DirecTV exclusive Sunday Ticket is 'in the consumers' best interest'
By Richard Lawler 
posted Nov 12th 2009 3:46PM
posted Nov 12th 2009 3:46PM
You love the NFL's exclusive DirecTV deal for Sunday Ticket right? New York Giants chairman and co-owner Steve Tisch says you do, as it is "really in the consumers' best interest." We're suspecting the bang caused by millions of football lovers who can't / won't switch to the satellite service's heads exploding was muffled by all the cash stuffed in his ears as he continued, praising the "successful model" of the NFL Network channel and its quest for wider distribution. As long as the money keeps flowing and, as he claims, TV ratings are hitting record highs, don't expect anything to change any time soon.
Consumers best interest? Sure, competition is evil if you are this moron.
It shouldn't change. Only DirecTV made a play for it and they offer a superior product.
Why shouldn't multiple carriers be allowed to have it and consumers will decide who has the superior product?
It's only in the NFL's best interest to keep it with DirecTV exclusively because they are getting paid millions for it. The extra cost just gets passed onto the consumers.
What an idiot....exclusivity deals do not benefit the consumer in any way!!!
You folks just don't understand the reasoning behind the exclusive deal. They are protecting local affiliates.
What Roger is trying to say is the NFL believes that if all providers offered the NFL Sunday Ticket, then Fox and CBS would stop paying to carry the games and that everyone would have to subscribe to the $200 a year package to watch NFL Football. Which would of course mean less customers because most wouldn't pay for it. So yeah, it would be bad for everyone including customers.
Of course no one knows if this would really happen, but I'm sure it is what CBS and Fox are telling the NFL in their negotiations.
The NFL already had to renegotiate the contracts with CBS and Fox just to offer the Red Zone Channel.
If the NFL did open up Sunday Ticket to other TV providers, they would have to make sure that the locally carried games were blacked out on the Sunday Ticket channel, just as they are on DirecTV. That way FOX/CBS and their affiliates still get their $$$$. BTW... was he talking about the Sunday Ticket or the NFL Network? Two different things... but the article seemed to combine them.
NFL Sunday Ticket channels are already blacked out if the channel is carried on a local affiliate, but CBS and Fox affiliates realize that if you have multiple games to choose from you might not choose theirs.
The other providers made no attempt at obtaining the rights to NFL Sunday Ticket when they had the chance. Those of you who want it...switch providers and come on over the the leader in sports programming.
Yeah, sports leader without Versus.
Roger, Ben,
Good expl, thanks. I know from reading the Satt forums that there's a lot of questions about the DTV exclusive NFL situation. On the surface, it's easy to make a case that multi-provider coverage of NFL Sun afternoon games makes sense. However, when local affiliates are considered, it's a lot clearer picture.
It's a choice that the consumer has to make regarding available providers. For me, DTV is the leader in sports programming choices. It's (arguably) not for premium movie customers.
Unless you like Versus. ;)
Sorry, but I couldn't resist.
Dear Steve,
This NFL fan's apartment faces west with no southern line-of-sight, a building owner who won't allow dishes on the roof, and a Time Warner Cable company that enjoys overcharging for crappy service.
I want to give you my money to see your games, but I can't. How the hell is that good business?
Unless you like Versus. ;)
Sorry, but I couldn't resist
-------------------------------------
Ben,
I know what you mean :( That's another discussion, right? I'm just glad that Vs doesn't have an NFL contract :)
Regarding DTV potential subs: I know what some have to deal with...apt renters, line-of-sight issues. Bummer. I remember when I bought my house, I checked that southern sky for no issues before signing the mortgage papers.
I guess that's one advantage that the satt providers have barring those issues, that one doesn't have to wait or hope for any landline svc availability in their area.
Back to NFL ST, the only issue that I have is that ST blackout rule, when the same game is carried on our local Fox or CBS outlet. ST blacks out their feed. I understand the reasoning but it doesn't protect the local sta much, imo, since it's the same nat'l feed of the game.
Jeff,
It does because not all of the advertising is national. Local affiliates sell advertising during the games just as the networks do. Just think of all of those local car dealership ads you see.
Personally speaking, Sunday Ticket is a major factor on why I stayed with DirecTV at home. I have a vacation condo in the Keys and switched to Comcast for the single bill (TV, phone, Internet) and the fact that the HD dish is just too big for a balcony. However, I will say that after having both, I'm torn...I love the true On Demand that Comcast offers, but their channel layout and selection is just not up to par with DirecTV's. Looking forward to December when I can stream Comcast OnDemend to my Miami home too....its the best of both worlds.
--Sean
Don't forget, it's not just about the local affiliates with NFL teams. It's much more about the local affiliates outside of NFL markets. It would be a lot harder to sell local ads on those affiliates if more people were watching Sunday Ticket games than the local games.
