Death to Google Ads! Texans Talk Tip Jar! 🍺😎👍
Thanks for your support!

A cheaper alternative to SundayTicket: Only $40

GP

GP

Go Texans!
You can pay $40 and watch every game, any game, every week, in HD with full DVR controls (pause, fast forward, rewind) with GameRewind at THIS LINK.

The only downside is that you don't watch it LIVE. You'd have to skip the weekend, and wait for it to pop up during the week. And, you'd have to refrain from watching any of the weekend highlight shows or looking at scoring updates or newspapers, etc., until you watch the game on the Internet.

However, if you're away from your home on weekends, or you can't pay the SundayTicket price, or you have the discipline to do non-TV-watching things on Sundays, then this could be a great thing for you.

For me, I love getting up and fixing my snacks Sunday morning...watching the pregame shows, watching the games at eating snacks. It's just a habit that has been formed since I was a boy growing up in a home where you watched NFL on Sundays. But this might work for some of you.
 
Dish and TWC, separate channel to purchase and pay $7-8/month for the whole season.

DIRECTV - if you have been with them for a while, you can negotiate with them to get it separate if you don't want Sunday Ticket. I think it's the same price as Dish/TWC.
 
What really pisses me off is that DirecTV is GIVING AWAY the SundayTicket for free if you switch from a competitor to DirecTV.

I'm going to call and say, "Umm, listen up: I have been with you guys for the past 11 years, and have had Sunday Ticket every year. I want it for at least half price...or I'm going to pay $40 and do the Internet option at NFL.com. Your call: Lose me on SundayTicket completely, or half price and I stay."

It's ridiculous to have to pay them full price for a product you buy every year, especially when it's a deal like mine where I have never switched in the past 11 years. I'm a freaking gold mine for DirecTV. Just give me a break every now and then.
 
On Cramcast Red Zone is included in the Sports Tier. It really is the best channel to watch football.
 
GP said:
What really pisses me off is that DirecTV is GIVING AWAY the SundayTicket for free if you switch from a competitor to DirecTV.

I'm going to call and say, "Umm, listen up: I have been with you guys for the past 11 years, and have had Sunday Ticket every year. I want it for at least half price...or I'm going to pay $40 and do the Internet option at NFL.com. Your call: Lose me on SundayTicket completely, or half price and I stay."

It's ridiculous to have to pay them full price for a product you buy every year, especially when it's a deal like mine where I have never switched in the past 11 years. I'm a freaking gold mine for DirecTV. Just give me a break every now and then.
Click to expand...

I was gonna call also, but I was gonna demand they give me the same deal they're giving the new customers and see where that takes me.
 
jaayteetx said:
I was gonna call also, but I was gonna demand they give me the same deal they're giving the new customers and see where that takes me.
Click to expand...

Might make sense to start big and negotiate down (if needed).

I don't think they should run a FREE promo just to get new subscribers and expect long-time customers to pay full price for the same thing. They say they want loyalty, then show ME some loyalty too. That'll be one of the things I say if they argue with me.

For the record, last year I called and negotiated them down. I'm tempted to just say, "Look, obviously I call every year and get it bumped down. Just mark me down as someone who will call every year...so go ahead and mark me for the reduced price too. No need in us doing this every year."
 
does anyone know when the games actually post up? Monday morning or Tuesday after MNF?

If I could figure how to play it over wii or xbox on my tv, that would be perfect, as I spend half my weekends outdoors hiking/rafting/camping, etc..

but if I have to resign to watching it on my 20" monitor... fughetaboudit
 
_superMario90_ said:
does anyone know when the games actually post up? Monday morning or Tuesday after MNF?

If I could figure how to play it over wii or xbox on my tv, that would be perfect, as I spend half my weekends outdoors hiking/rafting/camping, etc..

but if I have to resign to watching it on my 20" monitor... fughetaboudit
Click to expand...

Get online and search for a device called Roku. It's like $99 and it connects to your Internet jack, then a line goes from the Roku to your TV. Allows you to watch Internet content on your TV.

I am not sure if you can browse the Internet, though, or if it's just a deal where you have to use existing Internet "apps" like NetFlix. You need to search online or go to an electronics store and talk to someone in the TV department.
 
GP said:
Get online and search for a device called Roku. It's like $99 and it connects to your Internet jack, then a line goes from the Roku to your TV. Allows you to watch Internet content on your TV.

I am not sure if you can browse the Internet, though, or if it's just a deal where you have to use existing Internet "apps" like NetFlix. You need to search online or go to an electronics store and talk to someone in the TV department.
Click to expand...

IS that like a slingbox?
 
