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Many are excited about the inevitability of landing the NFL Sunday Ticket with a new provider for a variety of reasons, from the possibility of improving customer service over DirecTV’s current “please” approach to the potential of ‘expand functionality and more options for off-market viewing. games. No major change will be made.
It will not be anything cheaper.
CNBC.com’s Alex Sherman reports that the language of contracts between the NFL and CBS and Fox prevents a significant reduction in the price of a Sunday Ticket, which currently has a full season price of around $ 300. Similarly, an existing streaming service like ESPN + cannot simply add the Sunday ticket at no additional cost to increase subscribers.
That makes sense. CBS and Fox want people to see the games being offered in their local markets. If Sunday Ticket becomes too affordable, we will see you later with the normal Sunday display of affiliates in a given area.
While I have no reason to doubt the accuracy of Sherman’s report, I would like to approach it from a different perspective. The NFL negotiated new contracts with CBS and Fox last year, knowing full well that the clock is ticking on Sunday Ticket. If the NFL wanted to create a pathway for cheaper access to Sunday Ticket, it could have changed the term to CBS and Fox offers.
The NFL didn’t. Presumably, he didn’t want to. CBS and Fox would probably have offered much less to the NFL if it really was easier and cheaper for fans to get a Sunday Ticket, even though games available in the local market through CBS and Fox are turned off. The NFL also positioned itself for a higher payday for Sunday Ticket, as anyone who wishes will pay significant money for the privilege of watching games other than those offered locally for free.
In other words, the NFL is using the full extent of its antitrust exemption to maximize the revenue of CBS, Fox, and DirecTV by accepting and / or imposing conditions that make it more expensive for fans who, for example, live in Jacksonville. but root for the Steelers to watch every Pittsburgh game.
There are inherent antitrust issues to tell fans that their only way, if they live in Jacksonville, to watch all the Steelers games will be to buy the entire Sunday Ticket package. Fans should be able to buy Sunday tickets one game at a time or one week at a time. Instead, it was – and will continue to be – a major expense for any fan who doesn’t live in the market where their favorite team plays to follow the only team that attracted them to the NFL in the first place.
Think about this. The NFL wants you to have a favorite team. But the NFL subtly directs you to the team where you live, making it much more expensive to watch the team you prefer to watch. Last year there was an opportunity to make it cheaper by reviewing the terms that protect local CBS and Fox games, and the NFL didn’t.
So while football is family, greed is good.