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Why the NFL and direct TV deal screws NFL fans in the USA.

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H

hlhbk

Member
So if you didn't read my rant on how terrible the stream quality is between the NFL.com preseason streams and the preview stream on direct TV's Sunday ticket stream I suggest you go here for examples:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=489400&highlight=hlhbk

That being said I have a friend that lives in London. I knew that NFL gamepass is available through NFL.com and it gives a lot really great features for a smaller amount of money than the $250 for Sunday ticket on PC and $300 on PS3. I asked my friend to send me screenshots of what is offered and he sent me the following:

0348bb57e6c52f4d401e9a8dd99fa4e1a79bc875.jpg


7684406563ac8b8ef6b7ed08958ffa239081a6f3.jpg


54722fb80d7f50468a1ead65fd6f157147c05f09.jpg


According to my friend who owned this not only can you get the entire full blown superfan package for $200, which includes access to NFL network without a cable or sat subscription, all of the weekly games, NFL game rewind (which costs $60 in the USA by itself) among other things.

You also have the ability to sign up and follow ONLY YOUR TEAM for $130! On top of all this the video quality completely blows away the only streaming option available in the USA in direct TV.

This in my opinion is just terrible. I am certain by the fact DTV held off telling anyone about the stream until right before the season and the fact the quality of the stream is shit they threw whatever they wanted to out there due to it being in their contract with the NFL that they had to provide a streaming option to non dtv subscribers by 2012.

It just sucks so bad we are getting so screwed over in cost and quality of this product. I with the NFL would see the traveisty (spelling?) that DTV is forcing on the NFL fans and finally release NFL gamepass in the USA!

Unfortunatly we all know that the $$$ talks and nothing is going to change.....
 
V

Vyer

Member
So you are talking primarily about just streaming options, right? I don't know much about what dtv offers for streaming.

Their current TV package includes Sunday Ticket for free this year, IIRC.
 
Ban Puncher

Ban Puncher

Member
Maybe it's cheaper because NFL is a smaller market overseas? They could be pricing it to seem attractive to potential and casual fans abroad. Live games would also be a factor, screening at times when most people are at work or asleep unlike prime time in America.


I know that most PPV's available here in Australia are much cheaper compared to the US.
 
L

legend166

Member
I imagine most TV broadcast deals in the States would have a condition about online streaming. The last thing you'd want as a TV station is to pay big money to have the rights to the NFL, only for the NFL themselves to go undercut you with online streaming. They don't have that issue overseas.

Speaking of this, I'm looking at maybe getting this as a present for my brother here in Australia. Does anyone know if you can download matches and watch them offline?
 
Q

quaere

Member
You can use this in the US. The location authentication is only on initial opening of the stream. At least that's how it used to be.
 
B

BakedPigeon

Banned
This is why I either go over to a friends house on Sundays who actually has Sunday Ticket or I watch all my Cardinal games on the internet through illegal means.

NFL brings it on themselves because I would be more then happy to pay for their service if it was available to me. Fuck em.
 
H

hlhbk

Member
legend166 said:
I imagine most TV broadcast deals in the States would have a condition about online streaming. The last thing you'd want as a TV station is to pay big money to have the rights to the NFL, only for the NFL themselves to go undercut you with online streaming. They don't have that issue overseas.

Speaking of this, I'm looking at maybe getting this as a present for my brother here in Australia. Does anyone know if you can download matches and watch them offline?
Click to expand...

Online only.
 
M

Major_Lazer

Member
Gamepass is a god send watching the NFL in Australia, pretty much the only option since cable tv shows maybe 2-3 games per week and the lesser known teams never get shown.
 
N

NoRéN

Member
Vyer said:
So you are talking primarily about just streaming options, right? I don't know much about what dtv offers for streaming.

Their current TV package includes Sunday Ticket for free this year, IIRC.
Click to expand...

Yup. have it for free and I don't even watch NFL.
 
D

Dead Man

Member
legend166 said:
I imagine most TV broadcast deals in the States would have a condition about online streaming. The last thing you'd want as a TV station is to pay big money to have the rights to the NFL, only for the NFL themselves to go undercut you with online streaming. They don't have that issue overseas.

