At Last, (Most) NFL Junkies Will Be Able To Get Sunday Ticket Without A ...

Few things make hardcore football fans angrier: If you want access to all the NFL games, you need to be a subscriber to DirecTV and sign up for Sunday Ticket. Unlike the other major sports, the NFL has long granted an exclusive on its out-of-market package to the satellite broadcaster and that meant if you couldn't - or wouldn't - switch to DirecTV you were out of luck. In 2014, it appears that's finally about to change. DirecTV has posted a new splash page offering an internet-based version of the Sunday Ticket package for tablets, smartphones and game consoles, with prices starting at $199. The company calls it 'NFL football for all.' Well, almost.


The catch

It appears if you live in a residence that DirecTV deems could easily get their satellite service, they won't sell you Sunday Ticket over the internet. (I have contacted DirecTV to clarify further.) Testing a series of addresses, it now appears that apartment dwellers - the vast majority of whom cannot get satellite TV unless they have a well-located balcony and a patient landlord - are eligible for the internet-based package. This looks to be true both down the street from me (where a two-story building passes the test, and across the country in New York (where the former address of a high-school friend is also good to go.) Some universities are also eligible addresses.



In other words, perhaps millions of people who were previously shut out from Sunday Ticket now have the option of signing up. There will still be unhappy folks who are on Comcast or Cox, can switch to DirecTV but may not want to because of a bundle or inconvenience or whatever reason, and won't be permitted to sign up for the internet package - at least not yet. Score one for some would-be cord cutters, but not yet all of you.


The score

The change is almost certainly a win for everyone else. DirecTV's merger with AT&T is contingent in part on renewing its deal with the NFL on substantially similar terms to the ones it has now. With this page having gone live, it suggests that an agreement is close to completion.


As to what you'll get for your money, the basic subscription is tied to iOS and Android tablets and phones. While it's possible the compatible-device list is a work in progress, it's missing a disturbing number of current devices in favor of older ones: Neither the Samsung Galaxy S5 nor the iPhone 5s appears nor are the iPad Air and Retina iPad Mini on the list (the original iPad and iPhone 3GS make the cut, however). Many modern Android phones and tablets from LG, HTC, Sony and Motorola are mentioned, but there's a notable dearth of the most current devices. Whether this is remedied in time for the season this September remains to be seen.


For an extra $40, you can use a Playstation 3/4 or an Xbox 360/One. That will, of course, allow for easy viewing on the big screen. While it might seem possible the phone and tablet apps will allowing 'mirroring' of the content to your TV, in the past that hasn't been possible with the Sunday Ticket apps using technology like Apple's AirPlay or Google's Chromecast. The price difference suggests we might continue to see that limitation in place.


Another notable limitation is that the AppleTV is not among the eligible devices, and it's explicitly called out in the FAQ as not an option for 2014.


Touchdown?

As with the existing package, geographic blackouts remain in force, which means you won't get the local games over Sunday Ticket. For that, an antenna or cable package will still be required. DirecTV says if you move your device around, the blackouts will be based on where you are, not where the subscription is so signing up with a Los Angeles address to avoid missing any games won't work unless you actually live there.


Still, overall this is a welcome change. About 2 million people on DirecTV currently get the package, with DirecTV servicing just 1/5 of cable/satellite homes in the country. Because many of the most fervent NFL fans already chose DirecTV just for football, it's not likely this will result in anything like a 5x boost to the current number. But it should be a nice uptick, which is welcome news for DirecTV (and its likely new owner AT&T) - and the NFL.


DirecTV has been paying $1 billion annually for the exclusive access to Sunday Ticket, a number that will surely rise as with all sports rights fees. With the ability to sell into a bigger fan base, recovering the costs of a new deal will be a bit easier.


( If I hear back from DirecTV about device and address limitations, I'll update this accordingly.)


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