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DirecTV wants people out of reach of its satellite service to enjoy unlimited viewing of NFL football games, and today announced it would test providing them over broadband connections. For $100 more a year than subscribers pay now for the satellite-delivered football game coverage, DirecTV will will offer New York City viewers as many NFL games they can watch over their broadband connection for $349 a year.
DirecTV claims it will sell the service only to those who cannot obtain satellite service from the company, which presumably will limit the broadband content to apartment dwellers and other urban residents who can’t mount a satellite dish. But in a city like New York, that can easily mean tens of thousands of potential new customers, all watching video content delivered by Cablevision, Time Warner Cable, RCN, or Verizon’s broadband services. USA Today covered the story this morning:
DirecTV has few customers [in New York City] because skyscrapers block signals coming from satellites orbiting the equator. Also, many landlords and co-op boards don’t allow residents to get a satellite service.
“A lot of the buildings (that can’t get DirecTV) we already have in databases because they’ve got exclusive contracts with cable guys,” says Derek Chang, executive vice president for content strategy and development.
To see the games, broadband customers will download a special video player and punch in a code. Users can install the software on multiple computers, but only one will be able to stream the games at any particular time.
Games with New York’s Jets and Giants, which air on broadcast TV, will be available only when the customer’s computer is outside the New York area.
Cable operators won’t just play defense in the battle for football fans. Comcast will announce today that it will offer the NFL Red Zone Channel to customers of its Sports Entertainment Package. On Sundays, the channel will display football statistics with audio from Sirius XM Radio‘s program “Around the League” — and go live to certain games when the ball is within 20 yards of the goal.
While Cablevision, RCN, and perhaps even Verizon may not express concern about the prospect of carrying NFL games across their networks without “compensation,” Time Warner Cable, which continues to express an interest in Internet Overcharging schemes, may not be so tolerant, especially if the test is successful. ISPs who support Internet Overcharging routinely use online video growth as a justification for usage caps and consumption pricing. Will the NFL become part of the Re-education of their customers?
Another question to ponder – would such a service even launch in a broadband marketplace infested with usage caps and limits?
Other stories of interest:
- NBC Plans to Stream NFL Football This Fall: A False Start Called for Capped Customers
- AT&T’s “Grandma” Analogy Upsets Grandmothers – They Don’t Want Overcharges Either
- Stop the Cap!’s First Anniversary: Protecting Consumers from Internet Overcharging Since July 31, 2008
- The Online Video Threat: Protecting Fat Profits From Internet Freeloaders
- Beaumont-Area AT&T Customer Gets Himself Exempted from Internet Overcharging: Can You?
“would such a service even launch in a broadband marketplace infested with usage caps and limits?”
No one game and your done for the month. Would I pay an extra $100 or $349 for football NO and I doubt many others will either. It’s a nice offer but. What you have to worry about is when the NFL decides that all games are only through the NFL network. Remember last year that team trying to go the entire season without a loss and the NFL was only going to provide that game on their network till a bunch of senators called the NFL and most likely said it would be in their better intrest to show the game on national TV and they did. Internet providers and phone companies are not the only ones trying to bone Joe public. Football games are 1/2 football and 1/2 ad’s. Even the reched old TV shows are pushing 50% ads again. What a great way to turn people off to the point they would not buy a product the just saw on TV 40 times that day. I wont.
I don’t have cable, but i watched the Giants game Monday online, for free. The NFL is selling their games overseas and you can bet that will be games online, you just have to look for them. I’am lucky i live in Las Vegas and when the Giants don’t play on local tv i have my choice of 100 casinos i can go to and watch all the games for free, and bet. I also have Sirius satellite radio that broadcasts all the games, no blackouts. Most of the games you get both audios home and away. It costs $13.00 a month but you also get tons of music, talk radio, sport talk it’s great.
I suspect many people will try this service. It isn’t much money for a football junkie. The real issue is what will Time Warner do?
IMHO ill tell you TW wont do. Pay the obscene amount for the channel
and put in in basic as the NFL wants. What they might do is is pay
the obscene amount then make you pay an even more obscene
amount for you to watch that one channel.
so you have to sell out to directv put up with their unethical business practices to watch an out of market game.Got to love america , where else can you steal from customers , lie and cheat , have 4-5 pending class action suits and get rewarded for it? That should be directv’s slogan!