[the2130]

I believe the DVR doesn't start until the Sept. 15 game.

The DVR was in effect for last night's game, it just isn't very good. I set the game to record and I was able to start at the beginning, but each time I stopped watching I had to start over at the beginning and fast-forward, since there is no resume option. And while you are fast-forwarding you can't see the content you are skipping over as you can with a DVR or with most streaming apps. You can only skip in 10-second increments, which is very tedious and cumbersome.

I tested on both my Samsung smart TV and Roku Ultra and got the same results. On the whole, it's a poor excuse for DVR functionality.

 

[the2130]

Found the dvr replay finally for last nights game on Amazon. They definitely need to add a resume feature and a preview for the FF. I found the FF on the Amazon Cube is much better than on the ATV. On the cube tapping the FF button FF's 10 seconds. If you hold the FF button down it continues FF'ing and there are 3 arrow on the screen showing the 3 speeds you FF. The thrid arrow you can FF through the whole game in about 10 seconds. The only visual cue while FF'ing is the hours, minutes and seconds on the screen couting up. The ATV FF is much worse. A tap on the right side of the track pad moves it at 10 seconds also and holding down on the right side of the trackpad sends it into a pretty slow fast forward. Ther eare no visual cues on the screen you can go faster if you quickly let up and tap again it speed up the FF to where it moves about a minute every second but it still takeas a long time if you want to FF like an hour. The ATV also has no review of the screen while FF'ing either. Also no resume on the ATV.

Yes, it's a very lame excuse for DVR functionality. I hope they can offer something better than this if they should get NFLST next year.

 

[the2130]

The NFL is still trying to extract as much money as they can get for the package, which is why no announcement has been made.

 

[the2130]

Well I don’t know about that, the person I talked with helped me out with my programming concearns. I don’t know why there’d be any reason I shouldn’t believe them?

If they don't have an answer for your question or issue, they just make something up. They do it because it's easier than finding the correct answer and they know they won't be held accountable.

 

[the2130]

So you are talking about maybe missing a quarter or less at most? Is that really a big deal?

If you miss the start of the game, you also miss the pre-game commentary, injury reports, lineups, etc. Yes, it's a big deal for those of us who follow out-of-market teams. And it doesn't just happen when the early game runs long. If it finishes early, they switch to bonus coverage and the bonus coverage sometimes overruns the start of the late game. Or it runs up to the start of the late game, in which case they go to a series of commercials before joining the late game in progress. I follow a west coast team that plays most of its games in the late afternoon slot and it has happened quite a few times.

NFL rules allow DirecTV to unblock the NFLST channel in these situations until the local station gets the feed of the late game, but you have to count on DirecTV getting it right. You also have to be watching live in order to know if the early game and bonus coverage are going to overrun the late game. It's very annoying.

 

[the2130]

What is your solution while still honoring all existing contracts?

The NFL could make them cut off the bonus coverage in time for the start of the 4:25 telecast. It's one thing if the early game runs long, but it's ridiculous to have to miss the start of the late game because of bonus coverage of another game.

 

[the2130]

By "bonus coverage" do you mean "pre-game"?

Bonus coverage is when a game ends and they switch to another game that is still going.

 

[the2130]

Why do you suppose they do that? My guess is because market research exists that says more people want bonus coverage to fill dead air time.

They could cut off the bonus coverage in time for the start of the 4:25 game. In fact, they do that if the local team is playing in the late game. They announce that they are switching to the scheduled telecast to comply with NFL rules. They will even cut off the early game itself if it overruns the start of the local team's game in the 4:25 slot, because they are required to do so by NFL rules.

 

[the2130]

How is this a problem?

What would you have them do differently while still allowing them to show you the full time block's allotment of advertising?

It's a problem because they let the bonus coverage overrun the start of the 4:25 game. As I already stated, they could stop the bonus coverage when the 4:25 telecast starts, which they do anyway if the local team is playing in the late game.

 

[the2130]

The practice pretty much guarantees the second game will be "joined in progress" unless your in market team is playing.

Let's just say it's a common occurrence. It's understandable if the early game runs long, but bonus coverage shouldn't be overrunning the start of the featured game in the 4:25 slot. Fans of the in-market team are protected from this practice, but those of us who follow out-of-market teams (and are actually paying for a subscription to watch the games) are at the mercy of the networks.

 

[the2130]

I'd imagine that more than a few would be furious if they missed the end of a contest that they were enjoying because the game went long regardless who they tuned in to watch.

Do you understand what is meant by bonus coverage? I guess it's possible some people would be infuriated by missing the end of a game they weren't watching to begin with, but I know for a fact that a LOT of of people are infuriated by missing the start of a game they are PAYING to watch.

 

[the2130]

Well are you really paying for it via OTA? Yes you are paying your DirecTV service but if breaking news interrupts a program on an OTA channel it is not like they are going to comp you for what you missed. Now if you were missing a game on Sunday Ticket that you are specifically paying for I could see the point. Yeah I know if it is on OTA is is blacked out on Sunday Ticket. I suppose if enough people were complaining about it to the network they maybe could change the way they do it unless the NFL says it has to be that way per their contract.

