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NFL to stream games online — DirectTV customers only

by Steve O'Hear

August 28th, 2007 | Posted in Net TV | CommentsComments

NFL to stream games online — DirectTV customers onlyWant to watch NFL games (that’s American Football to most folks) over the web? Well, now you can, sort of (Ars Technica).

First, you’ll have to be based in the U.S. Second, you’ll need to be a current subscriber to DirectTV’s $269 satellite package. Lastly, you’ll need to pony up an additional $99 per year. Once you’ve met all of these criteria, you can then watch NFL games streamed to a Windows PC (Internet Explorer only).

As Josh Catone writes, over at Read/WriteWeb:

If that sounds like a bum deal to you, that’s because it really is. Compared to Major League Baseball, a pioneer in online sports streaming, the NFL package sounds just awful. As a New York Yankees fan living outside of their local market, I rely on baseball’s MLB.TV service to keep tabs on my favorite team. With MLB.TV for under $100 per season I can watch any out of market game streamed live, or watch full archives of completed games for the entire season, including edited/condensed games which show only the outcome of every at bat.

Josh then goes onto make the point: why would anybody want to pay to watch games online, if they’ve already got access via satellite?

It’s clear that the NFL’s crippled online offering is all about respecting its exclusive DirectTV partnership and controlling access to “out of market” games i.e. matches that aren’t shown on local TV.

Consumers know that this isn’t in their interests and are increasingly aware that the Internet provides the perfect platform for getting around any regional restrictions, with or without the support of the leagues themselves. A number of P2P services illegally re-stream sports coverage from television networks outside of the originating country, while Sling Media’s SlingBox enables users to stream their TV signal over the Internet for personal use (which could include live sports coverage).

Read Josh Catone’s full report “NFL to Stream Games Live Online — Poorly” over at Read/WriteWeb »

last100 is edited by technology journalist and consultant Steve O'Hear. Aside from founding last100, Steve has written for numerous publications, including The Guardian, ZDNet, ReadWriteWeb and Macworld, and also wrote and directed the Silicon Valley documentary, In Search of the Valley.

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  • coit
    DirecTV is kicking in the $99 Superfan for free for most subscribers if you ask for it....
  • Who cares if they are not broadcasting local games in your area. Just lie to your receiver!!! Go into the setup on your receiver, enter a different zip code from the one you are in, and you should be able to watch anything you want.
  • Mike
    Does this really work, I'm curious.
  • Hm3Deadcat
    This is just the beginning folks. I suspect in the future the NFL will try to have all games on a pay per view bases. That will be the day that I stop following football forever. Come on!! Doesn't the NFL make enough money with the ridiculous tickets prices, stadium parking fees, and nfl merchandise?!! The reputation of the NFL is being damaged everyday and they have the nerve to ask the fan to put more money out of their pockets.
  • Eric
    If the NFL really does try to have all games on a pay-per-view, maybe this stupid thing Americans refer to as "football" can just wither and die. That would be great and maybe some real football could be popularized in the states.
  • Joel Price
    The NFL has very complex TV contracts and the networks are paying billions of dollars to keep NFL games on TV and essentially off the Internet. When the networks find an Internet business model to match TV ad revenues you will see NFL games online at a much lower cost but this isn’t going to happen until 2010 when the Direct TV deal runs out. Other leagues that can't get the same TV dollars are more likely to look at the Internet at this point.
  • Andreas
    Eric, your post has me rethinking my stance as a pro lifer.
  • Bob
    Hey Eric
    If American football died what kind of football would we play? Certainly you dont mean something as tragically boring as soccer aka futbol, on second thought, perhaps americans would be better off getting proper rest through naps that will be taken while that boring crap is on, maybe you are right.
  • Dan
    Many countries in Europe have major problems dealing with "Football Hooliganism" - where fans fight, riot and generally cause mahem. Interestingly, this problem is almost non-existant at other sports - even very high contact sports such as Rugby. Could it be that a game where two teams battle it out to a 1 all draw, or a 2-1 win just isn't exciting enough? Maybe they should eliminate the goalie and make the game high scoring to add interest. American football may not be the most interesting ball sport either, but it holds enough interest that the fans watch the game rather than taking time out to try to kill each other. It's probably even interesting enough that some people will actually choose to pay these exorbitant NFL streaming charges.
  • dan
    Here is a good site-- http://www.freesportscasts.com
  • p2p is the best live channel, especially ESPN and FSC is the best channel.
    If u watch footbol match, u must watch them…

    http://www.macgunu.com / Watch Live Match With P2P Station
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