NFL Sunday Ticket
Encyclopedia
Out-of-Market Sports Package
In the North America, an Out-of-Market Sports Package is a form of subscription television that broadcasts sporting events to areas who are unavailable to see them because the games are not broadcast in their local market....
that broadcasts National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
regular season games unavailable on local affiliates. It carries all regional Sunday afternoon games produced by Fox
NFL on FOX
NFL on Fox is the brand name of the Fox Broadcasting Company's coverage of the National Football League's National Football Conference games, produced by Fox Sports...
and CBS
NFL on CBS
The NFL on CBS is the brand name of the CBS television network's coverage of the National Football League's American Football Conference games, produced by CBS Sports.-Market coverage and television policies:...
. The ideal customer of this package is presumed (based on advertisements) to be a fan of a team who is unable to see their team on local television because they do not reside in that team's market
Media market
A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area , Television Market Area , or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same television and radio station offerings, and may also include other types of media including newspapers and Internet content...
. The package is available in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
exclusively on DirecTV
DirecTV
DirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...
(which also offers it on the Internet, on tablets, and smartphones, as well as on the PlayStation Network and JetBlue Airways
JetBlue Airways
JetBlue Airways Corporation is an American low-cost airline. The company is headquartered in the Forest Hills neighborhood of the New York City borough of Queens. Its main base is John F. Kennedy International Airport, also in Queens....
flights), in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
on several satellite and cable providers, in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
on Sky TV
Sky TV
Sky TV may refer to:*British Sky Broadcasting, a television network and media company in the United Kingdom**Sky , a brand name of BSkyB's digital satellite television and radio service in the UK and the Ireland...
, in South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
and the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
on DirecTV Latin America, and several cable providers in The Bahamas
The Bahamas
The Bahamas , officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is a nation consisting of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 islets . It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba and Hispaniola , northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United States...
and Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
.
United States: DirecTV
Currently, American satellite provider DirecTVDirecTV
DirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...
has exclusive rights to NFL Sunday Ticket in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
until the contract expires at the end of the 2014-15 season.
Prior to the NFL's latest television deal, other satellite and cable providers were allowed to bid on the rights to carry NFL Sunday Ticket if they agreed to carry the NFL Network
NFL Network
NFL Network is an American television specialty channel owned and operated by the National Football League . It was launched November 4, 2003, only eight months after the league's 32 team owners voted unanimously to approve its formation...
. However, DirecTV still won exclusivity for the package, bidding over $700 million a year to do so. This has long been one of DirecTV's selling points to consumers, and thus likely explains the large premium they pay for the privilege. Still, the NFL has indicated that another reason they accepted DirecTV's bid was to limit the availability of the product so that the television networks and especially their local affiliates would be protected. In particular, NFL Sunday Ticket viewers do not count towards local Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
; thus offering NFL Sunday Ticket on cable might cost CBS and Fox affiliates millions of dollars in lost revenue from local commercial breaks (as opposed to national ads sold by the networks). In turn, affiliates help subsidize the networks' programming costs.
Since the launch of new satellites, DirecTV no longer drops other HD feeds to broadcast the NFL Sunday Ticket games in HD. It was rumored that some of NewsCorp's foreign satellite companies, such as BSkyB, would eventually offer NFL Sunday Ticket, as NewsCorp owned DirecTV at the time it reached its most recent contract for the package and has long distributed games outside North America. However, given the fact that NewsCorp sold its 40% share of DirecTV to Liberty Media
Liberty Media
Liberty Media Corporation is an American media conglomerate and the control is exercised by company Chairman John C. Malone, who owns a majority of the voting shares....
in February 2008, this seems increasingly unlikely.
DirecTV offers a free preview of NFL Sunday Ticket for the first week of the season.
Contract extension
On March 23, 2009, it was announced that DirecTV paid $4 billion to extend its exclusive contract for NFL Sunday Ticket until 2014.The contract extension also calls for the establishment of an online version of NFL Sunday Ticket, for customers who cannot subscribe to DirecTV by 2012 as well as a "Red Zone" channel to be carried on cable and telco television systems. So far, Cox
Cox
- People :*Cox , for information on the origins of the family name and a list of people with the name- Places :* Cox, Alicante, Spain* Cox, Florida, United States* Cox, Haute-Garonne, France* Cox Island, Nunavut, Canada...
