DirecTV Sets ‘Ticket’ Blitz

Major Campaign To Back Enhanced Version Of NFL Out-Of-Market Package

By Mike Reynolds -- Multichannel News, 8/2/2010 12:01:00 AM

DirecTV is backing an enhanced “NFL Sunday Ticket” offering with its largest advertising campaign behind the out-ofmarket pro-football package.
The top satellite TV provider is melding four features previously included in its SuperFan tier into its base package offering, priced at $300. Previously, SuperFan subscribers paid $99 on top of their Sunday Ticket subscriber price. The more robust offering comes as DirecTV, which counts some 2 million NFL Sunday Ticket subscribers, faces more competition for pro pigskin dollars from NFL RedZone, the scoring highlights channel that NFL Network rolled out last season and included such affiliates as Comcast, AT&T, Verizon Communications and RCN, among others. A league spokesman said more deals, tied to carriage of its NFL Network, had been inked during the off season, and negotiations continue with other prospective carriers.
NFL.com is introducing a streaming package of all 65 NFL preseason games for $40 this year.
Verizon, as the league’s new official wireless sponsor, also will offer a cell phone version of NFL RedZone this upcoming season, under its NFL Mobile heading.

SUNDAY TICKET HIGHLIGHTS
Subscribers to DirecTV’s NFL Sunday Ticket, which showcases all of the pro football league’s Sunday afternoon action, now will receive the HD Games, every Sunday NFL game in the high-definition format; the Game Mix, featuring up to eight live games simultaneously, replete with scores, clock and field position on channel 702; RedZone, access to every scoring drive on channel 703; and Short Cuts, 30-minute, commercial- free cutdowns of every NFL game on channels 704 and 705.
Sunday Ticket’s Emmy Awardwinning Player Tracker and realtime scores and stats are also included.
“We’ve made every NFL Sunday Ticket customer a ‘superfan’ this year by rolling in HD, Game Mix, RedZone and Short Cuts to the package at no extra charge, taking the single most compelling sports subscription service to another level and creating the best value in the 16-year history of this exclusive package,” Derek Chang, executive vice president, content strategy and development for DirecTV, said in a statement. “With our brawnier NFL package and our enhanced mobile and online service that lets fans watch live games wherever they are, there is no better football viewing experience, anywhere.” The service is available to subscribers in five increments of $59.99.

MOBILE ACCESS
Sunday Ticket subscribers will have to pay an additional $50 if they want access to the action on their computer or cell phone.
The NFL Sunday Ticket To- Go service, giving access to the games online and via mobile devices wherever they are, is available through DirecTV.com to users with a wide range of devices, including the iPad; iPhone; iPod Touch; Android or BlackBerry smartphones with 3G or WiFi; the Palm Pre and Pixi smartphone models; and various Windows Mobile devices. Enhancements include improved video quality, enhanced design, league and team schedules, results, and instantaneous stats.
Online users will have access to new Game Mix and picture-inpicture modes, plus DVR scheduling for games and shortcuts. NFL Sunday Ticket To-Go can be purchased for five payments of $9.95.

ADVERTISING PUSH
From an advertising perspective, DirecTV will launch a campaign, reportedly valued at some $100 million, on Aug. 7 with nine different commercials from the DBS provider’s agency of record, Deutsch.
Centering on the dedication of fans, displaced and otherwise, as well as Sunday Ticket’s portability, the spots will run on CBS, NBC, Fox and ESPN.
There is also a 40-page insert in the Sept. 6 issue of Sports Illustrated, the magazine’s pro football preview issue, as well as quiz material in the form of iAds on iPhones and iPads.
DirecTV also will push a broadband version of NFL Sunday Ticket to apartment dwellers and those with poor exposure to the southern sky, about a week before the first Sunday games on Sept. 12. Last year, the DBS leader tested the service in Manhattan. The purchase price is $350.