Doppelganger said:
IS that like a slingbox?
Click to expand...

Here is the Roku, a fairly small and simple box:

Netflix_Player_by_Roku_1.jpg


A slingbox, IIRC, is a device that connects to your TV and it then pipes your TV content through the Internet to you wherever you are--If you have a laptop, and you're traveling, you can be in a hotel with your laptop and watch whatever is on your TV back at your house.

When looking at the Roku, I don't think it has the ability to just browse the Internet. It looks like you have to choose from various preexisting "apps" such as NetFlix or Pandora Radio or Hulu, etc.

Does anybody know of a product that you can connect an Internet line to, then the product to the TV, so you can browse Internet on your TV? (1) I know full well that you can connect your computer to a modern flatscreen via a VGA or HDMI cord (a monitor "out" cord), and I know (2) that TVs are now being made with built-in Internet browsing and a separate QWERTY keyboard for typing in the address to websites.

What I think people want know is: Is there a box or product, similar to Roku, that connects to your TV and provides a browsing scenario for looking at all web content and not just preexisting apps?
 
GP said:
Get online and search for a device called Roku. It's like $99 and it connects to your Internet jack, then a line goes from the Roku to your TV. Allows you to watch Internet content on your TV.

I am not sure if you can browse the Internet, though, or if it's just a deal where you have to use existing Internet "apps" like NetFlix. You need to search online or go to an electronics store and talk to someone in the TV department.
Click to expand...

There are only pre-defined "channels" like Netflix, Pandora, Amazon, Hulu, etc.

You add the channels you want via the Channel Store. You normally have to "register" your device so the service (Netflix, Amazon, etc.) associates your Roku to you. There is a MLB channel and a NHL channel to watch live games through it but no NFL.

I've got this (the HD version of the Roku box) with Amazon and Pandora and I love it. I don't use it for a ton of stuff, though. Yet. I'm hoping more channels that I like/want are going to come on. Or I'll add Netflix or Hulu at some point.
 
I have to find a way to get them to drop Sunday Ticket also. Utterly ridiculous that it's free for new subscribers.
 
I was going to call and complain too until I looked at my account and Direct tv still hasn't charged me for this year's Sunday Ticket even though it shows that I have it. I know they said they weren't going to charge for ST until the games were scheduled - but the games are and DTV hasn't. Have you folks already been charged?
 
Buffi2 said:
I was going to call and complain too until I looked at my account and Direct tv still hasn't charged me for this year's Sunday Ticket even though it shows that I have it. I know they said they weren't going to charge for ST until the games were scheduled - but the games are and DTV hasn't. Have you folks already been charged?
Click to expand...

I think they delayed the start of billing until September. IIRC, there was a tidbit about how they were going to delay billing.

Dream on if you think you're going to get unnoticed by DirecTV. They know what cereal you eat, the combination to your gym locker, and what you made on your algebra final in college (and they are NOT impressed with that, btw).
 
My Dad told me the first 50 dollar charge was on the bill already. Not sure though.

I feel like they hear the "well if new customers get it for free, why cant we?" schtick way too often for it to be effective, though.

What's the best way to call? Immediately ask for retentions? Tell the main CSR that you want to cancel it? Ask for a discount from the CSR then ask for retentions?
 
TheMatrix31 said:
My Dad told me the first 50 dollar charge was on the bill already. Not sure though.

I feel like they hear the "well if new customers get it for free, why cant we?" schtick way too often for it to be effective, though.

What's the best way to call? Immediately ask for retentions? Tell the main CSR that you want to cancel it? Ask for a discount from the CSR then ask for retentions?
Click to expand...

Last year, I told them I couldn't afford it at full price and I wasn't going to renew it unless they gave me a pretty big discount. Then I paused for about a half-second and added "Plus, if you look at your records...I've been with you guys for 10 or 11 years now, purchased SundayTicket every year, and I want to purchase it again this year...but I just can't afford it. Can you help?"

They said they could, and I got like $200 off or maybe a bit more. Can't remember. There's a thread dedicated to it: Thread link here.

Here's what happened way back a long time ago (post #23 in the thread link I supplied you) when I called them and asked for a discount:

My original payment plan, with Superfan, was 369.99.

He took the grand total down to 149.44.

That's a $220 savings, just for calling and sticking to the script.

Me: "Yeah, I am thinking about cancelling. I have been a customer for almost 10 years, I have two HD DVRs, I order UFC PPVs all the time, PPV movies every now and then, and I just wondered if you guys could help out on Sunday Ticket."

His answer: "Sure, no problem. Just give me a second to look at your account history." ....pause while I stay on the line... "OK, I adjusted that for you. We went from $369.99 to $149.44 and kept the Superfan on there for you."