, Golden Belt Telephone, Comcast
Comcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
, Dish Network
Dish Network
Dish Network Corporation is the second largest pay TV provider in the United States, providing direct broadcast satellite service—including satellite television, audio programming, and interactive television services—to 14.337 million commercial and residential customers in the United States. Dish...
, Verizon FiOS
Verizon FiOS
Verizon FiOS is a bundled Internet access, telephone, and television service which operates over a fiber-optic communications network. It is offered in some areas of the United States by Verizon Communications. Verizon was one of the first major U.S...
, AT&T Uverse, Blue Ridge Communications
Blue Ridge Communications
Blue Ridge Communications is a regional cable television, Internet and VoIP provider that serves much of the Poconos area and central Pennsylvania. Products available include analog and digital cable television, HD television programming, PenTeleData Broadband Internet service, and Blue Ridge...
, BendBroadband and Buckeye Cable have picked up the new Red Zone channel.
Blackouts
If a game the viewer wishes to watch is blacked out in their home market because it's not sold out, the game remains blacked out on NFL Sunday Ticket. Any other game televised locally is also blacked out (viewers must watch them instead on their local Fox or CBS affiliates). Games joined or switched away from in progress usually have their blackout status altered immediately.Extra features
As of 2010, DirecTV offers the following extra features free to all NFL Sunday Ticket subscribers. From 2005-2009 these features were part of an add-on package called Superfan and cost $100 extra.Since 2009, all games have been in high definition. The HD games were formerly part of the Superfan package.
Game Mix
- This channel shows 8 games at once, along with the game's score, time left in the game, and the quarter that the game is in under the game's feed. Starting in 2008 it can be seen in high-definition. Starting in 2011, it will include larger cells when four or fewer games are being played.
Red Zone Channel
- This channel acts as a viewer's "remote control" and switches around various NFL games as plays of interest occur (scoring plays, key turnovers, etc.) The coverage is hosted by Fox's Andrew Siciliano and has been offered on some airlines, such as Jet Blue.
- As of the 2007 season, this channel is provided in HD.
- This is not to be confused with the NFL Network's RedZone channel, which is produced separately with a different host. That channel airs at the same time on Dish NetworkDish NetworkDish Network Corporation is the second largest pay TV provider in the United States, providing direct broadcast satellite service—including satellite television, audio programming, and interactive television services—to 14.337 million commercial and residential customers in the United States. Dish...
, various cable systems, and also on Verizon WirelessVerizon WirelessCellco Partnership, doing business as Verizon Wireless, is one of the largest mobile network operators in the United States. The network has 107.7 million subscribers as of 2011, making it the largest wireless service provider in America....
smartphoneSmartphoneA smartphone is a high-end mobile phone built on a mobile computing platform, with more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a contemporary feature phone. The first smartphones were devices that mainly combined the functions of a personal digital assistant and a mobile phone or camera...
s.
Short Cuts
- This 2-channel duo recaps every NFL game in 30 minutes or less, including games not available on NFL Sunday Ticket because they were televised locally or blacked out. One channel shows AFCAmerican Football ConferenceThe American Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the National Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL....
games while the other shows NFCNational Football ConferenceThe National Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the American Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL.-Current teams:Since 2002, the NFC has comprised 16 teams,...
games. These highlights are made available on Sunday nights and are shown continuously until Tuesday morning.
Highlights on Demand
- DirecTV subscribers with interactive DVRs receive a three to four minute recap of every NFL Sunday Ticket game on demandVideo on demandVideo on Demand or Audio and Video On Demand are systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content on demand...
with this feature, via channel 1005.
NFL.com Fantasy Football TV app
- Starting in 2011, the NFL.com Fantasy Football TV app will allow NFL.com fantasy players with Internet connected set-top boxes to view their NFL.com Fantasy Football teams and scores directly on their TV screen.
