Would you like to get the NFL Sunday Ticket without having to install a dish, and subscribing to an expensive programming package from DIRECTV?
You can — if you live in the right place.
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The satcaster offers a separate streaming edition of the popular package of ‘out-of-market’ NFL games for $279.96. (The satellite price is $281.) The online plan gives you everything the satellite Sunday Ticket does — every Sunday afternoon game (minus ones played overseas), Short Cuts (next day game replays in 30 minutes), and real-time stats.
You can watch the streaming version of the Ticket on tablets, computers, laptops and connected devices such as Smart TVs, Fire TV boxes and sticks, and Roku.
So, what’s the catch?
DIRECTV says NFLSundayTicket.TV, the streaming-only version, is only available to non-DIRECTV customers who live in select multi-dwelling unit buildings (apartments, condos, etc.) where DIRECTV service is not available, or live in a residence that has been verified as unable to receive the traditional DIRECTV satellite service with a dish.
How do you verify you are eligible? You go to this site and type in your address.
And that’s where it gets interesting.
I inserted my old address from Santa Monica, California, a condominium complex, and the site said I was eligible for the non-subscriber version of the Ticket. However, I used to have a DIRECTV dish on the roof of my unit in the beach town.
I then punched in several random addresses of other condo buildings across the United States and found they are eligible.
I then inserted my current address in Maryland — a residential house where I now subscribe to DIRECTV, and the site said I was not eligible for the online service.
So it would appear that although many, if not most, apartment and condo buildings permit dish installation, DIRECTV is assuming you can’t get satellite if you live in a multi-dwelling unit.
Ergo, feel free to sign up for DIRECTV’s Sunday Ticket without subscribing to its satellite plan.
If you are a college student, you can also get the streaming edition of the Sunday Ticket without a dish or satellite package. In fact, the price is discounted to $99.96.
Last note: There have been rumors that DIRECTV Now, AT&T’s live streaming service, will add the Sunday Ticket, which would also negate the need for a dish and set-top. (But you would still need a DIRECTV programming package.) But thus far, AT&T has said it does not plan to make Sunday Ticket part of the DIRECTV Now lineup.
— Phillip Swann
When I subscribed to this version of ST a couple of years ago, there were limitations on how you can use the service. I primarily used my PS3 and the Sunday Ticket App to watch the games. But I wasn’t allowed to watch a second game on my iPad at the same time. As I said, I don’t know if this limitation is still in place or if the various apps for PS3 or PS4, Apple TV, etc. allow you to watch multiple games at the same time (like the MLB app on Apple TV 4 allows), But if you can’t I would rather watch the NFL’s version of the Red Zone and view my local games on my iPad.