Cha-ching.

Rep to Stingray, and an imaginary mug of frosty cold beer.
Click to expand...
 
I'm on the phone with them now. Got me on hold, probably approving my request with her manager.

I got even more blunt this time: "Hey, I want to re-order SundayTicket but I've been with you guys for like 12 years now and I want it at the price you've given it to me before." She asked how much, and I replied, "Well, it was originally 369.99 but the guy took it down to 149.99."

She goes, "OK. Let me look here and see what I can do. Can I put you on hold?"

So now I'm on hold still....let's see what her reply is. I'm going to say "Well, I can just unsubscribe and go watch it at Buffalo Wild Wings and eat some wings and drink some beer for under what I would have spent on SundayTicket each week. Does DirecTV want $149.99 or $0?"

But I don't think it will come down to that.

Still on hold. She must have a game on Farmville she needs to finish up.

Damn, she wouldn't budge. Nothing I said made a dent. Her best offer was to take $20 off my current DirecTV package, for 6 months, which essentially reduces my overall bill by $120. Basically, I got $120 off of SundayTicket.

152.96 in a 6-month period is what I am paying for the whole SundayTicket package. That's $25.49 per month, which is about $6.37 per Sunday. Not too bad, but it hurts that I know I got it for much cheaper way back in the past.

Apparently, DirecTV intends to entice new customers and throw a small bone to their loyal customers.

I put her through the wringer. At the end, I said "OK, I might as well save $120 while I can, I hope you know it's nothing personal...I am just trying to save the most money I can." She was nice and said she would have done the same thing if the tables were turned. Still sucks that I didn't get it at the same price.

And apparently, you have to be GONE from them for at least 2 years in order to be considered for the "new customer" benefit of getting SundayTiccket for free. So don't try that angle, or you'll just get burned.
 
GP said:
I'm on the phone with them now. Got me on hold, probably approving my request with her manager.

I got even more blunt this time: "Hey, I want to re-order SundayTicket but I've been with you guys for like 12 years now and I want it at the price you've given it to me before." She asked how much, and I replied, "Well, it was originally 369.99 but the guy took it down to 149.99."

She goes, "OK. Let me look here and see what I can do. Can I put you on hold?"

So now I'm on hold still....let's see what her reply is. I'm going to say "Well, I can just unsubscribe and go watch it at Buffalo Wild Wings and eat some wings and drink some beer for under what I would have spent on SundayTicket each week. Does DirecTV want $149.99 or $0?"

But I don't think it will come down to that.

Still on hold. She must have a game on Farmville she needs to finish up.

Damn, she wouldn't budge. Nothing I said made a dent. Her best offer was to take $20 off my current DirecTV package, for 6 months, which essentially reduces my overall bill by $120. Basically, I got $120 off of SundayTicket.

152.96 in a 6-month period is what I am paying for the whole SundayTicket package. That's $25.49 per month, which is about $6.37 per Sunday. Not too bad, but it hurts that I know I got it for much cheaper way back in the past.

Apparently, DirecTV intends to entice new customers and throw a small bone to their loyal customers.

I put her through the wringer. At the end, I said "OK, I might as well save $120 while I can, I hope you know it's nothing personal...I am just trying to save the most money I can." She was nice and said she would have done the same thing if the tables were turned. Still sucks that I didn't get it at the same price.

And apparently, you have to be GONE from them for at least 2 years in order to be considered for the "new customer" benefit of getting SundayTiccket for free. So don't try that angle, or you'll just get burned.
Click to expand...

Well thanks for the info GP. I just signed up last year. I think I'll give it a shot.

edit: just got off the phone. $100 discount is all they were willing to do for me so vugg 'em. Did without till now, will continue to do so.
 
Last edited:
I called them and no discount for Sun Ticket. The very nice young man said he would lose his job if he gave a discount :ahhaha: that's what he said. However, he did give me a great price on a whole home dvr which I've wanted for awhile now but couldn't afford it. He threw in a few movie channels for free for 3 months (the old Direct TV trick), no extra $$ for the whole home dvr and a $5/month credit for 6 months.

While the sun ticket wasn't discounted - the whole home dvr was cut by more than the price of the sun ticket - two for the price of one, so to speak. The very nice young man was good at what he does.
 
Buffi2 said:
I called them and no discount for Sun Ticket. The very nice young man said he would lose his job if he gave a discount :ahhaha: that's what he said. However, he did give me a great price on a whole home dvr which I've wanted for awhile now but couldn't afford it. He threw in a few movie channels for free for 3 months (the old Direct TV trick), no extra $$ for the whole home dvr and a $5/month credit for 6 months.

