am unfortunately paying through the A$$ for my Sunday ticket, and the worst part was last year I upgraded to the samsund hd lcd…. come to find out just getting the nfl Sunday ticket just got me the games yes, but if I wanted my games in hd I had to upgrade to the superfan for an extra $100 for the season! CONCLUSION: Goodell shouldn’t have a contract strictly through direct tv…. he should paper view each game for 3.95 that way 1, he would make a killing on all cable customers, 2 we will get to watch the games we want when we want without our wallets being gouged.

4  

Glenn

January 18, 2010 @ 2:21 pm

I too have had it with Directv and their customer service. It is horrible. I have had to call them 4 times in the past week because of billing errors and each tmie I call them some other charge shows up. I only stay because of Sunday ticket. Just now learing that they are exclusive until 2014 saddens me. I might just have to make the ultimate sacrifice though and switch providers.

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