If they cared about the fans

[trapezeus]

I know there are a ton of politics on why the NFL ticket is only on Directv, but with owners and fans trying to get fans to respect them, it would have been nice if they put the politics aside on this issue and put the NFL ticket on cable so everyone could get it.

but as per usual, only the players and owners get the breaks from a lockout. we just got stuck with the bill

[PromoTheRobot]

They don't care about fans. They care only about $$$. Direct TV pays a premium to keep Sunday Ticket off Dish Network and cable.

PTR

[psubills62]

Why would they do that? The discussions were all about how to split the pot of gold, not make it less.

[lightningbolt444]

Why would they do that? The discussions were all about how to split the pot of gold, not make it less.

This. If you want the Ticket so bad then switch to Direct Tv? I switched last year and so far like it much better than cable all around.

[cpearl]

First of all Directv is so much better than cable. But that's another discussion.

As a fan, especially a Bills fan (small market team), we want these big TV deals like the one the NFL has with Directv. These TV deals provide $100+ million to each team, each year. If it wasn't for these deals, the Bills wouldn't be able to make close to a profit or meet the cap demands. And the team, therefore, would likely be in LA.

[trapezeus]

can't. i don't get reception in my apartment because i'm blocked by another building. i would if i could.

i actually think they'd make more. more people have access to cable. in the city alone, most people can't get directv. so you have the population of manhattan sitting in bars talking about how they'd rather be at home watching on TV but they can't.

and a little competition never hurt. could lower the price the companies charge while at the same time increasing the revenues the NFL charges to cable and directv.

[Raptor]

First of all Directv is so much better than cable. But that's another discussion.

As a fan, especially a Bills fan (small market team), we want these big TV deals like the one the NFL has with Directv. These TV deals provide $100+ million to each team, each year. If it wasn't for these deals, the Bills wouldn't be able to make close to a profit or meet the cap demands. And the team, therefore, would likely be in LA.


Agreed


and on the topic, i would rather have had them put in something that says the TV blackout can be lifted once a year or something along those lines

[better days]

I know there are a ton of politics on why the NFL ticket is only on Directv, but with owners and fans trying to get fans to respect them, it would have been nice if they put the politics aside on this issue and put the NFL ticket on cable so everyone could get it.

but as per usual, only the players and owners get the breaks from a lockout. we just got stuck with the bill

Aside from everything already said, the NFL has a contract in place with Direct TV so they could not offer it to cable even if they wanted to which they don't.

Money aside, the NFL needs to limit the amount of viewers the ticket gets because they don't want to devalue the local TV market.

[OpIv37]

I'm ok with Sunday Ticket only being on DirecTV because cable sucks, but I'm moving in a few weeks and there is a small chance that I won't be able to make the dish work at the new location.

If that happens, I'll be changing my tune.

[bf1]

I agree. I'd take it a step further and allow fans to buy the games they want. Like a pay per view (with volume discounts/packages, etc). I'd bet my house that the money they'd lose in revenue from selling every game would be doubled in money they made with a ppv format.

I have to laugh every time I hear how the NFL are such great marketers. They are atrocious. But the sport itself if so loved.

[psubills62]

I agree. I'd take it a step further and allow fans to buy the games they want. Like a pay per view (with volume discounts/packages, etc). I'd bet my house that the money they'd lose in revenue from selling every game would be doubled in money they made with a ppv format.

I have to laugh every time I hear how the NFL are such great marketers. They are atrocious. But the sport itself if so loved.
The bolded part would be ideal. But that seems very similar to cable companies allowing people to purchase only channels they want instead of whole packages - the package deal is how they really make money.

[bf1]

The bolded part would be ideal. But that seems very similar to cable companies allowing people to purchase only channels they want instead of whole packages - the package deal is how they really make money.

it's a little different since these are live events, not channels.

I get and pay for the entire package (because I have to), but it's impossible to watch 5 simultaneous 1pm games. I bet given this and the price point it discourages a ton of business that would gladly pay less for just one (or two or three) games instead of every single one.

[bf1]

What's funny too in light of the other thread about threatening to cancel... I did that last year and the girl's pitch to me was to compare the price of going to 16 games a week to the price of the ticket. I had to laugh.

[ddaryl]

I beleive you can purchase the Sunday ticket on the intranets.. so if you have a TV capable of connecting to your PC and $350 bucks your good to go

[bf1]

I beleive you can purchase the Sunday ticket on the intranets.. so if you have a TV capable of connecting to your PC and $350 bucks your good to go

If I'm not mistaken, that's only in areas that can't get a dish (like apartment buildings in nyc).

that might have changed though...

[Johnny Bugmenot]

TV contracts aren't part of the CBA-- never have been, never will be. They're not even associated, and the players have zero control over it. The league makes those decisions as it sees fit with the networks.

But, at the very least, I wouldn't mind allowing each of CBS's and Fox's smaller networks (CW, MyNetwork) picking up additional games each week and ditching the "no opposing games" blackout rule. A nice way of expanding the football games available without jeopardizing Sunday Ticket's exclusivity.

[better days]

I agree. I'd take it a step further and allow fans to buy the games they want. Like a pay per view (with volume discounts/packages, etc). I'd bet my house that the money they'd lose in revenue from selling every game would be doubled in money they made with a ppv format.

I have to laugh every time I hear how the NFL are such great marketers. They are atrocious. But the sport itself if so loved.

Pay per view is what killed boxing. Before pay per view the big matches were on HBO & Showtime. Many people subscribed to them mainly because of the boxing. Then PPV started & made HUGE money at 1st. Then people realized, "I just paid all that money & it's over in 5 min." Well, football would be the same. People would pay to watch the best teams but nobody would pay to watch a bad team on a game by game basis.