View Full Version : D* - Would you still subscribe if not for NFL?
I am just curious, how many on here would still be a D* subscriber if D* did not have sole rights to the NFL Sunday Ticket Package...in other words, if you could get the Sunday Ticket via Dish or Comcast or whomever, as well as D*, would you still be a D* subscriber.
Trying to do a poll, hopefully it works.
Yes - I would still be with D* if they DID NOT sole rights to the Sunday Ticket
No - I would NOT be with D* if I could get the Sunday Ticket from another provider.
DCSholtis
10-31-06, 01:34 PM
Yes
rirwin1983
10-31-06, 01:38 PM
Yes D* does a much better job in maintainng a constant brand image as well.
bwaldron
10-31-06, 02:01 PM
I am just curious, how many on here would still be a D* subscriber if D* did not have sole rights to the NFL Sunday Ticket Package...in other words, if you could get the Sunday Ticket via Dish or Comcast or whomever, as well as D*, would you still be a D* subscriber.
Trying to do a poll, hopefully it works.
Yes - I would still be with D* if they DID NOT sole rights to the Sunday Ticket
No - I would NOT be with D* if I could get the Sunday Ticket from another provider.
I voted yes. However, it is much less of a definite yes than it would have been in the past, due to issues with picture quality and dropping of Tivo DVR's moving forward. I am looking at alternatives for the first time since subscribing to D* in 1997. I am a Sunday Ticket subscriber, but that alone will not be the deciding factor in my decision to stay with D* or move elsewhere.
What's Sunday Ticket? What's Football? What are sports? Don't watch any of those on TV personally, except maybe once in a rare while if my home team is doing well, late in the season (which admittedly isn't often).
There are many reasons to select a service provider. Content is obviously an important one. But it is certainly not the only consideration.
Carl
devellis
10-31-06, 02:03 PM
Carl, I'm with you. I'm glad all the sports stuff is there for people who want it but it plays no part in my decision.
Earl Bonovich
10-31-06, 02:07 PM
Yes... I get all the football I need from Local Channels.
Also I am assuming in your scenerio, Sunday Ticket is like "HBO" where anyone of the carriers can have it.... It is not an exclusive to any one carrier.
I'd vote a maybe but not an option. My current thinking is that I'm going to wait until D10 goes up next year and then base my decision on:
- How many new national HD channels they add and what they are
- Have the gotten the "8mm" issue on the HD-LIL's fixed yet for my location
- Is the HR20 still having problems
Once I know these answers I'll decided. I'd like to keep ST but not if D*'s HD programming and hardware still stinks.
What's Sunday Ticket? What's Football? What are sports? Don't watch any of those on TV personally, except maybe once in a rare while
Ditto that.
There are many reasons to select a service provider. Content is obviously an important one. But it is certainly not the only consideration.
Well...if two providers have the same content, or both have content you want, then, yes, you choose on a variety of other factors, but...
YOU DO NOT SUBCRIBE TO ANY PROIVDER IF THEY DON'T HAVE THE CONTENT YOU WANT!
Content is the ONLY reason to choose a provider if only one provider has the content you want.
For you and me, Carl, that's not sports, but WHATEVER it is, you go where the content you want is...why else watch TV?
What good is great picure quality price and service if all the carry are religious sermons in Spanish?
WOW. I guess I am stunned a bit...or else this forum is posted at D* HQ ;)
I figured it would be more 50/50....
Being a Cheesehead in the land of the FIBS (Earl will get that one), D* is my only choice....but must say the DISH HD offerings would have me jump ship in a heartbeat if they had NFL as well...
Now, in 8 months, my vote may change if D* actually delivers all avail HD channels in ALL their glory (not bit starved and overly compressed)....
Or maybe I am in the minority in here and am one of the few sportnut meatheads in here amongst a land of Sci-Fi/Star Wars fans...
Hey cookpr, did you mean to limit this poll to people who HAVE NFLST?
Otherwise, adding a "No interest in NFLST" option might be more revealing.
jimbo09
10-31-06, 02:33 PM
I voted "no" because I would have probably gone with Comcast since they wouldn't have to install a dish and you get locals and FSN bay Area in HD thru the box.
Earl Bonovich
10-31-06, 02:36 PM
Or maybe I am in the minority in here and am one of the few sportnut meatheads in here amongst a land of Sci-Fi/Star Wars fans...
If I was else where in the country, and couldn't get the Bears, White Sox, possible the Bulls, or the Illini (on a regular basis)... then yes... I can see me with a different carrier if they had exclusive access to it.
iceman2a
10-31-06, 02:46 PM
I voted yes, but if FioS was avlbl to me I would have to check it out!
Hey cookpr, did you mean to limit this poll to people who HAVE NFLST?