While the sun ticket wasn't discounted - the whole home dvr was cut by more than the price of the sun ticket - two for the price of one, so to speak. The very nice young man was good at what he does.
Click to expand...

I love hearing these stories.

I had a black lady "assisting" me and she was not going to give this white piece of bread the love I wanted. I could tell, in the tone and inflection of her voice, that she was lovin' every minute of my begging. LOL. Oh well, what the hell. It was fun to haggle over something trivial.

We need you guys to make calls to DirecTV and see what they give you. Or don't give you! LOL.
 
GP said:
You can pay $40 and watch every game, any game, every week, in HD with full DVR controls (pause, fast forward, rewind) with GameRewind at THIS LINK.

The only downside is that you don't watch it LIVE. You'd have to skip the weekend, and wait for it to pop up during the week. And, you'd have to refrain from watching any of the weekend highlight shows or looking at scoring updates or newspapers, etc., until you watch the game on the Internet.

However, if you're away from your home on weekends, or you can't pay the SundayTicket price, or you have the discipline to do non-TV-watching things on Sundays, then this could be a great thing for you.

For me, I love getting up and fixing my snacks Sunday morning...watching the pregame shows, watching the games at eating snacks. It's just a habit that has been formed since I was a boy growing up in a home where you watched NFL on Sundays. But this might work for some of you.
Click to expand...

I been rollin' with Gamerewind since 2008. Tenyard is still up and
handlin' business, too.
 
GP said:
How soon is GameRewind posted, though?
Click to expand...

Usually by noon the next day. I've used it the past two years during the season.. I hate that they take down the videos for the off-season though. Paid for it the first year, and was a consciousness objector the second.
 
Section516 said:
Usually by noon the next day. I've used it the past two years during the season.. I hate that they take down the videos for the off-season though. Paid for it the first year, and was a consciousness objector the second.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the information!

So by noon on Monday, a GameRewind subscriber can watch the Sunday game.

That's not a bad deal if you're a person who is away on weekends (work a weekend shift, or out of town a lot, or like to play outdoors). In those scenarios, you're paying a lot less and getting to watch the games...you just gotta' stay away from news feeds though. LOL.

I can't stand watching a game after it's been played and I already know if we won or lost. The whole fun of watching the game is the suspense of not knowing if you'll win or lose. That's a huge factor.
 
GP said:
Thanks for the information!

So by noon on Monday, a GameRewind subscriber can watch the Sunday game.

That's not a bad deal if you're a person who is away on weekends (work a weekend shift, or out of town a lot, or like to play outdoors). In those scenarios, you're paying a lot less and getting to watch the games...you just gotta' stay away from news feeds though. LOL.

I can't stand watching a game after it's been played and I already know if we won or lost. The whole fun of watching the game is the suspense of not knowing if you'll win or lose. That's a huge factor.
Click to expand...

Well, I go to Texans games on Sundays, have weekend duty once a month, and typically watch a game and then for some odd reason (not alcohol, i swear!) fall asleep. So, its good for me. And i don't mind knowing the outcome, it's still fun to watch how it happened.
 
For those that can't watch games live, or don't have access to NFL Redzone, try Google TV. The Logitech Revue with Google TV is now $99. It's the full internet on your TV, and you can even use picture-in-picture with live TV and internet content both on your screen. The only downside is the remote is a wireless keyboard. If you're not comfortable searching the web or streaming games, it might not be for you.

1257136_sa.jpg


Link to Logitech version

You can also buy a Sony blu ray player with Wifi and Google TV built into it. It even comes with the actual remote for Google TV instead of an alternative remote.

1235001cv3a.jpg


Link to Sony Blu Ray player with Google TV

I used Best Buy as an example, you can find these at any electronic store or website. Google TV is useful for internet browsing (obviously), and streaming internet content such as NFL, NBA, MLB, Boxing, MMA, etc.
 
The whole thing about Sunday is sitting down and paying attention to everything going on at the same time. Football is not nearly as fun otherwise. Sundays are EVENTS.

Watching it delayed or the next day? No can do.
 
The Sunday Ticket thing pisses me off to no end. I can't believe this BS. It's the only reason I subscribe to DirecTV. I might be going a different route shortly if something doesn't change.
 
Just called retentions. I wasn't sure because she was an Indian-sounding voice but she confirmed that she was.

