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NFL Sunday Ticket available to more viewers without DirecTV subscription
By John Breech | CBSSports.com
August 10, 2015 4:20 pm CT

The biggest problem that most people have with "NFL Sunday Ticket" is that it's almost impossible to get unless you have a DirecTV subscription.

That's all going to change in 2015.

The satellite carrier, which is now owned by AT&T, announced on Monday that Sunday Ticket will now be available to almost anyone, even if they don't have a DirecTV subscription.

NFL fans willing to pony up $199-$359 will be able to stream every Sunday afternoon game this season. The packages will also be available in monthly installments that you can see below.

"Millions of people in apartments and houses in the US who were unable to install DIRECTV satellite dishes can now enjoy every out-of-market game, every Sunday afternoon on their favorite mobile and connected devices," DirecTV's senior vice president of marketing, Alex Kaplan, said.

Although the streaming of Sunday Ticket has been available since 2010, there have always been limitations.

For instance, DirecTV touted a similar streaming plan last year, but it was only to people who lived in apartment buildings where DirecTV service was unavailable and those apartments had to be located in metro New York, Philadelphia or San Francisco.

Now, DirecTV is opening up to almost anyone in any city who can't get service at their apartment, condominium or townhome.

The satellite provider is also introducing a Sunday Ticket plan for college students.

Last year, the college plan was $150 and only open to students at Michigan, Alabama, Washington, Texas, Southern California, Florida, Colorado, Syracuse, Ohio State and Harvard.

This year, the plan is only $99 (or $24.99/month for four months) and is available at over 300 schools. The $99 student plan will cost non-students $359.

For non-students, the cheapest package will cost $199. You can check out all the packages HERE .

Depending on what package you buy, you'll be able to stream games over devices that range from your phone to your tablet to your laptop to your Xbox to your Playstation 4.

The most expensive plan will also include the RedZone channel and DirecTV's Fantasy Zone channel.

I was able to do it last year on my PS3, but I didn't think I'd be able to watch enough games at home to justify the cost (Bears games, birthday parties, etc.).

But now they have a To-Go option (laptop, tablet, or phone). I'd always be able to watch through my phone. And it's only $200. Well, $200 isn't cheap, but that's $12.50 per Browns game. Plus, you can watch any out-of-market game too.

As a long time DirecTV and Sunday Ticket client, I can confidently say that Sunday Ticket is worth the price they're asking. I wonder, though, is this offer also open to people who can have DirecTV in their area and choose not to. "Now, DirecTV is opening up to almost anyone in any city who can't get service at their apartment, condominium or townhome" makes me think it isn't. I'd like to know for sure before I share this with family members who don't want DirecTV, but do want access to Sunday Ticket.

Yay! I'm so down for this.

If you follow the link in the article, you can check any address if this is available.

Honestly, I'd rather just head to the Pub with my Dad and watch it there with the other guys =) It's my greatest excuse to get out of the house alone.

That is ridiculous.

I've been getting it for 6 months at $29.99, $179.99 for the last 6 years. This year the best they would is 6 months at $44.99, $269.99. I went through three people, they all said I have gotten so many years at a discounted rate that it was time to PAY UP. When I finally said I wouldn't pay, they said okay have a nice day. It was almost like they didn't want my business.

I will call back the day before kickoff and see what I can get.

Does anyone know why DirectTV has exclusive rights to this venue?

They paid for it.

Thanks

I heard that deal is expiring soon? Either way, when i moved to florida last year and ordered direct tv with sunday ticket, they gave me 2014 and 2015 as part of the promo..its pretty nice

I'm sure they want your business, they just won't bend over for you anymore to get it.

Thank you, I completely overlooked that.

DirecTV scores NFL Sunday Ticket exclusivity for 8 more years

DirecTV and the National Football League announced Wednesday that they have agreed to extend and expand the satellite provider’s exclusive rights to carry the lucrative NFL Sunday Ticket and its package of every Sunday afternoon out-of-market game through a new multi-year agreement. The new pact also expands DirecTV’s rights to stream NFL Sunday Ticket live on mobile devices and via broadband, known as NFL Sunday Ticket.TV.

Specific terms of the agreement were not disclosed, though the Washington Post has reported the 8 year deal is worth $1.5 billion annually for the NFL.

Related: You’ll be able to stream NFL Sunday Ticket to your Mac or PC without getting DirecTV

The renewed contract will see DirecTV continue broadcasting its Red Zone channel and the new Fantasy Zone channel that debuted this season. DirecTV and the NFL also extended their NFL Network distribution relationship with the satellite provider to offer its customers “TV Everywhere” access to NFL Network at any time and on virtually any device. Additionally, DirecTV will continue offering all out-of-market Sunday afternoon games in high-definition.

For those who can’t get DirecTV satellite service, the company has three tiered offerings for its NFL Sunday Ticket.TV, from $200 to the $330 MAX bundle, with different combinations of device compatibility. Customers who purchase the NFL Sunday Ticket ‘Max’ season pass will also have access to the online/mobile service and be able to watch their games on computer, smartphone, tablet, or video game console. Max subscribers will also get a Game Mix channel with up to eight games on one screen and the ‘Short Cuts’ feature, which offers replays of each Sunday game in 30 commercial-free minutes.