Otherwise, adding a "No interest in NFLST" option might be more revealing.
No, because then it would be very biased....
paulman182
10-31-06, 03:00 PM
I wish when I cancelled E* and signed up for D* I had looked into having them both. E* for its HD offerings, and D* for everything else, including ST.
But I got great deals on the D* HD hardware and I really like it. I have no affection for E*, but I would like more HD. I know its coming with D*, and then I'll be totally happy.
bwaldron
10-31-06, 03:50 PM
If I was else where in the country, and couldn't get the Bears, White Sox, possible the Bulls, or the Illini (on a regular basis)... then yes... I can see me with a different carrier if they had exclusive access to it.
Important point. If I were not a New England sports fan living in Florida, I would never have bought my BUD years ago nor later installed D*, and would very likely still be on cable...perhaps looking at FIOS more seriously.
The out-of-market sports content (not specifically Sunday Ticket) is why I originally purchased D* and why I have stayed. I'm sure I'm not alone, but I do of course recognize that there are many others for who sports is not a big issue. We sports nuts are a key target market for D*, though.
No, I am a big fan of an out of town team and I have no other way to watch my team. If ST were available through my local provider, I would likely opt for cable cards and the Series 3 TIVO. Not a certainty but it would be a lot more difficult of a decision.
jimbo09
10-31-06, 05:20 PM
If I was else where in the country, and couldn't get the Bears, White Sox, possible the Bulls, or the Illini (on a regular basis)... then yes... I can see me with a different carrier if they had exclusive access to it.
One advantage to being a displaced Chicago Sportsfan is WGN. They run 3-4 Cubs games, 1 or 2 Sox games, and at least 1 Bulls game weekly on the Superstation.
And, if Chicago teams are doing well, then they show up a lot on national TV. With WGN, ESPN/ABC, and TNT, there will be around 30-40 Bulls games on this season (that's about half the season without any kind of subscription!)
skierbri10
10-31-06, 05:28 PM
Probably yes.
ckelly5
10-31-06, 06:19 PM
I don't have DTV because of dish issues (can't get a signal in my apt), but I think I would still prefer to subscribe. I've never had an issue with Customer Service, and the prices have always been pretty good. I got three premium channel sets on DTV for the same price I pay now for one (technically two, but Comcast game me a special on the second). Not to mention there are channels I like on DTV (e.g. Fuel) that Comcast flat out doesn't have.
If NFLST were available on, say FIOS, it would be a tougher decision (I hear the PQ is *fantastic* on FIOS). In regards to cable/ FIOS vs DTV, I think that either the old DTiVo or the new NDS dvrs would still be way ahead of the Motorola Boxes that the non-DTV providers use.
Needless to say, DTV has exclusive rights to NFLST for quite some time, and it's definitely a factor for me going forward (I plan on going back as soon as I move out of this place next summer). It'll definitely be interesting to see what happens with overall PQ once the national MPEG-4 sats go up (and at that point will I even be watching SD channels?).
yes because D* is cheaper than DIGITAL CABLE in this area. i get a lot more features and channels than i do w/ cable.
1 mix channels LOVE EM
2 caller id on tv (i think Time Warner is the only cable company in the US w/ CID, and ther not in my area)
3 FUEL TV (only on directv in this area)
4 YES NET (again only on directv in this area)
5 boomerang
6 nick east and west,
7 MASN
8 100 hour DVR (cable in this area is 50 hours)
9 and a few other rrasons
Newshawk
10-31-06, 11:41 PM
I would stick with D* even if there were other outlets for NFL ST. First off, E* has too many packages, with programming that I would want being stuck in the most expensive tier. As for cable, there is no reason that I would go with a cable company ever again. Sure, I'd miss the local programming that cable provides, but that amount seems to be shrinking ore and more every year.
Larry G
11-01-06, 05:59 AM
I voted yes. I came to D* because of the Ticket, but cancelled it several years ago. I decided it wasn't worth the money, and I do not miss it.
NKy.Yall
11-01-06, 06:28 AM
I have had both D* and E* over the years so I can say that I can make a comparision between the two so given a choice, I would take D* everytime.
bearz 34
11-01-06, 06:37 AM
I have had both D* and E* over the years so I can say that I can make a comparision between the two so given a choice, I would take D* everytime.
Same goes for me. :D
^^^Wow!! My brother in law has Dish HD and a very similar setup to mine (he has a 56" Sammy DLP, I have a 55" Sony SXRD).
On ALL HD channels like ESPN, Discovery, etc, the picture quality on DISH was hands down superior....especially in low light or moving scenes...