Speaking of this, I'm looking at maybe getting this as a present for my brother here in Australia. Does anyone know if you can download matches and watch them offline?
Click to expand...

You can get this in Australia? I need it.
 
P

Pezking

Member
Is Gamepass still showing the games a bit delayed?

I like to read and post on message boards while watching football, and it would suck if this would lead to permanent "spoilers".
 
M

Major_Lazer

Member
Pezking said:
Is Gamepass still showing the games a bit delayed?

I like to read and post on message boards while watching football, and it would suck if this would lead to permanent "spoilers".
Click to expand...

Yep just slightly delayed, i have to steer clear of NFLGAF on gameday because of it.
 
G

GQman2121

Banned
I subscribed to Direct TV for over two years, and when they started running the free NFL Ticket promotion for new customers last summer, I called and got them to hook me up at $120 for the entire season, which I was more than happy to pay......

That is until the season actually started and the web app didn't work half the fucking time. And when it did, the quality was WORSE than if I were to just stream the shit from an illegal site. Outside of the general shitty reception I would get at my new apartment if so much as more than a few clouds showed up to block out the sun, the most irritating thing about the whole experience was how dumb the people who run the service are.

They have a game mix channel where you can watch up to eight games live at any one time. Which is great in theory and it did work for the most part. But I was finding that most weeks once the early games had ended, that the screen would just stay with them and not convert and resize to fit the current live games. So you would have multiple ______ WINS boxes and not be able to see the teams that were actually playing.

IMG00001-20090913-17031-300x225.jpg


Sometimes this would go on well into the second quarter before converting over to......

nero2_hdtv_football_mix1_large.jpg
Click to expand...

There was also the issue of switching to full screen from the game mix channel. If you selected a game that just so happened to be live in your market, on either Fox or CBS, you would have to manually punch in the numbers and go to your local channel as those games are blacked out on the NFL ticket channels.

Everything about the service just feels halfassed. And I know (just like with Madden) that the NFL doesn't give a fuck because they get paid either way. I had had enough by about week five and paid my cancellation fee for the remaining months on my contract and cut the cord for good. I finished out the season watching the local games and had redzone and an out of market game streaming on my computer illegal. And I plan on doing the same this season. Fuck um.
 
J

Jal

Member
Different market, different prices, all UFC PPVs are shown in the UK for free (assuming you're subscribed to ESPN, which costs nothing on my cable package anyway.)
 
N

Nevasleep

Member
Well it makes sense. The home market will pay more.
The same happens with Premier League soccer, cheaper/more games shown in rest of world.

Also in the UK quite a few NFL games are shown on tv every week, including one on a free to air channel.
 
C

Chili

Member
The delay used to be horrifying in the first days of Gamepass. It's actually much improved now relatively.
 
K

krzy123

Member
I can't understand why the NFL keeps renewing this deal for live games, the have their own channel, along with a nice website.

Their fantasy site added Google hangouts for while games are going on, they could add it for streams too, would be awesome imo.
 
A

ascii42

Member
Being able to follow a single team would be nice. I live in Georgia, and can never seem to be able to watch Jaguars games.
 
P

pax217

Member
At least they're giving you a choice, at all. The market will pay for it.

I guess the fact that DirecTV has the best interface out of all the TV options is good too... but the channel selection sucks. :(

krzy123 said:
Their fantasy site added Google hangouts for while games are going on, they could add it for streams too, would be awesome imo.
Click to expand...

That's an awesome idea.
 
C

ChiTownBuffalo

Either I made up lies about the Boston Bomber or I fell for someone else's crap. Either way, I have absolutely no credibility and you should never pay any attention to anything I say, no matter what the context. Perm me if I claim to be an insider
I get it free through Direct TV.
 
N

nateeasy

Banned
I generally have MNF, TNF, SNF and 3-4 games on Sunday Afternoon on NBC/CBS/FOX or Whatever. I dont see a reason to pay DirectTV for anything else.
 
