NFL Sunday Ticket Now Offers Streaming Option, But Only If You Can't Get DirecTV
Ahem, not so fast. While the Internet was abuzz yesterday regarding what appeared to be a sudden loosening of restrictions surrounding the highly-coveted NFL Sunday Ticket program, DirecTV has swooped in today to quell some of that excitement. Essentially, the satellite TV company threw up a new splash page on its website that seemed to suggest that folks without DirecTV would be allowed to pony up a yearly fee in order to stream the content on a variety of devices. For cord-cutting NFL fans, it felt like a dream come true.
Naturally, nothing that good could ever be. DirecTV has clarified that the streaming-only option applies specifically to those who aren't able to have a satellite dish installed. For extra clarity, this means that those of you residing in an apartment complex or those of you at ten select universities made the cut. Everyone else will have to suck it up and pay for DirecTV's monthly satellite-based TV services to even have access to NFL Sunday Ticket.
For those unaware, Sunday Ticket is an exclusive package that enables DirecTV subscribers who pay extra to see every NFL game instead of just the ones broadcast locally. The NFL is the largest sport by fanbase in the United States, making the package highly lucrative and massively desired. The thought of being able to pay for the service without DirecTV seemed like a great pro-consumer move, despite rather steep price points.
The streaming-only packages, even for those who are eligible, range from $199.99 (which allows iOS/Android streaming + computers) to $239.99 (includes console streaming) to $329.99 (includes Red Zone channel access). Unfortunately, most reading this won't even be eligible to pony up if you wanted to, but hopefully it's a baby step in the unbundling of services from providers.
Perhaps one day we'll actually live in a world where we can pay for just the content we want, but that day certainly isn't today.
Naturally, nothing that good could ever be. DirecTV has clarified that the streaming-only option applies specifically to those who aren't able to have a satellite dish installed. For extra clarity, this means that those of you residing in an apartment complex or those of you at ten select universities made the cut. Everyone else will have to suck it up and pay for DirecTV's monthly satellite-based TV services to even have access to NFL Sunday Ticket.
For those unaware, Sunday Ticket is an exclusive package that enables DirecTV subscribers who pay extra to see every NFL game instead of just the ones broadcast locally. The NFL is the largest sport by fanbase in the United States, making the package highly lucrative and massively desired. The thought of being able to pay for the service without DirecTV seemed like a great pro-consumer move, despite rather steep price points.
The streaming-only packages, even for those who are eligible, range from $199.99 (which allows iOS/Android streaming + computers) to $239.99 (includes console streaming) to $329.99 (includes Red Zone channel access). Unfortunately, most reading this won't even be eligible to pony up if you wanted to, but hopefully it's a baby step in the unbundling of services from providers.
Perhaps one day we'll actually live in a world where we can pay for just the content we want, but that day certainly isn't today.