Anyway, I told her that we have financial issues and all that, and that we've been loyal and ordered ST for so long, and if there was anything she could do for me so I didn't have to cancel it. She offered me the 20 bucks off per month on the Ticket. I told her that was still a bit and I still wasn't crazy about that. She wasn't really budging so I asked her if there were other credits she could offer to offset that charge. She offered me free HD service for 6 months, which is 60 bucks. So if the base package is 330 and I'm only getting 120 (20 x 6) off, that's 210. Then she only offered 60 bucks off with the free HD service. Still comes out to 150. Is it me or is that pretty weak?

She also offered me a free HD-DVR upgrade for one of our receivers because we were eligible. Only had to renew for 2 years. That was something we were looking into anyway. She waived all the fees and all that. Then she gave us free Showtime for 3 months.

What do you guys think? Should I call and try my luck with someone else tomorrow and say something like "Yeah, after discussing with my parents and family, we decided that its still too much, and was wondering if you can knock it down further?". What would be the best course of action? Best to just leave it alone?
 
TheMatrix31 said:
Just called retentions. I wasn't sure because she was an Indian-sounding voice but she confirmed that she was.

Anyway, I told her that we have financial issues and all that, and that we've been loyal and ordered ST for so long, and if there was anything she could do for me so I didn't have to cancel it. She offered me the 20 bucks off per month on the Ticket. I told her that was still a bit and I still wasn't crazy about that. She wasn't really budging so I asked her if there were other credits she could offer to offset that charge. She offered me free HD service for 6 months, which is 60 bucks. So if the base package is 330 and I'm only getting 120 (20 x 6) off, that's 210. Then she only offered 60 bucks off with the free HD service. Still comes out to 150. Is it me or is that pretty weak?

She also offered me a free HD-DVR upgrade for one of our receivers because we were eligible. Only had to renew for 2 years. That was something we were looking into anyway. She waived all the fees and all that. Then she gave us free Showtime for 3 months.

What do you guys think? Should I call and try my luck with someone else tomorrow and say something like "Yeah, after discussing with my parents and family, we decided that its still too much, and was wondering if you can knock it down further?". What would be the best course of action? Best to just leave it alone?
Click to expand...

You've maxed out, IMO.

Man, back about two years ago...I was eligible for a free HD DVR upgrade and have never been offered one since. At the time I was told they would only give me ONE per year. So if I got an HD DVR on Jan. 1 2009, I wouldn't be eligible for another one until Jan. 1 2010.

The only thing is that I have called a few times, and they have never told me I could have an HD DVR despite saying two years ago that I could have one every year.

I think they run special promos, then drop them whenever they want...OR, they string you out like a crack dealer. So YOU are eligible for the HD DVR upgrade like I was two years ago, but you ain't gonna' sniff that good stuff no more for the next few years.

Stringing us out, man. That's my theory.
 
TheMatrix31 said:
My Dad told me the first 50 dollar charge was on the bill already. Not sure though.

I feel like they hear the "well if new customers get it for free, why cant we?" schtick way too often for it to be effective, though.

What's the best way to call? Immediately ask for retentions? Tell the main CSR that you want to cancel it? Ask for a discount from the CSR then ask for retentions?
Click to expand...

Threaten to move services.
 
I'm thinking I'm maxed out too. I figure 150 (what amounts to, anyway) is better than 330. 75 each, for my bro and I, for 4 months of entertainment is reasonable, even if I'm jobless at the moment lol.
 
Rick_Moon said:
For those that can't watch games live, or don't have access to NFL Redzone, try Google TV. The Logitech Revue with Google TV is now $99. It's the full internet on your TV, and you can even use picture-in-picture with live TV and internet content both on your screen. The only downside is the remote is a wireless keyboard. If you're not comfortable searching the web or streaming games, it might not be for you.

1257136_sa.jpg


Link to Logitech version

You can also buy a Sony blu ray player with Wifi and Google TV built into it. It even comes with the actual remote for Google TV instead of an alternative remote.

1235001cv3a.jpg


Link to Sony Blu Ray player with Google TV

I used Best Buy as an example, you can find these at any electronic store or website. Google TV is useful for internet browsing (obviously), and streaming internet content such as NFL, NBA, MLB, Boxing, MMA, etc.
Click to expand...

I have the LogiTech device on one TV then bought one of them newfangled HDTVs with WiFi built in. I may go with NFL GameRewind since I can watch them on my fiddy-inch screen instead of a laptop

Plus Dish TV has NFL RedZone as part of it's sports pkg. I have to confess that I hardly watch a Texans game all the way through for sneaking (extended) peeks at RedZone.
 
I tried to negotiate just getting the RedZone channel, but they wouldn't let me do that. I got them to knock $20 off a month as well, but I'm still not very happy. I think I'm going to try to negotiate again before the first bill is due, but we'll see.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top