Originally Posted by
Johnny Bugmenot
Au contraire.
The reason they purposely limit the accessibility of Sunday Ticket is precisely because of money. As you alluded to, DirecTV is likely paying above market value for the exclusive rights to Sunday Ticket, possibly more than what they could earn from cable providers if they made it non-exclusive. Not only that, but Sunday Ticket broadcasts don't count toward the Nielsens for local TV stations or the networks, which means that it draws away from local affiliates (the same reason they have the blackout rules). Thus, if Sunday Ticket wasn't extremely limited, the television contracts would be worth less and with the TV contracts being the NFL's cash cow, that is the last thing they need or want.