DirecTV’s effort to secure the Sunday Ticket package has been a factor of paramount importance within an even larger deal: the proposed $48.5 billion merger between the satellite provider and AT&T. Not long after AT&T first revealed its plan to swallow up DirecTV back in May, critics and experts naturally began dissecting the content and fine print of AT&T’s official filing with the SEC. They discovered a tricky opt-out clause that essentially allowed AT&T to walk away from the potential merger in the event that DirecTV were unable to renew its lucrative contract with the NFL, and thus maintain exclusive rights to the Sunday Ticket package. Dish Network revealed it would potentially make a bid for the rights to the contract, which is potentially worth billions in revenue. In short, the deal was a make-or-break issue for the merger.

Last week DirecTV shareholders generated even more momentum for the proposed marriage of the two companies when they voted 99 percent in favor of the deal. The vote was the latest step in a multi-tiered process on the heels of AT&T’s filing with the FCC in June, which is still awaiting approval.

http://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theate...icket-contract/

FCC approves AT&T's acquisition of DirecTV

AT&T (T) completed its $49 billion acquisition of DirecTV (DTV) Friday after the Federal Communications Commission granted its approval, removing the companies' biggest hurdle in their desire to create the largest U.S. pay-TV provider.

AT&T, the nation's second largest wireless carrier that also provides pay-TV, Internet and phone services under the U-Verse brand, pursued DirecTV to expand its TV business nationally and enhance its negotiating power versus broadcast and cable networks that are demanding higher fees for their programs. DirecTV, whose satellite-based TV service is available nationally and has the exclusive rights to NFL Sunday Ticket, also enables AT&T to offer more bundled packages for their product options. For example, AT&T could offer rural market customers a package of wireless smartphone subscription, satellite TV, and Internet access delivered via wireless network. With the merger complete, AT&T now serves about 26 million TV customers.

The FCC's approval was expected and ends a review process that began when AT&T announced the deal in May, 2014. On Tuesday, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler confirmed he circulated to his fellow FCC commissioners the agency's proposed order approving the acquisition, with AT&T and DirecTV agreeing to some conditions.

AT&T is "now a fundamentally different company with a diversified set of capabilities and businesses," said AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson in a statement.

Even before Wheeler's recommendation, analysts had bet on the merger being approved as AT&T U-Verse's TV service -- with about 6 million customers -- is a small player in the TV market compared to other national cable providers. The relatively smooth approval process is in direct contrast with Comcast, whose bid to buy Time Warner Cable for $45 billion was quashed by regulators earlier this year.

While the two transactions were often compared, AT&T’s deal for DirecTV was different. Had Comcast bought TWC, the merged entity would have controlled more than half of the broadband Internet market. AT&T sought to mark the distinction, noting that DirecTV doesn't directly offer Internet.

Current customers of AT&T and DirecTV "will continue to receive their same services, channel lineups, and customer care," AT&T said. "Customer account information, online access and billing arrangements remain the same."

As a condition of the FCC's approval, AT&T agreed to expand its fiber Internet connection to 12.5 million customers within four years.

AT&T's U-Verse is currently offered in some markets in 21 states, and the merger removes a TV competitor in those areas. Requiring AT&T to boost Internet connections is "a pathway for increased competition" from video streaming companies in these affected markets, the FCC said.

AT&T will also offer the expanded broadband "gigabit services" to schools and libraries that receive federal subsidy for telecom services, the FCC said.

Since AT&T is "the only major (Internet service provider) that applies data caps" to its broadband customers," the company is required to refrain from favoring its own video streaming service by not subjecting it to monthly data caps. The premise of the condition is that customers, when given a choice, would theoretically prefer a video streaming option that is not subject to a cap. AT&T is working on its own video streaming service.

Because not all consumers can afford bundled packages, the FCC mandated AT&T to make available "an affordable, low-price standalone broadband service" to low-income consumers.

AT&T will have to submit to the FCC all agreements AT&T has with its "interconnection" partners, which are the middlemen companies that deliver data from content owners to AT&T's network. Consumer activists have called for more transparency regarding their practices to avoid deliberate slowing of data transmission and discrimination against content providers.

AT&T also agreed to report regularly to the FCC on its network performance and hire compliance officers.

John Bergmayer, an attorney at consumer technology advocacy group Public Knowledge, said the conditions weren't enough to address the fundamental telecommunications problem facing many Americans -- the lack of Internet and TV-video service competition in many markets.

“No one should imagine that this has solved the underlying problem of our lack of competition,” he said in a statement. “While we hope the proposed merger conditions are effective and enforced, they appear to show the limits of what certain types of merger conditions can do.”

AT&T said John Stankey will be CEO of AT&T Entertainment & Internet Services, which will run DirecTV and AT&T Home Solutions operations. DirecTV's Chairman and CEO Mike White will retire.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2015/07/24/fcc-approves-ts-acquisition-directv/30626421/

I don't know if AT&T acquiring DirecTV is why some are having trouble negotiating a lower price for The Sunday Ticket this year or not. I'll be crossing that bridge here very soon.

I checked the To GO package and I don't know enough about my devices to know if they qualify for service. I have 'The Nook' by Barnes and Noble and a Motorola Droid Maxx smart phone. Its screen is too small to watch.
BUT, my apartment building has at least two TV's. Does each TV have to have a different account to watch different games at the same time? As they do in bars. My tech knowledge went out of date when smart phones came out. Please message me about this.