NFL Sunday Ticket To Go
- NFL Sunday Ticket To Go (formerly Supercast which launched in 2008), enables subscribers to stream live games on their computers and cell phones for an extra $9.99 a year. Starting in 2009, NFL Sunday Ticket To Go is available to non-DirecTV subscribers in ManhattanManhattanManhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
who are unable to receive satellite television in their apartments because their landlord won't let them put up a satellite dish, or because high rise buildings block satellite reception. The cost is $50 more than those with DirecTV service. DirecTV offers NFL Sunday Ticket To Go on Motorola XoomMotorola XoomThe Motorola Xoom is an Android-based tablet computer by Motorola, introduced at CES 2011 on January 5, 2011. It was the first tablet to be sold with Android 3.0 Honeycomb. The Verizon branded Xoom was the first tablet to run Android 3.1 Honeycomb, however the 3.1 update has not yet been provided...
and Samsung GalaxySamsung GalaxySamsung Galaxy may refer to any of several mobile computing devices produced by Samsung Electronics, all of which use the Android operating system.-Smartphones:* Samsung i5500 * Samsung i5700...
tablets; Motorola Android phones; the iPadIPadThe iPad is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc., primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, and web content. The iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010 by Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs. Its size and...
, iPhoneIPhoneThe iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
, iPod TouchIPod TouchThe iPod Touch is a portable media player, personal digital assistant, handheld game console, and Wi-Fi mobile device designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The iPod Touch adds the multi-touch graphical user interface to the iPod line...
, BlackBerry OSBlackBerry OSBlackBerry OS is a proprietary mobile operating system, developed by Research In Motion for its BlackBerry line of smartphone handheld devices...
devices with 3G or wifi, Palm PrePalm PreThe Palm Pre is a multimedia smartphone designed and marketed by Palm with a multi-touch screen and a sliding keyboard. The smartphone was the first to use Palm's Linux based mobile operating system, webOS...
/PixiPalm PixiThe Palm Pixi and Pixi Plus are multimedia smartphones, developed by Palm, which was purchased in 2010 by HP. The device is viewed as a successor to the Palm Centro smartphone and was Palm's second webOS device, after the Palm Pre....
, and other Droid-branded phones.
JetBlue
Starting on October 3, 2010, DirecTV began offering the full slate of NFL Sunday Ticket games on JetBlue AirwaysJetBlue Airways
JetBlue Airways Corporation is an American low-cost airline. The company is headquartered in the Forest Hills neighborhood of the New York City borough of Queens. Its main base is John F. Kennedy International Airport, also in Queens....
flights to 50 destinations across the United States.
PlayStation Network
Starting in 2011, DirecTV offers NFL Sunday Ticket on the PlayStation Network. The fee was $339.96 per year ($84.99 every month for 4 months) but was reduced to $199.99 mid-season. It can be purchased through the PS3's Playstation Store.History
NFL Sunday Ticket was launched in 19941994 NFL season
The 1994 NFL season was the 75th regular season of the National Football League. To honor the NFL's 75th season, a special anniversary logo was designed and each player wore a patch on their jerseys with this logo throughout the season...
and was available on both DirecTV (which had launched just months earlier) and on C-band and Ku-band satellites, for which the receiving dishes are larger in size. Within several years, the service became available on various cable systems in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
as well.
The success of Sunday Ticket led to the launch of other pay-per-view out-of-market sports packages
Out-of-Market Sports Package
In the North America, an Out-of-Market Sports Package is a form of subscription television that broadcasts sporting events to areas who are unavailable to see them because the games are not broadcast in their local market....
across the spectrum of professional and college sports.
International Distribution
NFL Sunday Ticket is also available in Canada, Mexico, Latin America, Bermuda and The Bahamas.Canada
In Canada, NFL Sunday Ticket has been made available on a non-exclusive basis to the following satellite and cable providers:- TELUS Optik TV
- TELUS Satellite TVTelus TVTelus TV is a product of Telus that provides IPTV and Satellite service across the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Alberta. Telus launched its IPTV based service in November 2005 to Telus customers in select communities of Alberta but is now available in several communities throughout...
