NFLST Short Cuts?

[mmulet]

Boy, those short cuts are really short. They are so short, in fact, that I can't even watch them tonight because THEY AREN'T ON. What gives? Are they only available Sunday night after 11:00 PM, but how long do they go for? I'm not happy - the Red Zone channel wasn't on last night, and no short cuts today. What, exactly, am I paying for with the Superfan package?

mmulet

 

[mmulet]

OK, here is a followup.

Just got off the phone with Directv, they said they are to start tonight. They had intended to start last night, but gave no reason for the delay.

I guess I just have to wait and see.

 

[Jimbo]

Yeah, I get to watch my Steelers and Lions 30 minute replay at 2 and 4 am....
Sorry, but I work for a living, and would not get up at those times anyway.
I was wondering.... Why are they not running them on the ST channels all at the same time, I would run them from the time they are ready till Tuesday midnight, give people a chance to see them.
They are not using those channels till next Sunday anyways !

Any opionoins ?

Jimbo

 

[asousa]

Yeah, I get to watch my Steelers and Lions 30 minute replay at 2 and 4 am....
Sorry, but I work for a living, and would not get up at those times anyway.
I was wondering.... Why are they not running them on the ST channels all at the same time, I would run them from the time they are ready till Tuesday midnight, give people a chance to see them.
They are not using those channels till next Sunday anyways !

Any opionoins ?

Jimbo

my guess would be bandwidth

 

[mmulet]

I did speak again with Directv late last night (around 10 CST), when the Short Cuts still weren't on. They said they'd have them on later that night, and lo and behold, they were on this morning before I left for work (I work for a living too, and just didn't want to wait up last night).

I spoke with 2 CSR's last night; the first one said they'd be on through Thursday; the second one said they'd stay on until the new ones were ready the next week. I guess we'll have to wait and see who's right.

mmulet

 

[JerryVolunteer]

What channel are the short cuts on? i still cant find them...

 

[Jimbo]

JerryVolunteer,

I thought I had seen 2 channels listed on Monday 73? something, but I do not see anything now

Jimbo

 

[damaged]

Shortcuts are 731 and 732, redzone 703.

 

[srjewettlaw]

Get a freakin' TIVo and set a Season Pass for the Short Cuts of whatever team you want to see-2AM problem solved. Aslo, TIVo had a star listing for the Short Cuts on The TIVO screen. A couple of buttons and you could see them on your time.

 

[mmulet]

srjewwettlaw-

I agree that an HD-TIvo would solve the problem (or a regular one at that - and actually, I did order an HD-Tivo). But the SuperFan package is $99 extra (or $49 if you got in at the right time) - it seems to me that for your extra money, you shouldn't have to stay up all night or have the service for only one night. Yes, one night. Short cuts have already been turned off!!!! They didn't even last to Thursday as one rep said, and certainly not to next week like the other said. Directv must have very little available bandwidth.

You have to pay $49/$99 for Superfan - You should get some service, IMHO.


mmulet

 

[NVBlue]

I set up a season pass on my Tivo to record my favorite team's short cuts. It recorded the first week and has it scheduled to record the second week. I thought that it wouldn't since the title included week 1 on my season pass, but it scheduled week 2. This is the best addition to the NFL ticket. I can watch every play in about 1/2 hour!

 

[Newshawk]

Why are they not running them on the ST channels all at the same time, I would run them from the time they are ready till Tuesday midnight, give people a chance to see them.
They are not using those channels till next Sunday anyways !

Any opionoins ?

Apparently, frm next week on, the short cuts are going to be available from Monday at midnight ET through Wednesday at midnight ET. This is by request of the NFL. I'd imagine they have decided they don't want them shown before the end of MNF.

BTW, the short cust look like the coach's reels I used to shoot for high school and college football. Now, if only the TiVo's "clicker" was a little more precise...

