DirecTV Moves To Take Manhattan With Broadband Sunday Ticket
Satellite Leader Hikes $350 Package Into Play With Marketing Support
By Todd Spangler -- Multichannel News, 8/28/2009 2:20:12 PM
DirecTV is offering football-mad Manhattan residents who can't get satellite TV service in their apartment building a broadband-only version of the NFL Sunday Ticket package, priced $50 higher than the regular version.
The satellite operator is promoting the offer in New York with the tagline, "Call an audible on your landlord." Ads direct interested consumers to www.directv.com/manhattan.
"Manhattanites: No need to go roaming the city in search of a bar that's showing your favorite team," DirecTV's site says. "Just crack open a cold one and enjoy every NFL game, every Sunday, on your computer -- PC or Mac."
The satellite-less version of Sunday Ticket Online -- available to those who can't receive the out-of-market linear package -- costs $349.99. The service allows only one game to be viewed at a time, and blackout rules will apply for games broadcast in the New York metro area.
Elsewhere, those purchasing the online version must pay $100 as an add-on, in addition to $299.95 price for the popular Sunday Ticket TV package.
When DirecTV negotiated the extension to Sunday Ticket with the NFL in March, worth $4 billion over four years, it secured the rights to offer a broadband-only version of the package, but only to consumers who are unable to receive satellite service for various reasons.
Moreover, in concert with subsequent extensions with Sunday carriers Fox and CBS, NFL Network is now pitching NFL RedZone, the league's version of the Red Zone application that has been available via Sunday Ticket. Thus far, Comcast and Dish Network have signed on to offer NFL RedZone, which kicks off Sept. 13.
DirecTV spokesman Robert Mercer said the broadband-only version of Sunday Ticket for the 2009 season will be available only to residents in the borough of Manhattan.
"We wanted to test this service in a small area and Manhattan was a logical choice given the high level of building and line-of-sight issues," he wrote in an e-mail. "What we learn here will be applied to the national rollout."
That's slated to occur with the 2010-11 NFL campaign.
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350 is a joke, don't these people read the paper? That's a 2007 price. They'll get a few gamblers I'm sure, but like Mike Jones said, it doesn't make any sense for the average out of market fan living in NYC. Too easy to go to a bar.. and the bar costs less per game even with beer and wings.
Rory B. Bellows - 9/1/2009 10:54:07 PM EDT -
$380 with tax is just too much. Other leagues like mlb and nhl are around $125. Those leagues also have 80/160 game seasons.
If you are just following one out of market team you figure there are a couple games you can't make. A couple on Sunday Night+Monday Night. And then a couple more on national TV in your market. So am I going to pay $380 for 8-10 games? For $35 a game I can go to the corner bistro in manhattan and have a brunch with my family instead. Doesn't make sense.
mike jones - 8/31/2009 2:17:42 PM EDT
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