Hashim is right. Here in Fresno we get the Raiders and 49ers on CBS 47 and Fox 26 both out of Fresno. If everyone was able to get Sunday Ticket and the local games (Raiders and 49ers are considered local here, as are the all the Bay Area teams) were not blacked out, those affiliates would be in serious trouble.
Even if other companies had the package they would probably get the barebones of either an SD or HD package with no other features that DirecTV has/can offer.
I do think this a monopoly of sorts that kinda slipped through the loopholes of life.
I'm happy with DirecTV anyway, so it's fine.
Although, I'm not happy about paying so much for Sunday Ticket.
They need the competition.
It's actually not a monopoly -- you can watch NFL games locally, you can go to the games in person, and you can go to the local bars to watch the games you want. Customer has many choices, so it's not a monopoly.
Just sayin'... :)
I can also listen to it on the radio or check out the little graphic animation on NFL.com or on a Sprint phone, but it's not the same. I'd rather have the choice of getting NFL Sunday Ticket on DISH Network or FIOS or CableTV etc.
If you want to watch more than just what local TVs cover and stay at home, you have to get DirecTV and Sunday Ticket. Bars have to get it too. And with price of beer theses days, it's probably cheaper to order it at home. Granted, I'm happy with DirecTV, so it's not that big of a deal to me, other than the cost.
I know it's not really a monopoly, just like the iPhone isn't one on AT&T, but ... yeah ...
while it sucks that 'Sunday Ticket' remains exclusive to DirecTv, i implore all who are looking for an alternative to check out the new 'Red Zone' channel.
if you're like me, disgusted with the growing pervasive & intrusive nature of commercials ruining your football experience, subscribe to Red Zone. it's easily the most rewarding $50 i've spent in years, if not decades. unless im watching my team (Giants) i never bother to watch a Sunday game on network TV. it's non-stop football from kickoff to 8pm Eastern, commercial-free. no exceptions, no excuses.
i wish i knew how many carriers have it, ( i have Fios ), but at $50 for the entire season it's a godsend. period.
cable / indemand does does not have the bandwidth for all games in HD much less all games in sd + MLB EI / NBA LB / NHL CI at the same time.
And that do want ST on cable with up to 6* games a week in HD?
Max of 3 HD games at a time *12:00 games cut off for the start of the 3PM games. 1 HD channel shared with event PPV HD. HD not in all cable systems.
We've had Sunday Ticket for 5 years. this is our last. RedZone HD is available on Uverse and honestly we only watch Redzone anyway.
Good luck with the less than stellar U-Verse PQ.
Screw Sunday Ticket, the NFL is light years behind MLB in making original content available to anyone who wants it. MLB.TV is the gold standard in live online subscription sports service, and the MLB Network would annihilate FSN's and ESPN's baseball content even if they were running baseball games and shows 24/7. Charging $10 per game to view online doesn't seem like a ton, but it would generate a huge amount of revenue and would not be difficult to achieve. Frankly, I cannot believe the MLB can make nearly every game in the whole season available fora mere $110, and NFL is lagging so far behind with non-existent live content and archaic exclusivity agreements. Sunday Ticket exclusive to DirecTV is just as outrageous as the iPhone exclusive to AT&T.
Football games not televised in your area are available free on the internet if you know where to look . Works perfect for me living in an area where a dish wouldn't work and the nearest sports bar with Sunday Ticket several miles away .
I have Directv and this package. of course Steve believes this package is "in consumers best interest" but i ask this
1- why not offer it via more cable/sat systems?
2- why can't the price come down then? seems alot like Directv is overpaying for the exclusivity and is passing the MEGA costs on to its customers.
sorry, while i like the package alot, it is painful to the wallet.
Bad for consumers, if it was open to other carriers there would be no need for Directv to pay extra for exclusivity. That would lower the consumers price.
Also local games are blacked out. So it doesn't damage local stations. Plus I wouldn't have to worry about rain fade on Verizon.
It's really in the consumer's best interest to pay $300 for crappy SD football? Should have tied this one to RedZone. That was a good idea.
Either way, reminds me of the funny spoof from their King Kong ad: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JS0JdQRzdnM
Sorry, but I don't buy this argument. I saw someone else has the same problem as I do. I love DirecTV but I have to suffer with Comcast because I have a veritable tropical jungle in my backyard so I have no clear shot of the southwestern sky. So, I'd be willing to give $200 to the NFL to see my team instead of watching a team on local television that I have zero interest in watching. Where's the fairness and "good business model" in that? Oh, and I don't buy the arguement that local channels would suffer. If that were the case, non-DirecTV subscribers also wouldn't have access to ESPN Game Plan, NHL Center Ice, NBA League Pass, and so on and so on. If you won't give access to everybody, find a way to give us who absolutely can't use DirecTV a way to see our favorite teams.
P.S. - Mr. Tisch, know that I am one of your team's fans and I don't get to increase viewership for your team because of this arrangement. I hate seeing Falcons games!