 

[srjewettlaw]

mmulet

You make a good point. They should be available up ntil the next weeks games replace them. I do think it is an excellent service beyond that shortcoming. i also like the Red Zone channel. I leave that on a smaller TV and watch the main games on the plasma. It really keeps you up to date on all the games.

There has been alot of griping about the cost of Superfan and ST. I respect those who tooka stand and cancelled but I can't help but think they cut off their nose to spite their face. They are really missing out. The HD is great the other features are a welcome addition. Finally, I don't think their principled stand is going to cause D* to change course in anyway. I wish them luck but I don't see it.

 

[mmulet]

As Newshawk stated, here is the 'official' reply from D* outlining the availability of the Short Cuts channels:

Dear Mr. Mulet,

Thanks for asking about NFL SuperFan Short Cuts. I'm sorry to hear that you weren't able to watch the NFL Short Cuts this week. There was a short period of time on both Monday and Tuesday evenings when we had to stop airing the condensed games due to limits in our satellite capacity. This was scheduled in advance and I'm sorry if there was any confusion.

Beginning next week, we are changing the broadcast window for SuperFan Short Cuts. For the rest of the regular season, Short Cuts will be available to SuperFan customers beginning at 9 pm PT on Monday through 9 pm PT on Wednesday, giving you lots of opportunities to see your favorite teams and players. Just tune to channels 731-732 to start following the action.

Thanks again for writing and for helping to make NFL Sunday Ticket SuperFan a success. We expect there will be no further changes to the SuperFan broadcast schedule this season.

Sincerely,

James
DIRECTV Customer Service


So, I am glad they replied, and outlined when the channels are available. I'm still not real happy about how long they are available. Let's say you live on the East coast - that means Short Cuts are available from Midnight Tuesday through Wednesday at Midnight. Let's assume you actually work for a living - a valid assumption considering you have to pay for NFLST & Superfan packages. So, you sleep Monday night, you wake up and go to work on Tuesday, get back home, eat dinner, and if you're lucky, you can watch Short Cuts for 2-3 hours, and maybe the same the next night. So, you're really only have the opportunity to watch 4-6 hours of the channels on those two days. If you have ANY OTHER plans - leave town on business, meeting Tuesday or Wednesday night, etc. - you're hosed.

In the spirit of fair play, I really think they should be on longer, or D* should be more upfront about the availability of the channels BEFORE you purchase.

I agree with srjeweettlaw, in that a Tivo takes care of the problem, and thankfully, I can afford to do so (and it is installed and working very well, thank you very much).

I do think Superfan is great for the HD games, which me and my family enjoy immensely. I think the service will be much better with the HD-TIVO, so I can record the RZC while watching games, and later record SC1 & SC2. I do think they could give you a heads up before you buy, or offer you a reduced rate on a DVR, but I think I'm done with my rant.

srjewettlaw -

What kind of setup do you have where you can watch both at the same time? Two different receivers?

mmulet

 

[Jimbo]

mmulet,

Your explainations of available time to watch Short Cuts is exactly my situation.
If I have a few hours on Tuesday or Wedsday, what are the chances that MY games are being shown, they only show 2 games at a time.

As for the HDTIVO, I have already given them enough of my money, if I had to buy another peice of equipment, Tivo and pay another 5 -6 dollars for the right to use it, another case of them finding ways to charge us extra money.
Cable charges you for thr DVR or better yet rents it to you , but doesn't tell you now you need to give us more money to be able to use it

Maybe, when the MPEG 4 stuff comes out I will consider it.

Jimbo

 

[mmulet]

Jimbos-

I sympathize with you. I was going to get the HD-Tivo anyways, and I totally agree with you that it is an expen$ive option just to make their programming work (along with the $5.99/month). Apparently, they just don't have the bandwidth to leave it on any longer, which really is too bad. Personally, I think they should have waited until next year to introduce the Superfan package, when they are supposed to actually have the bandwidth necessary.

While Directv has answered my questions, they certainly don't seem sympathetic to the plight of subscribers such as you or I.

mmulet