Breaking: Businesses continue to get NFL Sunday Ticket through DIRECTV

Thanks to the eagle-eyed folks at SatelliteGuys.US who noticed this before I did.

The deal is done. Commercial customers who want NFL Sunday Ticket will be able to get it through DIRECTV as they always have. According to the press release available at DIRECTV.com, the company has reached an agreement with EverPass Media, holders of commercial rights for NFL Sunday Ticket, which will keep the package on Satellite TV for years to come.

Owners of bars and restaurants can now breathe a sigh of relief knowing that the quality television service they’ve enjoyed for over 20 years will continue. A lot of establishments count on live sports to bring customers in and keep them in their seats. Your typical sports bar more or less makes it their business model. And now, as always, all the major sports leagues are represented by one company: DIRECTV.

This is a good match and a smart business deal​

DIRECTV has stated several times in past years that it’s the commercial part of the NFL deal which makes money. Uptake on the residential side is said to have been flagging for some time, possibly due to the package being on the more expensive side. Allowing Google to pay the NFL’s asking price for residential rights may end up actually creating more profit for DIRECTV than if they had kept the residential rights.

This may be the minority opinion but…​

I have personally come under fire for my prediction about residential NFL Sunday Ticket. I think it’s going to be a very rocky road for Google come the fall. DIRECTV itself had problems with streaming NFL games for years. It always took about three weeks to fix them. Now I know Google is a big company that already handles a lot of streaming video. I get that. But on NFL days, they’ll be handling all the streaming video they normally do, plus NFL games. And remember too it’s not just Google. It’s not just the intermediary companies that take the traffic demands off Google. You also need a local infrastructure that’s up to the task.

I personally think that a lot of areas don’t have robust enough internet to handle everyone streaming live TV at the same time. Try to stream something on a Saturday night and see how well it works for you. For many folks, it’s an exercise in frustration. Now imagine all that traffic was coming into local network switching offices from just one source. I think it’s a recipe for disaster.

Well, I guess we shall see. All I can say is, if you try to stream NFL games at home and it doesn’t work, head over to your local bar. They’ll get the game over satellite and there won’t be a problem.

If you’re a bar owner who hasn’t yet upgraded to DIRECTV, call the experts at Signal Connect. They’ll get you set up in plenty of time, no matter how many TVs you have and how many patrons are watching. Call us at 888-233-7563 during East Coast business hours. If it’s after hours, just fill out the form below. We’ll get right back to you!


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[Radioguy41]

I have personally come under fire for my prediction about residential NFL Sunday Ticket. I think it’s going to be a very rocky road for Google come the fall. DIRECTV itself had problems with streaming NFL games for years. It always took about three weeks to fix them. Now I know Google is a big company that already handles a lot of streaming video. I get that. But on NFL days, they’ll be handling all the streaming video they normally do, plus NFL games. And remember too it’s not just Google. It’s not just the intermediary companies that take the traffic demands off Google. You also need a local infrastructure that’s up to the task.

I personally think that a lot of areas don’t have robust enough internet to handle everyone streaming live TV at the same time. Try to stream something on a Saturday night and see how well it works for you. For many folks, it’s an exercise in frustration. Now imagine all that traffic was coming into local network switching offices from just one source. I think it’s a recipe for disaster.

Well, I guess we shall see. All I can say is, if you try to stream NFL games at home and it doesn’t work, head over to your local bar. They’ll get the game over satellite and there won’t be a problem.

You're not alone. I voiced the same concerns when the agreement was announced and caught flak for my opinions. I think part of the problem is that folks, like those making the decisions in these type of agreements, live in urban areas and (wrongly) assume everyone has access to robust broadband, a somewhat common misconception. As you say, time will tell but I think their recent problems with a single NBA playoff games does not bode well.

 

[Joe The Dragon]

I have personally come under fire for my prediction about residential NFL Sunday Ticket. I think it’s going to be a very rocky road for Google come the fall. DIRECTV itself had problems with streaming NFL games for years. It always took about three weeks to fix them. Now I know Google is a big company that already handles a lot of streaming video. I get that. But on NFL days, they’ll be handling all the streaming video they normally do, plus NFL games. And remember too it’s not just Google. It’s not just the intermediary companies that take the traffic demands off Google. You also need a local infrastructure that’s up to the task.

and say at week 2? week3 after big fails will the NFL / google just let directv offer it to home users?
Will week 1 be free for all or is google like there is no way we can deal with that kind of traffic?

