TV Answer Man, I have been a DIRECTV subscriber for more than a decade, but after the Sunday Ticket leaves, I think I’m done unless they do something to change my mind. How can they survive without the Sunday Ticket? What can you see them doing to keep people subscribing? — Todd, Tulsa.
Todd, this Sunday will be the last time that DIRECTV will have the exclusive rights to the NFL Sunday Ticket, the package of out-of-market Sunday afternoon games it has carried for 28 years. Google last month secured the rights to the next Sunday Ticket contract, and it will offer the plan on YouTube TV and YouTube Channels starting with the 2023 season.
While many fans seem to think that most DIRECTV customers get the Sunday Ticket, the number of Ticket subscribers has been in the 10-15 percent range for years. The Ticket’s steep price ($293 for the basic plan; $395 for the Max package) plus the fact that not everyone is a football fan has kept subscriber totals lower than you might think.
But that said, DIRECTV cannot afford to lose even 10 percent of its audience considering that it has lost 12 million subscribers since 2015 when AT&T purchased it. Cable and satellite operators are struggling to survive in a cord-cutting world and DIRECTV and Dish are most vulnerable because neither has a national Internet service it can bundle with video.
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So what can DIRECTV do to soften the blow of the Ticket’s loss?
1. Add the NFL RedZone Channel.
DIRECTV has included its own version of the RedZone Channel in the Ticket’s Max package. But that is expected to shutter after Sunday. The satellite TV service should announce a deal to add the NFL’s RedZone Channel as soon as possible to appease upset Ticket subscribers. Some fans think the RedZone Channel, which could be included in a base DIRECTV programming package, is just as good as the Ticket. Although the RedZone Channel won’t be in operation again until the 2023 season, DIRECTV needs to let its subscribers know it will be in their lineups when the NFL regular season resumes.
2. Add the NFL Network and RedZone to DIRECTV Stream
While DIRECTV Stream, the streaming sister to the satellite unit, has not carried the Sunday Ticket, it could add subscribers in 2023 if it carries the RedZone and NFL Network. And DIRECTV, as a company which includes Stream, needs every sub it can get. See this article for more details.
3. Strike a Subleasing Deal With Google For the Ticket
The NFL has retained the commercial rights to the Ticket as part of the Google contract. That means DIRECTV could still keep selling the Ticket to bars and restaurants with the right bid. But DIRECTV should also try to persuade Google to allow it to sell the Ticket in rural areas where the Internet is either nonexistent or unreliable. This might be a long shot but Google could be interested to offset a portion of the cost ($2.2 billion a year) of acquiring the Ticket’s rights.
If I was DIRECTV, I would also consider making this Sunday’s Ticket free to all subscribers as a good will gesture, although its contract with the league might prevent that. I would also consider gifting the remainder of the NBA League Pass and NHL Center Ice packages to paying Ticket customers.
Those are my ideas. What would you do to keep the Ticket’s subscribers from leaving? You can enter your suggestions below in the Comments section.
Happy viewing and stay safe!
Have a question about new TV technologies? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvanswerman.com Please include your first name and hometown in your message.
— Phillip Swann
@tvanswerman
I have had Direct TV since 2003 and the Sunday Ticket since 2012 so I am not leaving Direct TV. I live in a rural area that has no cable TV.
I would hope Direct TV and Google can strike a deal that allows rural customers to continue getting the Ticket.
I have been a DirecTV customer since 1997.
AT&T ruined the customer service and they completely blew up my loyalty to the brand.
As soon as I lost access to the East coast channels, I have had one foot out the door. Now I am gone for sure.
I will use an HD antennae with YouTube TV from now on.
Had DTV since ’95 and Sunday Ticket at the same time. NFLST is the reason I got DTV. I hate to give it up as their user interface is light years ahead of any streamer. Plus, streamers haven’t perfected their services yet. Stream lags during live events and service is interrupted way too often. Not sure what I’ll do in the future?
@TonyL. You earlier claimed that streaming is still in infant stage and now claim the user interface of DTV is light years ahead of any streamer.