Those of us who subscribe to Sunday Ticket are paying to watch the games we want to see, whether they are on the local channels or NFLST. As to breaking news interrupting programs on OTA channels, I really don't encounter that these days, because I don't watch shows that way. Any shows I watch on the broadcast networks can be streamed the next day, which is how I watch them. No interruptions for breaking news or weather alerts, no on-screen graphics advertising upcoming shows, and no commercials.

 

[the2130]

Actually With ST you are paying for games that are not on your local channels. You pay for the games on local channels via your basic TV subscription which has nothing to do with Sunday Ticket. If you don’t get ST you still get the games on your local channels. Not related at all to ST.

Of course it's related. Local station carriage of games determines which games are available on NFLST. The two are directly related.

 

[the2130]

Nope. You get the local games without subscribing to NFL ST. Your zip code determines what is on your local channels. That, in turn, determines what you get on NFL ST if subscribed.

The two are directly related, as I already stated.

 

[the2130]

Your NFL ST subscription does not include the games aired in your market. If a second game is assigned to your market's CBS or Fox affiliate it is no longer part of your NFL ST subscription. You are not paying to see the kickoff and every minute of play of those games. At least not through an NFL ST subscription.

You are paying DIRECTV separately for delivering your CBS and Fox affiliates - but that carriage includes whatever the station is airing ... not any specific content that may be pre-empted by the station or network. There is no guarantee that you will see every minute of every game that is on your local affiliates either ... you are at the mercy of the local stations and networks.

I am well aware of rules and what I am paying for which services. I explained some of those rules to you at length in my previous posts, as you may recall. And yes, I AM paying to see the beginning of those games that are not carried on the local channels. That is why DirecTV is allowed to open up the Sunday Ticket channels if an early game runs late - so that Sunday Ticket subscribers don't miss the beginning of games they are paying to see. The problem is that it's a real hassle to avoid missing the start of a game. I have to keep tabs on the early game on the local channel and also three or four other games on the same network that could overrun the start of the late game if they switch to bonus coverage. And I also have to hope DirecTV isn't asleep at the switch.

 

[the2130]

How often does this typically result in you missing a key play?

It's not just missing a key play. If they join the game in progress, you miss the pregame commentary, injury reports, etc. And it happens fairly often.

 

[the2130]

There’s also the opposite. The first week the early game ran long and our local channel cut away from it to show our local teams game. People were upset they missed the ending of the early game.

Yes, NFL rules prohibit them from overrunning the start of the local team's game.

 

[the2130]

Yes that you are. And since they are not on the local channel and are on the ST channel why would you miss the beginning of it?

At least we agree on this point - that our NFLST subscription allows us to watch every minute of every Sunday afternoon game, either on a local channel or on NFLST. At least in theory, it does. If the early telecast overruns the start of the late game, DirecTV can unblock the NFLST channel. And if the local station switches games due to a blowout, DirecTV can also unblock the NFLST channel so that viewers can continue watching the game. The problem is that if you aren't watching live, you won't know they made the switch. And if you don't want to miss the start of the late game, you have to be watching the channel live at the time or you won't know they aren't joining the late game telecast on time. It also depends on DirecTV flipping the right switches at the right time to unblock the NFLST channels. They usually do, but not always.

The point I've been trying to make is that it's a lot more of a hassle than it needs to be and it doesn't always work the way it's supposed to. In-market viewers are protected by NFL rules that prohibit overrunning the start of the late game. They could do something similar by requiring the networks to stop the bonus coverage in time for the start of the late game.

 

[the2130]

I believe that the reason why Apple and the NFL have not agreed to a deal is not financial. Apple has the money and a path toward running a profitable service. I believe the gap in the agreement is exactly what content they are getting as an exclusive and what they can do with said content.

That's what some recent reports have indicated - that broadcast restrictions in current deal are the sticking point in the negotiations. In the current setup, a subscription to NFLST on DirecTV gets you access to every game - at least in theory. You can watch every game in its entirety, either on a local channel or NFLST, as long as you are on the right channel at the right time and you are nimble enough to switch channels as needed to navigate the blackouts. With NFLST on a streaming service, you would need a separate service to get the local channels. Availability on the streaming service would be dependent on what the local stations are carrying and whether coverage of the early games overruns the late games. In some cases they wouldn't know which games are available in which markets until the middle of the week or later.

An example is this week's featured game on Fox - the 49ers at the Rams. Early in the week it was listed in the program guide on the local Fox station in Atlanta, following the Falcons game in the early slot. The coverage map released on Wednesday showed the Giants-Seahawks game for the Atlanta market, and then the DirecTV program guide was updated it to show the Giants-Seahawks game on the local channel. Today it's back to the 49ers-Rams on the local channel.

 

[the2130]

The in market streaming rights belong to Fox and CBS. I assume that they will be prevented from carrying a game that they are not broadcasting in that market. Otherwise subscribe to their streaming services and don't worry about NFL ST.

Perhaps Apple could integrate the Fox and CBS apps?

We really don't know what is in the NFL's contracts with the networks.