- Bell TV
- Shaw Direct
- Access CommunicationsAccess CommunicationsAccess Communications Co-operative Ltd. is a Canadian cable television provider, operating in Regina, Saskatchewan and several other communities in Saskatchewan...
- Cogeco CableCogecoCogeco Inc. is a Canadian media and communications company. The name is an acronym for Compagnie Générale de Communication .-History:...
- EastLink CableEastLink (company)EastLink is a Canadian cable television and telecommunications company. In 1970, EastLink was established in Amherst, Nova Scotia, when it was issued one of the first cable licences granted by the CRTC...
- Rogers CableRogers CableRogers Cable Inc., a subsidiary of Rogers Communications Inc., is Canada's largest cable television service provider with about 2.25 million television customers, and over 930,000 Internet subscribers, in Manitoba, Southern & Eastern Ontario, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador.The...
- Shaw CableShaw CommunicationsShaw Communications is Canada's largest telecommunications company that provides telephone, Canada's fastest Internet and television services as well as broadcasting and soon Wifi. Shaw is headquartered in Calgary, Alberta...
- VidéotronVidéotronVidéotron GP is a Canadian integrated telecommunications company active in cable television, interactive multimedia development, video on demand, cable telephony, wireless communication and Internet access services. Currently, the company primarily serves Quebec, as well as the francophone...
- Westman CommunicationsWestman Communications GroupWestman Communications Group is the operating name of Westman Media Co-operative. Formerly referred to as Westman Cable, it is the main cable television company for the city of Brandon, Manitoba and the surrounding towns and villages of southwestern Manitoba.WCG was established in 1977 and...
- MTSManitoba Telecom ServicesManitoba Telecom Services Inc. , or MTS , formerly Manitoba Telephone System, is the primary telecommunications carrier in the Canadian province of Manitoba and the fourth largest telecommunications provider in Canada with 7000 employees...
- SaskTelSaskTelSaskatchewan Telecommunications is a provincial Crown Corporation operating under the authority of the Saskatchewan Telecommunications Act. It is the only remaining Crown Corporation in the Canadian telecommunications industry....
The lack of exclusivity for any provider is due to Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) regulations.
See also
- MLB Extra InningsMLB Extra InningsMLB Extra Innings is an Out-of-Market Sports Package distributed in North America by satellite provider DirecTV since 1996 and by most cable providers since 2001. The package allows its subscribers to see up to 80 out-of-market Major League Baseball games a week using local over the air stations...
- NBA League PassNBA League PassNBA League Pass is an out-of-market sports package that allows its subscribers to watch up to 40 out-of-market National Basketball Association games a week....
- NHL Center IceNHL Center IceNHL Center Ice is an Out-of-Market Sports Package distributed by most cable and satellite providers in the United States and Canada. The package allows its subscribers to see up to forty out-of-market National Hockey League games a week using local and national television networks.NHL Center Ice...
- NASCAR Hot PassNASCAR Hot PassNASCAR Hot Pass is a complementary television package available exclusively on DirecTV in the United States and on various cable & satellite providers in Canada. It debuted at the 2007 Daytona 500, which aired on February 18 of that year. In 2007 and 2008, it was a pay-per-view subscription package...
- ESPN GamePlanESPN GamePlanESPN GamePlan is a Out-of-Market Sports Package offering college football games to viewers throughout the United States.GamePlan begins on Labor Day weekend and continues through the first Saturday in December. It includes all regional telecasts on ABC, as well as games from various syndicators...
- ESPN Full CourtESPN Full CourtESPN Full Court is an out-of-market sports package in the United States that carries college basketball games. It is available on most major cable and satellite television providers, and on any computer whose broadband Internet service is provided by one of ESPN.com's business partners.The package...
- MLS Direct KickMLS Direct KickMLS Direct Kick is an Out-of-Market Sports Package distributed by most cable and satellite providers in North America. As of the 2011 season, package subscribers will be able to watch up to 221 Major League Soccer regular season games as well as some MLS Cup playoff matches. The package costs $79...
- NFL NetworkNFL NetworkNFL Network is an American television specialty channel owned and operated by the National Football League . It was launched November 4, 2003, only eight months after the league's 32 team owners voted unanimously to approve its formation...