 

[Bruce]

and say at week 2? week3 after big fails will the NFL / google just let directv offer it to home users?

ummm no, why do I keep reading so many posts that Sunday Ticket on You Tube will break Google and the NFL will take it away and put it back on DirecTV.

First, all the NFL cares about is the 2 billion dollars, that is it.

Second , this deal will not break Google, even if they lose some money, Alphabet/Google has a market cap of $1.57 Trillion dollars and sitting on $150 Billion in cash right now, google will be fine if they lose a little bit.

Third, DirecTV did not bid on Sunday Ticket, the NFL did not take it away, DirecTV did not want it.

Fourth, DirecTV did not bid on the Business rights, Redbird/Ever Pass owns the right and they will deal with whomever wishes to carry it and provide to businesses only ( if they pay whatever fee of course), most of the businesses already have DirecTV, so it was a no brainer for EverPass to make a deal with DirecTV.

Will week 1 be free for all or is google like there is no way we can deal with that kind of traffic?

No free week and the last day for the discounted price is June 6.

 

[Joe The Dragon]

Second , this deal will not break Google, even if they lose some money, Alphabet/Google has a market cap of $1.57 Trillion dollars and sitting on $150 Billion in cash right now, google will be fine if they lose a little bit.

not cash but there network? what happens if google goes down and people miss games and demand refunds?

 

[Joe The Dragon]

Fourth, DirecTV did not bid on the Business rights, Redbird/Ever Pass owns the right and they will deal with whomever wishes to carry it and provide to businesses only ( if they pay whatever fee of course), most of the businesses already have DirecTV, so it was a no brainer for EverPass to make a deal with DirecTV.

well in canada they tried to make NFL ST for homes streaming only and that failed so bad (network issues) that they just opened up the businesses feeds (need to buy) still on the cable / sat provides to home users.

 

[Stuart Sweet]

I'm not naïve enough to think that a failure of NFLST will break Google. They have enough money and control to last them ten lifetimes, I suspect.

When games aren't available for the first few weeks, there will be a number of naysayers (probably this author included) who will happily say "I told you so." Like the recent Max launch boondoggles, it will be part of the news cycle for a couple of days and then the world will move on.

The hope for me is that by exposing some of the limitations of today's content delivery networks and last-mile providers, it will accelerate investment and at some point everyone (not just people in that ring around cities where the population density is perfect) will get the internet service they deserve.

 

[Joe The Dragon]

The hope for me is that by exposing some of the limitations of today's content delivery networks and last-mile providers, it will accelerate investment and at some point everyone (not just people in that ring around cities where the population density is perfect) will get the internet service they deserve.

Now caps may be the other issue and will there be an laws to ban them? make the rules so hard that ISP don't use them? say forced to use something like an state certified power meter to be able to enforce an cap?

Now is YouTube and EverPass ready to fight off bars that say just pay for NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV?

 

[SamCdbs]

Now is YouTube and EverPass ready to fight off bars that say just pay for NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV?

YouTube in such a case has nothing to do with the matter. YouTube owns no business rights. So if a bar owner tosses up YouTube ST, what has it lost? Actually it has gained, as the bar owner is paying it for a home subscription.

EverPass is a different story. But enforcement? Will big chains like BW3 and the casinos pay up? Sure. They have stuff to lose. A local bar with a regular clientele? A spy stands out like a sore thumb. And, short of a spy, good luck. Unlike DBS, a router is a router is a router. There is no non-spoofable way for YouTube to determine if its signal is being shown in somebody's house to 1 person in Texas or a bar in Minnesota to 1000 people.

Heck, the streamers haven't even figured out how to stop password sharing.

This will happen, happen a lot. They will catch and try to make an example out of some poor guy, but the risk of being that one poor guy is too tiny to not do it.