US pay-television broadcaster DirecTV has cut the price of its NFL American football package by about 40 per cent for existing subscribers and offered it for free for one year to new customers in a bid to increase its audience.
DirecTV’s NFL Sunday Ticket service provides access to all regular-season NFL ‘out-of-market’ broadcasts, covering games that do not take place in the subscriber’s local region. It previously cost $325 (€248) per year. The price has been cut to $199.95 for existing customers, although access on mobile devices will cost an additional $100.
“NFL Sunday Ticket is an incredible product and we want to make sure it is accessible and affordable to as many of our customers as possible, so we made the decision to dramatically lower the price,” Alex Kaplan, vice-president of marketing for DirecTV, told the Bloomberg news agency. “With these new package options we hope that those who had the service before will enjoy it again, and those who have not had a chance to subscribe to NFL Sunday Ticket will take this opportunity to experience this fantastic service for the first time.”
DirecTV has held exclusive rights for the NFL’s out-of-market games since 1994 – a contract that is a major asset against pay-television rivals such as Comcast and Dish Network.
DirecTV had between two million and three million subscribers for its Sunday Ticket service last year, and the company currently has about 20 million subscribers in total.