NFL and DirecTV

[ChrisPozz]

NFL denies it has reached new agreement with DirecTV | ProFootballTalk

 

[Breaker99]

The business side of things really leaves a bad taste in my mouth when it comes to the NFL. What are they going to not give it to direct TV and then do they think that everyone who has had direct TV to get sunday ticket will just switch providers to get it if they give it to someone else?

I won't. I love the sunday ticket, and especially the shortcut versions of the games and redzone channel. But watching these billionaires create hassles for their customers because they think they can wring out a few extra dollars is gross.

 

[CalamityX11]

make it available for us cable people!!!

 

[Ltrain]

I still live like a caveman with antenna service but have netflix and access to amazon. It would be nice if they could offer games with access through one of those services to reach a larger audience on a pay per game/week/season platform.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

DTV will buck up

This is just big boy poker...DirectTV has about 20 million subscribers...a nice chunk of the market share, but a big carrot for them is the NFL Tkt...without it, they have no other competitive advantage imo. They will find the money to extend the exclusivity for another contract.

 

[purguy12]

I hope they don't.

 

[MHSL82]

I want the PAC 12 and NFL on the same system (both cable or both directv). I hate having to choose, but NFL always wins out.

 

[coffeeman]

7 Great Reasons For Google To Buy NFL Rights - Forbes
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After Google GOOG -0.55% supremo Larry Page and YouTube content chief Robert Kyncl powwowed with NFL boss Roger Goodell late last August there was speculation that Google/YouTube would snatch NFL’s Sunday Ticket package away from DirecTV. That deal comes due after the 2014 season. Here’s why Google should just do it.

1) The NFL Ticket package, an endless stream of games from around the nation, in Google’s grip immediately catapults YouTube into millions of new living rooms. “Over-the-top” TV becomes as American as, well football on Sunday. Already 14% of American homes now have streaming devices, double the number that did in 2011, according to a recent study by Parks Associates. A landmark deal for NFL rights by Google could drive streaming numbers into the majority of living rooms and man caves.

2) The price is right. For Google, this is the investment that has the potential to pay back 10-fold or more. DirecTV currently pays $1 billion a year for Sunday Ticket. DirecTV is estimated to have north of 2 million Sunday Ticket subscribers who pony up $225 each. Simple math says this is a loss leader for DirecTV and will be likewise for Google. But this is not taking in the potential ROI. Google could pay a 50% premium and it would still be worth it, given the promotional platform it would offer for all those YouTube channels attempting to scale and drive more ad dollars.

3) It’s an audacious strategy that’s been played to stunningly good effect before, Google should look at how News Corp NWSA +0.23% chief Rupert Murdoch successfully upended the whole network ecosystem almost 20 years ago when his then fledgling Fox Fox network stole rights to the NFC conference by offering $1.58 billon in a four year package beginning in 1994, outbidding the incumbent CBS CBS +0.69% by $100 millon. This made the then “Big Three” broadcast oligarchy of ABC, CBS and NBC into a Big Four. Without that bold move, one could argue he would never have created billions of dollars of value not only with Fox, but FoxNews and Fx as well.

4) If Google doesn’t buy it an arch rival hungry to make Web TV ubiquitous might take the plunge. Apple could step up – the house that Jobs built wants to own the living room too and like Google has plenty of cash to jump start its efforts. All Things D’s Peter Kafka floated the idea last July of Google or Apple swooping in as a savvy move to make mass “Web TV” a reality.

5) Microsoft might make a play too, seeing an opportunity to make its Xbox over-the-top setbox of choice. A CBS veteran who understands the value of football, Microsoft Entertainment boss Nancy Tellum has been touting all the content deals for Xbox she’s made as of late.

6) Sunday Ticket is Heisenberg blue meth for football fans. Now NFL addicts nationwide won’t have to put one of those unsightly pizza-sized dishes out a window or on top of garage. All they’ll need is Google’s $35 Chromecast, the 3-inch digital media adapter that plugs into a TV’s HDMI port to make streaming cheap and easy. Indeed, Google could give the Chromecast away with the price of the package.

7) If Google get in the NFL biz, consumers will benefit. A bold move that makes Web TV a reality means a more competitive marketplace for the public. More choices how we receive content, more players competing to distribute is likely to bring down price and increase quality of programming options across the board.

 

[shouldakepowens]

I just hope that when i call and threaten to leave they still offer it to me for free.