A

andthebeatgoeson

Junior Member
New thread for old news? I'm not sure why the NFL cannot get more money from all cable companies than from Direct TV. They probably don't want to have to deal with multiple cable companies. It's a shame. I have comcast and wouldn't touch Direct TV with a 10 foot pole. Not interested in going back to the 80s where a big storm fucks up the channel.
 
H

hlhbk

Member
nateeasy said:
I generally have MNF, TNF, SNF and 3-4 games on Sunday Afternoon on NBC/CBS/FOX or Whatever. I dont see a reason to pay DirectTV for anything else.
Click to expand...

If you are a fan of an out of market team (I am a fan of the Raiders living in Nashville, I only see them if they are on National TV like MNF) you have to pay to see your team.
 
B

bjork

Member
I find that the very small amount of football I will watch each year, I can find through some sports highlight show, or possibly during the breaks in the Puppy Bowl.
 
Pagusas

Pagusas

Elden Member
hlhbk said:
If you are a fan of an out of market team (I am a fan of the Raiders living in Nashville, I only see them if they are on National TV like MNF) you have to pay to see your team.
Click to expand...

Or just head on down to a sports bar.
 
H

hlhbk

Member
Pagusas said:
Or just head on down to a sports bar.
Click to expand...

If I were to pay for the follow your team only option of $130 it games down to $8 a week per game. I would spend $8 in the gas to drive to a sports bar, not to mention how much I would spend on food/drinks.
 
Pagusas

Pagusas

Elden Member
hlhbk said:
If I were to pay for the follow your team only option of $130 it games down to $8 a week per game. I would spend $8 in the gas to drive to a sports bar, not to mention how much I would spend on food/drinks.
Click to expand...

But you are actually getting food and drink for that money :) Plus social interaction, people to taunt and laugh with. God I cant wait for Sunday!
 
H

hlhbk

Member
Pagusas said:
But you are actually getting food and drink for that money :) Plus social interaction, people to taunt and laugh with. God I cant wait for Sunday!
Click to expand...

You would easily pay $40 a week if you stay for all the games at a sports bar, and that doesn't include gas. I find sports bars annoying because you can't hear the games and some of the fans (most of them) are annoying and make me want to leave when I am there.
 
H

Heisenberg

Member
skinnyrattler said:
New thread for old news? I'm not sure why the NFL cannot get more money from all cable companies than from Direct TV. They probably don't want to have to deal with multiple cable companies. It's a shame. I have comcast and wouldn't touch Direct TV with a 10 foot pole. Not interested in going back to the 80s where a big storm fucks up the channel.
Click to expand...

Haha, that's funny because most people I know wouldn't touch Comcast with a 10 foot pole. I have Fios now in order to save money but I find myself really missing DirecTV quite often.

The fact that their HD picture quality is second-to-none and they have all major sports packages with every game in HD certainly beats out the fact that you might lose signal for a few minutes once or twice a year.
 
G

gcubed

Member
Heisenberg said:
Haha, that's funny because most people I know wouldn't touch Comcast with a 10 foot pole. I have Fios now in order to save money but I find myself really missing DirecTV quite often.

The fact that their HD picture quality is second-to-none and they have all major sports packages with every game in HD certainly beats out the fact that you might lose signal for a few minutes once or twice a year.
Click to expand...

do you live in Arizona?

anyway, it just reflects poorly on the NFL. I'm sure there is more money to be made offering it to everyone as well as selling online options then to continue this DTV charade.
 
Pagusas

Pagusas

Elden Member
hlhbk said:
You would easily pay $40 a week if you stay for all the games at a sports bar, and that doesn't include gas. I find sports bars annoying because you can't hear the games and some of the fans (most of them) are annoying and make me want to leave when I am there.
Click to expand...

Last year I payed over $800 at BWW and $130 at another local sports bar, so yes I know it can be expensive, but I love the atmospher its my favorite time of year and favorite thing to do so i see the money as very well spent. But it is possible to do it on the super cheap, as I've seen many people do it for little to no cost.

Regardless, back on topic, I wish we had this streaming service in the US as I'd still subscribe to it just to get to enjoy games when I'm traveling.
 
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