Now, the last comparison I did was a couple months ago, and I have since heard Dish has put in place some of the same bit starving and compressing D* does, so it may be mute now....but man, was it nice to see all those HD channels (HGTV, Food, Monsters, etc)....
Probably not. Fios is now available here. I would definitely give it a shot. Getting tired of having to buy new equipment, and re-up a 2 year agreement every time I do so!:grin:
BattleScott
11-01-06, 11:51 AM
Voted yes. Price was and is the only reason.
Ordered the NFLST one year and half of the Steeleres games were on regional coverage, so it wasn't worth it. Now, if I could purchase one particular teams games...
I thinks I will start a new poll...
cbearnm
11-01-06, 12:08 PM
I've had ST for 8 or 9 years and it was the ONLY reason I got D*. I have stayed with it because it's comfortable and comparable to other choices. I am grandfathered in where I can (at least as of a year ago) drop all service and still retain ST.
It just doesn't seem worth it when I read the Dish problems, which are just as prevalant.
Local cable is no option for me. I live in the sticks and their lineup is weak at best.
So, I'll stay with D*, it's just not bad enough to explore options and I doubt I'll see FIOS at any point this decade.
BattleScott, I love your idea of a team package. As a Steeler fan myself (grew up in the 'Burgh), I have to have ST, but I would pay $100 for just the Steelers games. Especially this season, where they didn't even play on ST until October. Even then, it was the national game. I do watch other games, but that's because they are there.
Shoot, for me, if they threw in the red zone channel, I would be thrilled. I would bet they would get more revenue by having a team specific package (w/RZC) for $125/yr. A lot of ST subs (probably half or more) would stay with the full package, but they would get so many more team package subs that only want 'their' team, that would more than offset lost full packages. Let's sell them the idea.
I used to think like many here and the ST package was the greatest thing going then this year I had financial problems and had to cancel it.
You know what ? I haven't missed it near as much as I thought I would and in fact don't plan on going back next year.
I can get 3-6 live games a week on the locals, the NFL Network has a show called "NFL Replay" where they pick the best games of the week and in 90 minutes show the entire game minus the timeouts, halftime show, etc....
bluedogok
11-01-06, 09:38 PM
I got D* in 1998 because the area that I lived in was Cablevision and the signal was horrible, what led me to D* was Sports Pack and ST. Funny thing, I never bought ST until a few weeks ago when I did the HD upgrade. Money was the main reason that I never bought it but that hasn't been an issue for many years and it made me wonder why I never bought it before. I follow the Broncos but i tend to watch as much football as I can (sports in general) so I am glad that I got it.
My uncle switched from E* to D* a couple of years ago after getting a DLP, he was tired of the poor service from E*. I stayed with him while I was working in Dallas and I was less than impressed.
bwaldron
11-01-06, 11:15 PM
I got D* in 1998 because the area that I lived in was Cablevision and the signal was horrible, what led me to D* was Sports Pack and ST. Funny thing, I never bought ST until a few weeks ago when I did the HD upgrade. Money was the main reason that I never bought it but that hasn't been an issue for many years and it made me wonder why I never bought it before. I follow the Broncos but i tend to watch as much football as I can (sports in general) so I am glad that I got it.
My uncle switched from E* to D* a couple of years ago after getting a DLP, he was tired of the poor service from E*. I stayed with him while I was working in Dallas and I was less than impressed.
If E* were my only option, I would not consider leaving D*.
Yes, I would still be with Directv. There are enough Cowboys games on national tv and broadcast in Chicago that I don't need to buy Sunday Ticket.
That's especially true since they signed TO this year.
spanishannouncetable
11-01-06, 11:53 PM
Never had it
Never needed it
Would have / stay with Directv regardless on NFLST
Certainly fell more in line and probably shows us what D* already knows...in their current state/setup, D* would have a hard time staying afloat without the NFL.
While in no way scientific, I think this poll is pretty on in terms of D* could expect a near instant 30% customer base loss without the ticket...
Hence, the reason they pay into the billons...
I am just curious, how many on here would still be a D* subscriber if D* did not have sole rights to the NFL Sunday Ticket Package...in other words, if you could get the Sunday Ticket via Dish or Comcast or whomever, as well as D*, would you still be a D* subscriber.
Trying to do a poll, hopefully it works.
Yes - I would still be with D* if they DID NOT sole rights to the Sunday Ticket
No - I would NOT be with D* if I could get the Sunday Ticket from another provider.
How about a maybe option? I dont think I would go back to a service offered by a cable company however if AT&T was offering in a package deal I might. I have been with DTV since 1995 NFL ST was the key seller but the digital quality and fact I pay about 10$ more today for monthly with much more service than 1995 is why I stay ( well thats what I tell the wife but she knows main reason is NFL ST and laughs when retention folks give me my annual whine deal )
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