Who wants Sunday Ticket?

You're going to need DirecTV, for the forseeable future. From the AP:


NEW YORK (AP) - The NFL agreed Monday to $8 billion in contract extensions with Fox and CBS to televise Sunday afternoon games for six more years, deals that would also allow the league to show better matchups late in the season in prime time.

The current eight-year contract, which expires after the 2005 season, was worth $17.6 billion, including the Sunday night (on ESPN) and Monday night (on ABC) packages. The extensions will run through 2011 and represent a 25 percent increase in rights fees.

The league still is in talks for the prime-time packages. The exclusive negotiating period for ABC/ESPN extends for nearly another year.

The deals give the NFL the option to move seven late-season games from Sunday to Monday night to feature more attractive matchups, according to an official within the league who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.


The NFL also can develop late-season prime-time satellite or cable packages of eight games, which would be televised on Thursdays and Saturdays. Or the league could take those eight games and show them regionally in prime-time telecasts on Sundays and Mondays.

"We got some protections," Fox Sports chairman David Hill said. "The last several weeks of the season, the NFL has the right to pull a game for Monday Night Football and we're still in conversation on (details)."

DirecTV also extended its deal with the league through 2010 for the Sunday Ticket package. The satellite distributor will pay $3.5 billion for the five-year extension.

Fox will pay $4.3 billion, or $712.5 million per year for the NFC games, the source said, while CBS will pay $3.7 billion, or $622.5 million a year. In the current deal, Fox is paying $550 million a year and CBS is paying $500 million.

"We're extremely excited to have a new six-year deal with NFL," CBS co-president Leslie Moonves said. "This happened ahead of when we thought it would happen, but we are thrilled with the deal we made.

"We made money on the last deal and will make even more on this deal."

CBS continues to televise AFC games, a package it acquired in 1998. CBS handled NFL games from 1956 through the 1970 merger, then took over the NFC until 1993, when Fox outbid CBS for that package. CBS then outbid NBC for the AFC games.

Commissioner Paul Tagliabue said there will be no changes in the traditional Sunday afternoon kickoff times for regular-season games.

Each network gets two Super Bowls during the contract period. CBS will do the game on Feb. 4, 2007, and Fox will handle the game a year later. The other Super Bowls for the networks will be assigned later.

The agreements also include a commitment by CBS and Fox to phase in high-definition coverage for all games and introduce new interactive elements to NFL game telecasts.

DirecTV televises via satellite every Sunday afternoon regular-season game to markets that otherwise would be blacked out of those games.

"Our DirecTV partnership complements and supports our broadcast television packages," Tagliabue said. "This new agreement expands our joint commitment to the ongoing development of innovative ways for fans to enjoy the NFL."

In addition to some interactive services, DirecTV will institute a separate "Red Zone" channel devoted to taking viewers from game to game when a team is inside an opponent's 20-yard line and poised to score.

Shoot, this thread title had me thinking you were giving away Sunday Ticket subscriptions

this sucks! I was hoping the league would not renew the exclusive contract with DirecTV
in two years. . . probably means i'll have to wise up and get rid of cable (which should happen anyway if comcast keeps raising the rates!)

I'm ready to announce that I've signed a long term deal with DirecTV to be a subscriber thru 2010. As long as they have Sunday Ticket, they have my entertainment dollar.

What do you guys think of this part of the deal?

The deals give the NFL the option to move seven late-season games from Sunday to Monday night to feature more attractive matchups, according to an official within the league who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

The NFL also can develop late-season prime-time satellite or cable packages of eight games, which would be televised on Thursdays and Saturdays. Or the league could take those eight games and show them regionally in prime-time telecasts on Sundays and Mondays.

Smootsmack, forgive me for being stupid...Does this mean that there might be more than one game on a Monday night if they choose to do this?

Skinsfan-Truthfully, I was wondering the same thing. I mean would that mean, as an example, the Philly/Pitt game would have been played Monday night because it was such an attractive matchup?

And do the prime-time broadcasts mean they would take a top game from the weekend before and rebroadcast it?

Skinsfan-Truthfully, I was wondering the same thing. I mean would that mean, as an example, the Philly/Pitt game would have been played Monday night because it was such an attractive matchup?

And do the prime-time broadcasts mean they would take a top game from the weekend before and rebroadcast it?

All I know is, whatever they do to put the Redskins on tv more here in New York is fine by me. I think this year we are going to get between 8 and 10 games televised. That isn't enough...I am so tired of the delay of the radio and nfl.com gamecast.

I love the idea of flex scheduling for MNF. There's nothing worse than a late season stinker. I also love the idea of Thursday and Saturday night games after Thanksgiving. The more football the better if you ask me.

As far as the DirecTV deal, I was really hoping digital cable would get a piece of the NFL Sunday Ticket deal. I can't get a dish in the apartment I live in now, so I'll have to keep waiting til I get my own house. But once I do, one of the first things I'm going to do is get on the horn and get a dish installed!!

I live in Texas and used to listen to Skins games on the internet before I got DirectTV last year. I used to see them twice, maybe 3 times when they played the Cowboys and/or a Sunday or Monday night game. I got DirectTV and haven't missed a game in 2 seasons, AND now I have local channels through directTV for way less than I was paying for cable and NO REDSKINS GAMES! Not advertising for DTV, but it's perfect in my situation.