You obviously are speaking out of intent bias and have no idea what you are talking about. Streaming technology has been around for more than 15 years now. It is very stable technology and used by many millions and millions across the globe for all entertainment mediums.
If you were experiencing any issues with streaming, the issue no doubt was with your internet service provider not the streaming service. This is a common misconception by those that have yet to become invested in internet technology that is used all the time by many millions who have moved onto and embraced 21 st century technology.
Offer two packages. One for Red America and another fro Blue America. Red channels include conservative news, family oriented. Blue channels would include Disney, CNN, MSNBC and ESPN
SpaceX!
1st “”MOVE”” ALL Customer Service BACK to the USA !!
“”MOST IMPORTANT””
2nd ADD ALL None Sports channels to the Basic Package.
(Now you have to subscribe to HIGHER,
MORE Expensive Packages to get ALL of them)
3rd Offer (Three) NON sports packages. Basic, $ 30.00,
Medium, $ 40.00, ALL $ 50.00
This will beat the competition and hopefully keep subscribers.
4th Offer ALL Sports as “A-La-Carte” to ANY of the above packages.
5th Offer the Movie Channels at a Reasonable Price.
6th Offer the NFL Ticket and ANY other Sports
to any of the Basic packages. “A-La-Carte”
7th ELIMINATE the “Regional Sports and Local Channel FEES.
8th ELIMINATE the Old DVR’s and Put Recording it in the CLOUD.
9th QUIT charging for HD. This is a REAL Screw Job,
charging some customers for a service that
SHOULD be INCLUDED in your service.
It is an OLD fee like the Phone Company
USED to charge for Touch Tone.
10th LOWER your Rates.
You are better than DirecTV management!
Then after you do all this, kiss your business GOODBYE!!!
Mark,
DirecTV is going to kiss their Business and
Customers GOODBYE if they DON’T change.
You have any better ideas ??
This-But DIRECTV should also try to persuade Google to allow it to sell the Ticket in rural areas where the Internet is either nonexistent or unreliable.
Would never work, first Google would never do it, second, how would DirecTV know how fast your Broadband service is, are they going to call every ISP in the USA to see if you are a customer of and how fast your speed is, how many hundred of thousands calls they would have to make, plus all the people trying to cheat the system.
Also, being in a Rural Area is not enough, I live in a rural area, Well Water/Septic Tank out of area House, yet I have 1G speed via Charter, how would DirecTV know that thanks to them taking money from Florida to hook us up.
Sorry, first time it is hard to read. Redone below
1st “”MOVE”” ALL Customer Service BACK to the USA !!
“”MOST IMPORTANT””
2nd ADD ALL None Sports channels to the Basic Package.
(Now you have to subscribe to HIGHER,
MORE Expensive Packages to get ALL of them)
3rd Offer (Three) NON sports packages. Basic, $ 30.00,
Medium, $ 40.00, ALL $ 50.00
This will beat the competition and hopefully keep subscribers
4th Offer ALL Sports as “A-La-Carte” to ANY of the above packages.
5th Offer the Movie Channels at a Reasonable Price.
6th Offer the NFL Ticket and ANY other Sports
to any of the Basic packages. “A-La-Carte”
7th ELIMINATE the “Regional Sports and Local Channel FEES.
8th ELIMINATE the Old DVR’s and Put Recording it in the CLOUD.
9th QUIT charging for HD. This is a REAL Screw Job,
charging some customers for a service that
SHOULD be INCLUDED in your service.
It is an OLD fee like the Phone Company
USED to charge for Touch Tone.
10th LOWER your Rates.
Begin the merge with Dish Network and the new venture is immediately a BIG player.
As a long time employee of DirecTV, I agree with all of your suggestions. I also strongly believe in returning their call centers back to the United States. It’s frustrating enough to have to call with an issue while navigating the automated operator, especially while troubleshooting. Once a live call operator finally answers, an language/accent barrier unfortunately only adds to the frustration.
In addition, I would personally like to see some of the long time managers replaced. Many have grown lackadaisical while working from home while others have continued to get away with their incompetencies while they rely on their supervisors in the workplace to handle their responsibilities.