DirecTV Apologizes for Second Straight NFL Sunday Ticket Outage
DirecTV apologized to NFL fans again for the second straight week of glitches ruining its NFL Sunday Ticket feature. Football fans were frustrated again on Sunday when the outage made it impossible to watch their favorite teams. DirecTV plans to offer refunds to customers affected by the outage, which lasted about two hours.
"While NFL Sunday Ticket on our traditional satellite service performed as expected over the past two weeks, some consumers were temporarily unable to stream," a DirecTV spokesperson told ProFootballTalk in an email late Sunday. "We apologize to our customers for this experience and for any inconvenience." On Monday, the company issued another statement, confirming that customers will soon be reimbursed.
"We will begin to reach out to our customers who were unable to stream some of the games on Sunday to let them know we will automatically reimburse them for Week Two," DirectTV's follow-up statement read. "We apologize to our customers for their experience and for the inconvenience."
It's unclear how many customers will receive refunds. The problems only affected customers who tried to watch games online or with the DirecTV app during the first and second weeks of the NFL season. Customers watching the traditional satellite version did not experience the outages.
This problem makes the NFL's decision to let DirecTV's Sunday Ticket contract lapse look like a good move. This is the last season where DirecTV has Sunday Ticket exclusively. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell hinted earlier this summer that a streaming service might win the rights this fall, with rumors about Apple and Google being interested swirling, reports Deadline.
Sunday Ticket costs between $300 and $400 per season, depending on the package. The offering allows fans to watch their favorite NFL team, even if they live out of the market. For example, if you live far outside of the Dallas market but want to see every Dallas Cowboys game, the package is expected to allow you to do so.
In July, sources told the New York Times that the NFL is looking to sell the rights to Sunday Ticket for over $2.5 billion annually. Google reportedly offered a bid to bring Sunday Ticket to YouTube, starting in 2023, two sources told the Times. However, Apple is considered the front-runner, the Times reported. DirecTV is not seeking to renew its contract. "A number of companies are in a strong position to potentially land Sunday Ticket, but we still have a ways to go in this process," Brian Rolapp, the NFL's chief media, and business officer, said.