TV Answer Man, I read your article about the next contract for the NFL Sunday Ticket that said the NFL may need DIRECTV to continue providing service to bars and restaurants. Is there really that much money in that business? Couldn’t the NFL just do without the bars and restaurants and go all streaming to the home? — Bob, Toledo, Ohio.
Bob, DIRECTV has been providing the Sunday Ticket to bars and restaurants for a few decades and therefore is best positioned to continue that service in the future. That doesn’t mean the bars and restaurants couldn’t get a streaming edition of the Ticket if that was all that was available, but it could create a number of complications, including safeguarding the stream against piracy as well as offering streams of games that run 30-60 seconds behind those on cable and satellite.
The satcaster is also best suited to deliver the Sunday Ticket to rural residents, many of whom don’t have access to reliable high-speed Internet service. (Some reports say as many as 40 million Americans fall into this category.)
So there’s little doubt (to me anyway) that the league would like DIRECTV to at least continue providing the Ticket in rural areas, and to bars and restaurants.
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But is the bar/restaurant revenue significant enough to influence the NFL’s decision regarding who should get the next Sunday Ticket contract? (DIRECTV’s exclusive agreement for the Ticket expires after the 2022 season.)
We don’t know how many bars and restaurants actually subscribe to the Sunday Ticket, but we do know how much they pay if they do and it’s significant. According to DIRECTV’s web site, a bar/restaurant with a Fire Code Occupancy (FCO) of 101-200 must pay $6,000 a season for the Ticket. Owners of establishments with a FCO of 201-350 must pay $8,500; those with 351-500 must pay $12,350 while those with places that can serve 501-750 people must pay $13,700.
The rate goes even higher: If you have a bar/restaurant that can serve 751-1000 people, you would have to pay $19,000 for the Sunday Ticket; $28,125 for a place with a FCO of 1,001-1500; and $37,500 for an establishment with a FCO of 1,501 to 2,000.
Finally, if you have a mega place that can serve between 2,001 and 5,000 people, you’ll need to fork over $78,000!
You can see from those figures that the bar/restaurant business can be quite lucrative, and not one to easily dismiss as I see some industry analysts do. That’s why I believe it will be an important factor in the league’s ultimate decision on how to award the next contract. The NFL will need a ready-made plan to serve the bar and restaurant crowd as well as home viewers.
Bob, hope that helps. Happy viewing, and stay safe!
Have a question about new TV technologies? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvpredictions.com. Please include your first name and hometown in your message.
— Phillip Swann
I have been to bars and restaurants all over the state of Ohio over the last 20 years in my business travels. I am not a “foozeball” fan but i can tell you that while a LOT of those places have SPORTS on the display TVs, I have personally observed that VERY VERY few ppl actually WATCH that stuff in a place to eat and drink. They BASICALLY will glance up to the screen then back to what EVER they were eating drinking or conversing with. It is a WELL WELL known FACT that SPORTS has lost a TON of interest in the last 15 years and while the “die hards” still find excuse to sit ass to the wall in ppl to watch a game in a stadium, a LOT just go to the stadium for something to do !
…and the stuff about “40 million” homes in the country that “may qualify for” need of satellite to get it ? DIRECTV will never admit that
A:those ppl have better things to do on Sunday and:
B:in actuality direct is LUCKY if even 20% of those home are even remotely interest in “sat-lite” tv.
The DTV to home market is in FACT TERMINAL. AT&T was tooo stupid to see this when Rupert rode off to the bank with their check (while drying the tears of JOY and LAUGHTER) with there money.
AT&T is now in complete DESPERATION mode, at LEAST 150 BILLION in the hole and NOTHING but empty overinflated “promises” (which they can NEVER live up to) to try and stay alive till they can find a “buyer” for what is left.
THEY still “claim” to be the largest comm co. in the world (while they bleed MILLIONS of used to be subscribers every year with NO EN in sight) just to delay the inevitable.
“Randal” the assclown former forced out CEO (who btw now is WALMARTS CEO)…Walton is rolling in his grave)…destroyed that unless company and for THAT is the only credit he deserves.
“Stanker” is just riding the grave train till they give him the axe , OR he gets old and senile.
THEY have already said they WILL NOT LAUNCH ANY NEW SATELLITES (thinking that wireless will or cable will cover “wherever” so the “deech” option is NO LONGER PART OF THE FUTURE OPTION.
Bar owners well know how to bend the rules too so bottom line in the NFL Sunday ticket is by NO MEANS a sure thing for the future and definitely NOT dependable on ANYTHING of ANY AT&T … and THAT’s the way it IS !!
I agree with Dave. Only one bar in my area ever had Sunday ticket, and that is because the owner was a fan of an out of market NFL team. The regular crowd was only interested in the local team, and even then only followed the action intermittently. The next owner dropped Sunday ticket without any complaints. I think Directv is being overcharged for it.