DirecTV Renews N.F.L. Deal and Expands Access

[Kaiser Toro]

DirecTV renewed its deal as the N.F.L.’s exclusive satellite carrier Monday and will continue to offer the Sunday Ticket package of out-of-market afternoon games from 2011 to 2014. The deal will cost DirecTv $1 billion a year, a leap from the $700 million it pays annually.

The new agreement will offer features that fans without DirecTV have long wanted: access to the games shown exclusively on Sunday Ticket since 1994.
Fans living in areas where they cannot get DirecTV — from apartment buildings in New York City to homes with poor sightlines to a satellite signal — will be able to buy it on Broadband directly from the satellite carrier, no later than 2012.

Steve Bornstein, the league’s executive vice president of media, said some eligibility process would be imposed by DirecTV. But he added: “The intent is to serve the underserved. People who can’t get it, for whatever reason, will be able to get it.” He said buildings where managements or co-op boards have refused to allow dishes will probably be able to get the service.

Also, Sunday Ticket’s Red Zone Channel will be made available, for a fee, again no later than 2012, to Dish; telephone companies like Verizon and AT&T; wireless; and Internet providers. The four-year-old Red Zone Channel provides highlights and live look-ins to games when teams are inside their opponents’ 20-yard line.

“This is the first time we’ve offered a complementary product like this,” Bornstein said.

DirecTV’s exclusive hold on Sunday Ticket has been a sore point for cable operators like Comcast, Time Warner and Cablevision. Cablevision had said it would distribute the NFL Network if it could offer Sunday Ticket. But negotiations to expand Sunday Ticket to cable have failed. Also, the league is in litigation with Comcast over distribution of the NFL Network, a case that has some roots in the Sunday Ticket issue.

“This is a great opportunity for Big Cable to sit down and talk about a better relationship with the N.F.L,” Bornstein said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/24/sp...4sandomir.html

[ChrisG]

SOB!!!!!

back to the bars...i guess i get the good with the bad

drinks at bar = good
blowing my paycheck each week = bad

[Blake]

I love DirecTV. I am very happy with what I pay for. And I will be getting Sunday ticket again this year.

[BigWig]

Good news for me! I have had Direct Tv for over 15 years now and would not have it any other way.

[False Start]

Love my Sunday Ticket!!