DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket to Web-Connected TVs, Blu-rays, Roku, Boxee and Apple TV? Yes, Please!!
posted Sunday Dec 19, 2010 by Nicholas DiMeo
Oh man, I may have to jump up and down and rejoice if all of this turns out to me true. Break out the party streamers, the pinata, the lemonade, party hats and of course, the rumor alert siren as I have stumbled across an image that would make any NFL fan who doesn't have DirecTV lose their mind! DirecTV sent out a marketing research survey asking customers if they'd prefer to watch their NFL Sunday Ticket over the Internet instead of satellite.
As you may or may not know, to receive any out-of-market NFL game, the only way to do it is either the illegal online stream route, or by subscribing to NFL Sunday Ticket as a premium add-on to DirecTV's satellite service. There are a lot of circumstances that prohibit signing up for DirecTV, such as trees, building placement or local laws. So, in essence, it only furthers the frustrations of many fans in the country.
If you want to see the survey and have more info on this and why this is important, follow the break.
Okay, first the news. Some of the questions we found were asking about how much users would pay for digital streaming on currently unsupported devices like TVs and Blu-ray players connected to the Internet, Apple TV, Boxee and Roku. They also hinted at a $20 per weekend pricing plan to stream NFL Sunday Ticket for that particular Sunday. As of right now, Sunday Ticket will stream in HD to computers and to mobile devices if you don't have a contract with DirecTV but ONLY if you are able to prove you can't get a satellite hookup in your location AND if you don't have clear access to the south sky. Clearly, having these devices support licensed streaming would be a plus for consumers and for extra income to DirecTV.
Here's the image we had the lovely ability to peek at.
Now, I don't currently own an Internet-connected TV or Blu-ray, Apple TV, Boxee or Roku, but this is a huge step for people like me. If they open up subscription to these devices, that sets a precedence for more things to come. Of course all of these options will be a monthly charge but that's only to be expected. It may make consumers such as myself consider making one of those devices a purchase in the near future. I'll promise you this: if all this becomes true, I would pay a premium to get my Giants on my TV every Sunday before our show!