Press Release : DirecTV launches national search for the NFL "Ultimate Displaced Fan"

[Steve615]

DirecTV has analyzed data from more than one million Sunday Ticket subscribers to identify the cities that hold the highest percentage of fans for each NFL team.
In addition,DirecTV is setting out to crown one lucky NFL fan as America's "Ultimate Displaced Fan",and send him or her to Tampa,FL for Super Bowl XLIII and a "once in a lifetime" experience.
The full press release from DirecTV is at the following link.

http://investor.directv.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=333885

[Doug Brott]

Below is the full release:

DIRECTV Names Top NFL 'Displaced Fan' Cities in America and Launches National Search for the Ultimate Displaced Fan

Top Cities on DF List Include Las Vegas (Bears, Broncos, Raiders & Chargers), Orlando (Patriots, Lions & Bills) and Washington D.C. (Cowboys); National DF Search Will Send Winner to Tampa for Ultimate Super Bowl Experience

EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Sep 11, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Displaced, die-hard NFL fans who maintain a nearly obsessive allegiance to their favorite team despite being far removed from its local market will always have a home at DIRECTV. To honor those stalwart fans, DIRECTV has unveiled the first official list of the top displaced-fan cities in America and is also launching a national search for the Ultimate Displaced Fan.

DIRECTV analyzed data from more than one million NFL SUNDAY TICKET(TM) subscribers to identify the cities that hold the highest percentage of fans for each NFL team. In addition, the nation's digital satellite television leader is setting out to crown one lucky NFL fan as America's "Ultimate Displaced Fan," and send him or her to Tampa for Super Bowl XLIII and a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Notable among the list of top displaced-fan cities were Las Vegas and Orlando, the only cities to house the highest percentage of displaced fans for more than two different teams. Las Vegas led in displaced fans for the Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos, Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers, while Orlando played home to the highest percentage of New England Patriots, Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions fans. The list revealed several notable city/team relationships such as Washington D.C. housing the highest percentage of displaced fans for its most storied rival, the Dallas Cowboys, or Minneapolis housing the highest percentage of fans for its biggest rival, the Green Bay Packers. (See the attached list for a complete roster of Displaced Fan Cities and how they ranked.)

"Our NFL SUNDAY TICKET(TM) package, available only on DIRECTV, allows hundreds of thousands of displaced fans to watch their favorite team every Sunday--no matter where the fan lives or where the game is being played," said Paul Guyardo, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, DIRECTV. "We want to honor the undying loyalty of displaced fans everywhere with a nationwide search for the displaced fan with the most unique and compelling story."

The DIRECTV Ultimate Displaced Fan Search will allow NFL fans throughout the country to enter submissions on the DIRECTV Ultimate Displaced Fan Search page at DIRECTV.com/NFL between Sept. 11 and Nov. 30, 2008. There, fans can stake their claim to this unique title through written essays/blogs, photos or video submissions that illustrate exactly why they should be crowned the Ultimate Displaced Fan. One winner will be selected by a panel of judges, based on the example of dedication they display to their favorite team and the creativity of their submissions.

The winner will receive a dream prize package, including a trip for two and two tickets to Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa, Fla. In addition, the winner will get to meet Super Bowl XLII MVP and New York Giants Quarterback Eli Manning, as well as a player from their favorite NFL team (if it's not the Giants), and play side-by-side with celebrities and star athletes in DIRECTV's Celebrity Beach Bowl flag football game, also held in Tampa during Super Bowl week. Finally, the winner will participate in their own media tour where they'll rub elbows with NFL stars while doing interviews on "radio row" at the official Super Bowl media center.

"When we're on the road, we discover some of the most die-hard displaced fans supporting us in opposing teams' stadiums, and believe me, these fans are at the top of the list when you consider how loyal they are despite living in the hostile terrain of rival teams," said Eli Manning, DIRECTV's official NFL SUNDAY TICKET(TM) spokesman. "I can't wait to see the crazy submissions that are sent in for this contest as fans demonstrate how much they love their favorite teams."

Once again in 2008, DIRECTV's exclusive NFL SUNDAY TICKET(TM) service is providing the ultimate way to experience the NFL regular season. At home, fans can see up to 14 games every Sunday, including a Game Mix (SuperFan(R) feature) channel that displays up to eight games on one screen, the ability to pull team and player stats on demand with the push of a button, and the special Red Zone Channel (SuperFan(R) Feature) that allows viewers to see the best plays from every NFL SUNDAY TICKET(TM) game. NFL SUNDAY TICKET SuperFan(R) also provides more NFL broadcasts in HD than any other source -- up to 180 games in HD throughout the regular season. Away from home, SUPERCAST(TM) service allows fans to see every live NFL SUNDAY TICKET(TM) broadcast streamed to their laptop computer, and with NFL SUNDAY TICKET(TM) Mobile fans can receive up-to-the-minute highlights of the best plays on their cell phones.