 

[bvanthielriceyoung]

I just hope that when i call and threaten to leave they still offer it to me for free.

thats what I've done the last couple of years

 

[purguy12]

I just hope cable gets and its Verizon so I can get the NFL ticket.

 

[Jikkle]

Really not a fan of how the NFL offers exclusivity to certain companies but that's their own business in how they want to license and brand.

It just seems like they could rake in far more than a billion if they sold the package to all providers. I mean no provider is going to be left out from having the NFL Sunday Ticket so while they wouldn't make a billion per provider but my guess is they could charge enough from each that it would total up more than a billion.

Not to mention fan satisfaction would go up since more would have access to NFL Sunday Ticket thus more would be able to see the games they want to see thus more happier people watching the NFL which means more money.

 

[MHSL82]

Really not a fan of how the NFL offers exclusivity to certain companies but that's their own business in how they want to license and brand.

It just seems like they could rake in far more than a billion if they sold the package to all providers. I mean no provider is going to be left out from having the NFL Sunday Ticket so while they wouldn't make a billion per provider but my guess is they could charge enough from each that it would total up more than a billion.

Not to mention fan satisfaction would go up since more would have access to NFL Sunday Ticket thus more would be able to see the games they want to see thus more happier people watching the NFL which means more money.

I would have assumed so, too, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt that they did their marketing due diligence to maximize and squeeze every dollar they can from TV networks. DirecTV obviously pays more than they would if everyone could get it, but how much more is the question. If each of the three entities (there are more, but for sake of argument) would give 400 million, the NFL would get more and each of those three would get more, except for DirecTV. That'd be a problem for them, but if the NFL said take it or leave it at 400 million, what would they do? They'd take it. Would they lose much more than the 600 million they presumably get for offering the Ticket?

This money amount is mind-boggling. I'm not a charity guy, but if I were, I'd be going crazy over this number. $100-150 a month for entertainment leads to billions instead of X charity?

 

[spacedoodoopistol]

This is just big boy poker...DirectTV has about 20 million subscribers...a nice chunk of the market share, but a big carrot for them is the NFL Tkt...without it, they have no other competitive advantage imo. They will find the money to extend the exclusivity for another contract.

Sunday Ticket is definitely a huge carrot for DirecTV, but I'd say that past that they do have significant competitive advantage over cable providers.....in that its just a much better service for lower price. Its so much better than Comcast in customer service, and especially in providing new channels quickly as they come around.

And for instance as a soccer fan, DirecTV itself gives me every Champions League game for free (no other service does that), and gave NBC extra channels to show every single Premier League game (on Comcast you have to jump through hoops to get them on demand). Its probably the best coverage of soccer anyone in the world gets, and its just some random throw-in on the service. And the DirecTV-operated Audience channel shows lots of good shows too.

 

[purguy12]

Sunday Ticket is definitely a huge carrot for DirecTV, but I'd say that past that they do have significant competitive advantage over cable providers.....in that its just a much better service for lower price. Its so much better than Comcast in customer service, and especially in providing new channels quickly as they come around.

And for instance as a soccer fan, DirecTV itself gives me every Champions League game for free (no other service does that), and gave NBC extra channels to show every single Premier League game (on Comcast you have to jump through hoops to get them on demand). Its probably the best coverage of soccer anyone in the world gets, and its just some random throw-in on the service. And the DirecTV-operated Audience channel shows lots of good shows too.

Disagree I had Direct TV for 2 years and they weren't great. TV would go out all the time during storms. I only got it because of the Sunday package also u have to find another provider for your Internet so you spend more money on that because its not a package deal. The best package for soccer is the Dish. They have the international market.

 

[luckyluke22]

Not sure what storms u are going though, but my parents live in Park City, Utah and have never experienced an outage. Not only do the get blizzards, but being atop a mountain they get wind too.

And when I lived in California, I never had an outage due to storm. And wind would blow over 70 mph through the desert.

My only service available currently is Comcast. No fiver optic for fios or another provider. But if I could get DirecTv I would just for the package. It's a total mono

 

[purguy12]

Not sure what storms u are going though, but my parents live in Park City, Utah and have never experienced an outage. Not only do the get blizzards, but being atop a mountain they get wind too.

And when I lived in California, I never had an outage due to storm. And wind would blow over 70 mph through the desert.

My only service available currently is Comcast. No fiver optic for fios or another provider. But if I could get DirecTv I would just for the package. It's a total mono

North New jersey and yes it happens a lot. Thats why I changed my services. I couldn't take it anymore.