TV Answer Man, do you think DIRECTV will raise the price of the Sunday Ticket next season to make up for their subscriber losses? It seems like it’s the one thing they have that they can count on and fans wouldn’t cancel if prices went up. — Tom, Hartford, Connecticut.
Tom, DIRECTV has not raised the Ticket’s price for three years. For existing subscribers, this season’s Sunday Ticket costs $293.94 while the Max edition is $395.94.
That was the same prices for the Sunday Ticket in 2018, 2019 and 2020. The last time that DIRECTV raised the price of the Sunday Ticket for existing subs was in 2018 when it increased the fee by 4.2 percent.
With two weeks left in the 2021 season, it would seem premature to ask about next year’s prices. However, there is evidence that DIRECTV plans to keep the prices the same for a fourth straight year.
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The satcaster is now doing a promotion for new customers where they can get the remainder of the 2021 Ticket and the 2022 Ticket for free if they sign a two-year programming contract. In the fine print of the promotion, DIRECTV says this:
“2021 and 2022 NFL SUNDAY TICKET regular full-season retail price is $293.94.”
That would suggest that DIRECTV has already decided to keep at least the base price at $293.94. But promotional copy can sometimes contain errors so I asked a DIRECTV spokesman yesterday if the $293.94 price for 2022 was accurate.
“That pricing is accurate but is also subject to change,” the spokesman said via e-mail.
I then asked if an existing subscriber could now order the 2022 season for $293.94 to lock in that rate. The spokesman has not responded as of Wednesday morning.
It’s also unclear if the Max version would have the same rate.
So for now, it appears the Ticket’s base price will be the same in 2022, although that could change as the spokesman noted. If you are interested in ordering the 2022 season for the same price, I would suggest you call DIRECTV and give it a try.
Tom, 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
@TVAnswerMan
The pricing model is all based on bars. It is too costly to first get Direct TV and then get the Sunday Ticket. People can more easily go to bars or get pirated telecasts. Until they offer packages for single teams to home viewers, their business model will raise and fall with bar owners.