The 2008 NFL SUNDAY TICKET(TM) service is available now for $289.95 and can be purchased by calling 1-800-GET-SPORTS or visiting DIRECTV.com/NFL.

About DIRECTV, Inc.

DIRECTV, Inc. (NASDAQ:DTV), the nation's leading satellite television service provider, presents the finest television experience available to more than 17.1 million customers in the United States and is leading the HD revolution with more than 130 HD channels -- more quality HD channels than any other television provider. Each day, DIRECTV subscribers enjoy access to over 265 channels of 100% digital picture and sound, exclusive programming, industry-leading customer satisfaction (which has surpassed all national cable companies for eight years running) and superior technologies that include advancedDVR and HD-DVR servicesand the most state-of-the-art interactive sports packages available anywhere. For the most up-to-date information on DIRECTV, please visit directv.com.

America's Top "Displaced Fan" City/DMA Results

Results

Below are the U.S. cities/DMAs (Designated Market Areas) featuring the largest out-of-market fan base for each NFL team (based on percentage of NFL SUNDAY TICKET(TM) subscribers in the DMA that have listed the specific team as their favorite). The results exclude all DMAs that are within the home territory of the local team.

1. Arizona Cardinals -- St. Louis, MO

2. Atlanta Falcons -- Greenville-Spartanburg, SC / Asheville, NC

3. Baltimore Ravens -- Harrisburg-Lancaster, PA

4. Buffalo Bills -- Orlando-Daytona, FL

5. Carolina Panthers -- Norfolk, VA

6. Chicago Bears -- Las Vegas, NV

7. Cincinnati Bengals -- Charleston-Huntington, WV

8. Cleveland Browns -- Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL

9. Dallas Cowboys -- Washington, DC

10. Denver Broncos -- Las Vegas, NV

11. Detroit Lions -- Orlando-Daytona, FL

12. Green Bay Packers -- Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN

13. Houston Texans -- Fresno-Visalia, CA

14. Indianapolis Colts -- Knoxville, TN

15. Jacksonville Jaguars -- Norfolk, VA

16. Kansas City Chiefs -- Des Moines, IA

17. Miami Dolphins -- Atlanta, GA

18. Minnesota Vikings -- Des Moines-Ames, IA

19. New England Patriots -- Orlando-Daytona, FL

20. New Orleans Saints -- Jackson, MS

21. New York Giants -- West Palm Beach, FL

22. New York Jets -- West Palm Beach, FL

23. Oakland Raiders -- Las Vegas, NV

24. Philadelphia Eagles -- Baltimore, MD

25. Pittsburgh Steelers -- Cleveland, OH

26. San Diego Chargers -- Las Vegas, NV

27. San Francisco 49ers -- Portland, OR

28. Seattle Seahawks -- Portland, OR

29. St. Louis Rams -- Fresno-Visalia, CA

30. Tampa Bay Buccaneers -- Greenville-Spartanburg, SC / Asheville, NC

31. Tennessee Titans -- San Antonio, TX

32. Washington Redskins -- Raleigh-Durham, NC

Methodology

-- To be considered "out-of-market" or "displaced," the customer's favorite team must be out of state and more than 100 miles away from the customer's location

-- An "out-of-market" or "displaced" fan must not be within the Home Team Territory (based on zip codes)

-- The criteria used to determine the largest out-of-market fan base was the percentage of specific team fans within the DMA

-- Percentages of fan base were used to balance the distinct size of each DMA consumer base and eliminate bias based on raw number of fans

SOURCE: DIRECTV

DIRECTV, Inc.
Robert Mercer, 310-964-4683
or
Leader Enterprises
Cory Nagatoshi, 562-546-6003

Copyright Business Wire 2008

News Provided by COMTEX

[Steve615]

Thanks Doug.I thought I would just give it a brief overview when I first saw the press release. :)

[Doug Brott]

Here's the URL: http://www.displacedfansearch.com/

You cannot send in your submissions via DIRECTV e-mail?

[T_N_T]

That makes me sick to my stomach seeing that the most displaced location for Squeelers fans is Cleveland,Ohio. How the heck did that happen?

[cdizzy]

So I assume I qualify for being a Seahawks fan in the Portland area?

[VegasDen]

LOL...Las Vegas is the displaced capital of the NFL (even though the NFL pretends Las Vegas doesn't exist).

[Sixto]

Guess I'm destined for West Palm Beach, FL.

Think I'll enjoy the warmer climate someday ... :)

[dmurphy]

Guess I'm destined for West Palm Beach, FL.

Think I'll enjoy the warmer climate someday ... :)

The big question though ... the current Super Bowl champs, or the hapless Jets?

(hapless Jets fan myself... non-displaced though! :-)

[sacalait]

Guess I'm destined for West Palm Beach, FL.

Think I'll enjoy the warmer climate someday ... :)

Hope you like the heat.

:welcome_s To South Florida.

Winter is from January 3rd-8th. It usually dips down to a blustery 48. Wind chill of 34. Bring a windbreaker.

[Nick]

From Today's SkyReport:Cities with Displaced NFL Fans? DIRECTV Knows

Given that it's the exclusive proprietor of the NFL Sunday Ticket out-of-market sports package, DIRECTV may know a thing or two about displaced football fans. In news released by the satellite TV company Thursday, DIRECTV said Las Vegas and Orlando ranked among the top cities for displaced NFL team fans. Sin City led in displaced fans for the Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos, Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers, while Central Florida played home to the highest percentage of New England Patriots, Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions fans, DIRECTV said. Also, Washington D.C., houses the highest percentage of displaced fans for the rival Dallas Cowboys, and Minneapolis is home to the highest percentage of fans for the Green Bay Packers, the company added.http://www.skyreport.com/#article8

[FHSPSU67]

That makes me sick to my stomach seeing that the most displaced location for Squeelers fans is Cleveland,Ohio. How the heck did that happen?

There's a ton of former Windber, PA people who have relocated to Cleveland through the years. Probably a lot from the former steel industry in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, too.
:)

[turls]

This is a little goofy--so St. Louis fans won't accept the Rams, but Houston fans accept the Texans over the Oilers (Titans)?

[dshu82]

Winter is from January 3rd-8th. It usually dips down to a blustery 48. Wind chill of 34. Bring a windbreaker.[/QUOTE]


Barely got that low, one day, in the two years I have been here! :lol:

[dshu82]

And it is ironic that I moved from Cleveland after changing jobs.... wonder how many years their statistics go back?

Go Steelers!

[sacalait]

Winter is from January 3rd-8th. It usually dips down to a blustery 48. Wind chill of 34. Bring a windbreaker.


Barely got that low, one day, in the two years I have been here! :lol:[/QUOTE]

Yeah, but you are further south in Coral Springs. That is much closer to the equator. We are so much closer to the polar caps in West Palm that it gets a little chillier here...

:icon_lol:

[dishlover2]

baltimore ravens used to be in the same league division afc central now afc north ravens afc south jaguars talk about displaced im a jaguars fan when baltimore and jacksonville i used to also be able to see jax/baltimore games both i wish taglibue would change it back to afc central

[EKrimmer]

That makes me sick to my stomach seeing that the most displaced location for Squeelers fans is Cleveland,Ohio. How the heck did that happen?
Clevelanders need somewhere to watch football :)

[fkostyun]

My wife considers herself a displaced giants fan, but, not a $389.95 displaced giants fan.

[thumperr]

IMO Cleveland being the most displaced Steelers fan is not accurate it is a DMA issue. There are a lot of Steeler Fans in Eastern Ohio and Northwest PA, that can't get Steeler games because they fall into the Cleveland DMA. Look at how Youngstown gets Browns games not steelers. If Baltimore and Washington were in the same conference you would see a similar effect. Fitting a similar scenario is Baltimore being the largest for Philly. This because the Northern part of the Baltimore DMA is going to get Redskin games, so the Philly fan has to get NFLST to see their games.

[Steve615]

Congrats to Ron Lawrence of Chesapeake,VA.
He has been announced as the grand prize winner of the contest.Here is what he gets for winning the contest:
1. A trip for two to Tampa,FL for Super Bowl week,along with 2 tickets to the big game.
2. He will also get 1 year of the Premier programming package and the 2009 ST package free of charge.
More info,and the press release from DirecTV at the following link.

http://investor.directv.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=355007

[dtv757]

its good to see somebody in my local area won!!!
thanks for posting the results

[kevinwmsn]

I'm suprised that there displaced Lions fans in Orlando.

The Magic Kingdom can't save the Lions.

[bleggett29]

Below is the full release:


3. Baltimore Ravens -- Harrisburg-Lancaster, PA


Methodology

-- To be considered "out-of-market" or "displaced," the customer's favorite team must be out of state and more than 100 miles away from the customer's location

Umm... It's only 75 miles between Baltimore and Harrisburg. I guess only the people in the northern part of the H-L, PA DMA qualify?
LOL...just realized the winner was already announced.

[dodge boy]

My best friend is a Raiders fan and lives near Youngstown, Ohio

[trainman]

I'm suprised that there displaced Lions fans in Orlando.

Orlando's a secondary market for the Bucs -- I know it's hard to believe now, but there was once a time when the Bucs were reliably worse than the Lions. :D

(I'm a Bucs fan living on the other side of the country, but not nearly "obsessed" enough to enter a contest like this.)

[Jeremy W]

I'm a Lions fan living in Detroit. I should count as a displaced fan, because I am in the only market where I'm unable to see half of their games! :lol: