I am on the phone right now with D* and they are quoting me 249.00 for ST that includes SF. I am sure as people call in they may get different prices but this is the package they are offering.

I am still trying to get a better deal

Good luck everyone

Just a bit of more information in that I was transferred to someone else and they knew nothing of this deal. They can do nothing with SF right now as it is not in the system just yet but I got a great deal on the ST piece.

that would be sweet !!:)

I have my doubts but I hope they do end the whole SF BS. But how much will they up the base package for everyone if they do?

mine is five payments of $52.80 i think... but i think thats the early bird price

cross my fingers... i hope SF is free or part of that package!!!

When I go to my programming page on the website it has two different line items for Super Fan. One has the payment installments of $33.00. And the other is for $00.00. So who knows whats going to happen?

I may have jumped the gun a little but I think you can call in and get yourself a good deal on the ST piece and may have to wait a few weeks on the SF piece as it is not in their system yet. I think the 1st person I spoke with was not giving reliable information.

I would think the SF pkg should go away now that all games are going to be in HD anyways.

I may have jumped the gun a little but I think you can call in and get yourself a good deal on the ST piece and may have to wait a few weeks on the SF piece as it is not in their system yet. I think the 1st person I spoke with was not giving reliable information.

I would think the SF pkg should go away now that all games are going to be in HD anyways.

Don't you think that's wishful thinking? SuperFan is an additional source of revenue (and they are trying to make money, BTW). And given that far less than 50% of their customers are HDTV viewers, and of this group only a small percentage are ST subscribers, the additional charge is passed along only to those ST subscribers with HD who choose to see all the games in HD. Would it even be fair to make all ST subscribers pay this cost when only a small percentage are actually watching the games in HD? Not to defend D*, but they have invested a lot of $$ in HD (satellites, etc) and they are going to do anything they can to recoup that investment, just like any other business.

Is it really only a small amount of D* HD subscribers getting the ticket? Do you know the #'s?
I couldn't live without it and my team is always on either locally or nationally in HD without it.

No Super Ticket subscriber numbers have ever been released -- as far as I can tell -- but recent estimates are that somewhere between 1.5 million and two million subs take the NFL ST package.

Don't you think that's wishful thinking? SuperFan is an additional source of revenue (and they are trying to make money, BTW). And given that far less than 50% of their customers are HDTV viewers, and of this group only a small percentage are ST subscribers, the additional charge is passed along only to those ST subscribers with HD who choose to see all the games in HD. Would it even be fair to make all ST subscribers pay this cost when only a small percentage are actually watching the games in HD? Not to defend D*, but they have invested a lot of $$ in HD (satellites, etc) and they are going to do anything they can to recoup that investment, just like any other business.

All very good points but I have yet to pay for SF and will not pay this year or any other year I either get it for free or I cancel the whole package it is their choice. The ST package is not what it used to be for me as I get to see my team every week but if I lived somewhere where I couldn't than yes I can see the value of the package. There are more games available to me now then when ST started and find for the most part there are only a hndful of Sundays where I say to myself thank god I have it as most games I want to see are on National tv anyways.

My account shows Super Fan with a charge of $00.00

My account shows Super Fan with a charge of $00.00

So does mine. And mine also shows Sunday Ticket with a charge of $0.00 I believe their billing system has not yet been updated for 2008.

'?' added to topic title.

'?' added to topic title.

i think "Now" should be replaced by "does not"....and "includes" should lose the "s". :D

So does mine. And mine also shows Sunday Ticket with a charge of $0.00 I believe their billing system has not yet been updated for 2008.

My account shows Super Fan with a charge of $00.00


So does mine. And mine also shows Sunday Ticket with a charge of $0.00 I believe their billing system has not yet been updated for 2008.

Mine does show a charge for Sunday Ticket.

I would think the SF pkg should go away now that all games are going to be in HD anyways.
That's exactly why the package won't be going away. The more HD games they carry, the more value the package has.

I'm just curious to see what will happen with my subscription. I signed up w/ D* in August last year on the ST promo. So I had the Premier package + HD + ST. I didn't have SF, yet I still got all the HD games and RZC-HD (and I know I didn't have SF because the RZC-SD was unavailable and when I called they said I didn't have SF). So I had something in between SF and no-SF - I don't know if that's the way it was for all new subscribers and I have no idea if it will roll over the same way.

That's exactly why the package won't be going away. The more HD games they carry, the more value the package has.

I disagree the HD games should be the standard now as there are no more SD games. If they want to charge for all the other stuff on SF that is fine but not games in HD which is the only way you can receive them.

Whenever I read about Sunday Ticket I wish we had the same system Canada and Mexico do - can get the package on any cable or satellite provider and for less money

:sadbanana

Every summer I tell myself I've had enough. The price keeps going up and this whole superfan stuff is criminal not to mention my wife bitching about the price when the bill comes. The next thing you know camp starts and the season gets closer and I end up ordering. This year will be my sixth. I'm addicted and for all the grief I get from the wife she's right there with me on Sunday ready for the games.

Every summer I tell myself I've had enough. The price keeps going up and this whole superfan stuff is criminal not to mention my wife bitching about the price when the bill comes. The next thing you know camp starts and the season gets closer and I end up ordering. This year will be my sixth. I'm addicted and for all the grief I get from the wife she's right there with me on Sunday ready for the games.

Sounds like my house :rolleyes:

This is a little off topic, but something you said, hotsauce reminded me that my DVR has ruined my Sundays. Now instead of being able to watch football in peace, my wife will say... "Just pause it, the game will still be there after you clean the bathroom (or some other tedious chore.)" :(

This is a little off topic, but something you said, hotsauce reminded me that my DVR has ruined my Sundays. Now instead of being able to watch football in peace, my wife will say... "Just pause it, the game will still be there after your clean the bathroom (or some other tedious chore.)" :(

I think you should get yourself a hot little maid that will keep your wife in line;)

I disagree the HD games should be the standard now as there are no more SD games.
That argument doesn't make any sense. They're providing you with more HD games now, so the $99 fee isn't justified, but it was more justified when there was less HD? Come on now, DirecTV is a business, and your argument makes zero business sense.

I got a mailer today saying that Superfan is $100, FWIW.

Whenever I read about Sunday Ticket I wish we had the same system Canada and Mexico do - can get the package on any cable or satellite provider and for less money

:sadbanana

It's not perfect in Canada. I live in the US and have Starchoice Canadian DBS (because where I live is outside the Bell ExpressVu footprint) and they offer NFL-ST, but not in HD. Although I do get a few extra HD games off of it from their US broadcast network HD feeds, CTV HD, and Rogers Sportsnet HD, it's not everything. Not even close.

Bell ExpressVu has everything, but like I said, not everyone in the US is physically able to pull in the signal. :(

I got a mailer today saying that Superfan is $100, FWIW
ST has gone up from $169 to $289 ($249 for renewing subscribers, thanks DCowboy7) since I first started subscribing to it in 1996. Another $100 for Superfan this season would be the breaking point with all the other increased costs for things these days. I got SF for free last season as some sort of deal.

My online June statement reads
06/01 06/30 NFL SUNDAY TICKET Renewal Notice: No Payment Due 0.00

It's not perfect in Canada. I live in the US and have Starchoice Canadian DBS (because where I live is outside the Bell ExpressVu footprint) and they offer NFL-ST, but not in HD. Although I do get a few extra HD games off of it from their US broadcast network HD feeds, CTV HD, and Rogers Sportsnet HD, it's not everything. Not even close. (
Depends on the day. I recall 2 game days last season where you got 9 different games on Sunday (6 on the US east/west stations + 1 CTV + 1 Sportsnet + NBC). While that's not all, it's a lot more than you get in the US without ST. But there's no guarantee for that, it could well be down to 3 games, if they're all showing the same game, and the east and west feeds have only one fox and 1 cbs game. Normally it's somewhere in the middle, e.g. 6 games.

I just checked my account with D* to see what it said for Sunday Ticket and Super Fan. And those both have not changed; they still say $0.00. What has changed is there is now a clickable box next to each line item (1 for ST and 1 for SF) that says "Remove". In the past, I thought you had to call and get a CSR to remove these from your account? Is that not the case anymore? Can you remove those yourself now?

ST has gone up from $169 to $289 since I first started subscribing to it in 1996.

its $249 for renewing subs.

Man I remember ST when it was $99.

Man I remember ST when it was $99.

i remember when a candy bar was a nickel....well not really.

Man I remember ST when it was $99.

I remember that's what got me interested in the whole offer. It seems every year Directv starts this mind game and I'm tired of playing the csr/retention game so I'm done with ST! I really don't care how many HD games they show. I'll take the many free games and spend the cash on something I can really enjoy (new wide angle lens for dslr).;)

i remember when a candy bar was a nickel....well not really.


I remember when Almond Cluster candy bars were 10 cents, and a loaf of Wonder bread was 25 cents. Got the candy bar walking the 2 miles home from school every day. :D

ST was $99 and you had to pay two bills every month for satellite. D* and USSB. The good old days. I couldn't believe ST was that cheap then, and now I can't believe I am still paying what they charge every year. LOL.

NFL ST since 1994

I'm not at all happy with the every single year ST rate increase and, truth be told, I will likely pay for SF if I can't get out of it (so far, credited the $99 every season). Unfortunately, from what I've been reading in various forums these past few weeks, it looks like this year will be much harder to get the SF credit compared to previous years. Nevertheless, at $20.47/week over 17 weeks ($249 renewal + $99 SF), it's still a bargain compared to a sports bar with no guarantee of a quality viewing experience and/or game you want, and the cost of food and drinks.

For my $20.47/week, I get a pause button, a spectacular viewing experience, a clean bathroom (for the most part), and plenty of eats. I may flip flop when ST goes above $300, as we all know it will. But for now, I think I'm still on board.

That argument doesn't make any sense. They're providing you with more HD games now, so the $99 fee isn't justified, but it was more justified when there was less HD? Come on now, DirecTV is a business, and your argument makes zero business sense.

I don't think it makes business sense to have contradictory policies. According to the wording of the HD Access fee, its coverage is the HD counterparts of SD programming that you subscribe to. Under this definition, you should receive the HD games if you pay the HD access fee and subscribe to NFLST. The wording of the Access Fee allows them to charge for the HD versions of HBO, Showtime , etc, plus it paved the way for them to create a new package of HD only channels. I would be fine with this approach if they applied it consistently. To pay the HD Access fee and then force you to buy the SF to receive the HD games is double-dipping.

called up yesterday.... i got superfan for free but still had to pay the sunday ticket for full price... not bad...

To pay the HD Access fee and then force you to buy the SF to receive the HD games is double-dipping.
I agree.

I may end my run of ST. Every year it seems like another 30 bucks. If enough people cancel, the price will have to come down.

Just got my SF for free good choice by D*

its $249 for renewing subs.

yeah, $249 PLUS $100 for superfan. so in reality its $350, which i guess is why this thread is so interesting...

I called last February and canceled Sunday Ticket. This month I noticed it was back on my bill so I canceled again. They offered Super Fan for free but I still canceled. The rep said it showed that I had called in February but she did not know why it wasn't canceled then.

DirecTV is offering a deal to new subscribers that charges $75 x 4 for Sunday Ticket but you get the Premier Pack, HD DVR, and DVR fees FREE for the 4 months. You still have to pay $100 for the SuperFan if you want it.

DirecTV is offering a deal to new subscribers that charges $75 x 4 for Sunday Ticket but you get the Premier Pack, HD DVR, and DVR fees FREE for the 4 months. You still have to pay $100 for the SuperFan if you want it.
They do that every year. It's an amazing deal, makes me wish I was a new subscriber so I could take advantage of it.

It's not perfect in Canada. I live in the US and have Starchoice Canadian DBS (because where I live is outside the Bell ExpressVu footprint) and they offer NFL-ST, but not in HD. Although I do get a few extra HD games off of it from their US broadcast network HD feeds, CTV HD, and Rogers Sportsnet HD, it's not everything. Not even close.

Bell ExpressVu has everything, but like I said, not everyone in the US is physically able to pull in the signal. :(

If you have DirecTV though, with the LA DNS HD channels, combined with the SC channels, that gives you 8 different CBS and FOX stations in 4 different markets. Not ideal, but it works for me. I've had the ST/SF package for years, but the last few of those years I've hardly ever used it. This year I've decided not to renew for sure. It's just too much money.

I don't think it makes business sense to have contradictory policies. According to the wording of the HD Access fee, its coverage is the HD counterparts of SD programming that you subscribe to. Under this definition, you should receive the HD games if you pay the HD access fee and subscribe to NFLST. The wording of the Access Fee allows them to charge for the HD versions of HBO, Showtime , etc, plus it paved the way for them to create a new package of HD only channels. I would be fine with this approach if they applied it consistently. To pay the HD Access fee and then force you to buy the SF to receive the HD games is double-dipping.

This will be especially valid when then is no more SD provided by the networks. That $99 SF charge will probably end up covering the costs DirecTV incurs in providing a down-rezzed SD version of the HD signal they receive. :D

NFL ST since 1994

I'm not at all happy with the every single year ST rate increase and, truth be told, I will likely pay for SF if I can't get out of it (so far, credited the $99 every season). Unfortunately, from what I've been reading in various forums these past few weeks, it looks like this year will be much harder to get the SF credit compared to previous years. Nevertheless, at $20.47/week over 17 weeks ($249 renewal + $99 SF), it's still a bargain compared to a sports bar with no guarantee of a quality viewing experience and/or game you want, and the cost of food and drinks.

For my $20.47/week, I get a pause button, a spectacular viewing experience, a clean bathroom (for the most part), and plenty of eats. I may flip flop when ST goes above $300, as we all know it will. But for now, I think I'm still on board.

Yeah, I'm with you here. This price is still cheaper than the first year I had season tickets to Rams in 1995. Those tickets were $25/seat and I paid for two seats. When I dropped my season tickets the price of my seats was at $44 a few years ago. People have all kinds of different reasons for watching ST so their desire to drop it when the price goes up will vary.

Sundays in fall I watch football all day following every game I possibly can with the 4 TVs in my living room. The HD RedZone channel is flat out one of the coolest things around and sold me on Superfan. ST for me is the one of the best entertainment values out there. I'm not sure what my limit would be for the cost of ST but I'm guessing it is higher than most.

I just called and the rep won't budge, saying there is no promotion right now. ($249+$100) What magic words/extension did all of you use (renewing ST members)? Told her I am this close to dropping the package this season and the extra charge for HD as others have stated in previous posts, is total BS.

I just called and the rep won't budge, saying there is no promotion right now. ($249+$100) What magic words/extension did all of you use (renewing ST members)? Told her I am this close to dropping the package this season and the extra charge for HD as others have stated in previous posts, is total BS.

I spoke with a supervisor in retention

spoke to rentention as well.. i said i was a quality customer and pay for the highest premier package... so they gave me superfan for free

I just called and the rep won't budge, saying there is no promotion right now. ($249+$100) What magic words/extension did all of you use (renewing ST members)? Told her I am this close to dropping the package this season and the extra charge for HD as others have stated in previous posts, is total BS.

Last year was the toughest for me. It was the first time I got a male rep in Cust Retent, and he was jerking me around for about 20 minutes. He finally confided to me that I had to actually say "I will cancel ST", and then he went into this whole "ST Retention Offer" script.

I've spoken to Cust Retent many times over my 14 year relationship with DirecTV. I've always found tact, being diplomatic but firm, and laying on the charm with a female rep, has always worked. There were several times where I felt I could've even got more, but I didn't want to push it.

I currently have some credits from my recent switch to the HR21, and they expire right around mid-August. That's when I plan on making my annual SF call.

Last year was the toughest for me. It was the first time I got a male rep in Cust Retent, and he was jerking me around for about 20 minutes. He finally confided to me that I had to actually say "I will cancel ST", and then he went into this whole "ST Retention Offer" script.I am going to try again and ask for the retention dept and mention . I had a female rep and being charming did not work.


If you pay $9.99 a month for HD carriage, at this point it should include the HD channels of a sports package - period.

I am going to try again and ask for the retention dept and mention . I had a female rep and being charming did not work.


maybe she wears a flannel shirt. ;)

I don't think it makes business sense to have contradictory policies. According to the wording of the HD Access fee, its coverage is the HD counterparts of SD programming that you subscribe to. Under this definition, you should receive the HD games if you pay the HD access fee and subscribe to NFLST. The wording of the Access Fee allows them to charge for the HD versions of HBO, Showtime , etc, plus it paved the way for them to create a new package of HD only channels. I would be fine with this approach if they applied it consistently. To pay the HD Access fee and then force you to buy the SF to receive the HD games is double-dipping.


so d* needs to add a phrase in the wording of the access fee statement that says "excludes sunday ticket". obviously, that is what the intention is, because that is what they are doing.

d* clearly believes that there is enough demand for superfan that they are unwilling to put superfan under the umbrella of the access fee. (which, by the way, is the same thing they are doing with extra innings.) we can huff and puff about what they say in the fine print and contradictory policies and all that, but in reality it's their call and their right to exclude superfan from the access fee.

I disagree the HD games should be the standard now as there are no more SD games. There may still be a few SD games, this season.

There may still be a few SD games, this season.

not according to ken h:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1032067

we can huff and puff about what they say in the fine print and contradictory policies and all that, but in reality it's their call and their right to exclude superfan from the access fee.

Perhaps, pointing out the inconsistencies in their wording can give people a little leverage when attempting to get the SF fee waived. If a huff and puff can save you $99, it's worth the effort.

so d* needs to add a phrase in the wording of the access fee statement that says "excludes sunday ticket". obviously, that is what the intention is, because that is what they are doing.The phrase will also have to say "excludes Extra Innings" as there is an extra charge there too.

Going to wait a couple weeks and try again, they probably have a note in my file "tried to con us for a free superfan package"

A few years ago when the SF became a separate charge, I cancelled. Forget how much money I have saved already, I lost 10 pounds the first season w/o ST for not drinking beer on Sundays! Got more things done around the house, the wife became more pleasant and less resistant to my new 250 hp jet ski purchase. I probably still watch too much footbal with college and getting my local team plus DNS HD LA and ESPN, but the benefits of quiting ST far outway having it. It would likely take a no fee SF and discount for the ST for me to go back, but I know that is not happening!!!

A few years ago when the SF became a separate charge, I cancelled. Forget how much money I have saved already, I lost 10 pounds the first season w/o ST for not drinking beer on Sundays! Got more things done around the house, the wife became more pleasant and less resistant to my new 250 hp jet ski purchase. I probably still watch too much footbal with college and getting my local team plus DNS HD LA and ESPN, but the benefits of quiting ST far outway having it. It would likely take a no fee SF and discount for the ST for me to go back, but I know that is not happening!!!

not 4 me....speak 4 yourself. :)
- i dont need to lose 10 pounds
- i dont drink much
- i do my house chores saturday
- im still young and single
- i dont jet ski

I just canceled ST. I told him 250 plus 100 for superfan is to much. He jumped in and said we we will waive superfan. I said 250 is to much hoping for a break but no deal. I got a new baby coming next month and figured my days of sucking down beers and watching Cleveland every Sunday will not be the best thing for my marriage. GO Lions on local :eek:

I just canceled ST. I told him 250 plus 100 for superfan is to much. He jumped in and said we we will waive superfan. I said 250 is to much hoping for a break but no deal. I got a new baby coming next month and figured my days of sucking down beers and watching Cleveland every Sunday will not be the best thing for my marriage. GO Lions on local :eek:

Everyone has to make choices especially these days I am real close as well to canceling I think 249.00 is as far as I will go with free SF. The price is way out of control especially these days with more games on cable tv. I signed up back in the mid 90's and I don't believe we had Sunday night football or Thursday's and Saturday's like we do now all the good games are pretty much on OTA or Sattelite/Cable

i'd cancel it if there was any other way of guaranteeing that i'll be able to see every green bay game while i'm living in san francisco.

Does anyone know if the NFL-ST HD games will be available in MPEG2 as in year's past? Thanks.

Everyone has to make choices especially these days I am real close as well to canceling I think 249.00 is as far as I will go with free SF. The price is way out of control especially these days with more games on cable tv. I signed up back in the mid 90's and I don't believe we had Sunday night football or Thursday's and Saturday's like we do now all the good games are pretty much on OTA or Sattelite/Cable

Everything keeps going up and up. Your right about more and more games on different nights and now NFL network showing games. This does diminish the value of ST. I found myself watching a lesser game sometimes that was not the national game on OTA because I am paying for damn it!

Does anyone know if the NFL-ST HD games will be available in MPEG2 as in year's past? Thanks.

Everything I have seen says MPEG 4

yea people keep saying how there are more games ota but that doesnt solve the problems of:

1 - watching a favorite team every week thats isnt in your home town.
2 - getting stuck watching the home town team when they are 3-8 instead of another good game that is then blacked out.
3 - not watching other games that u may have $$ on.
4 - having only 1 game to watch at either 1:00 or 4:15....ug.

yea people keep saying how there are more games ota but that doesnt solve the problems of:

1 - watching a favorite team every week thats isnt in your home town.
2 - getting stuck watching the home town team when they are 3-8 instead of another good game that is then blacked out.
3 - not watching other games that u may have $$ on.
4 - having only 1 game to watch at either 1:00 or 4:15....ug.

All very valid points but to some the price has gotten to a point it is hard to justify especially with the way things are today with 4.00+ gas and 4.50 heating oil

Everything I have seen says MPEG 4

Ut oh. According to directv's web site in the fine print in the Sunday Ticket section:

To access DIRECTV HD programming, Multi-Satellite dish, along with a DIRECTV HD Receiver, HD television equipment and HD Access fee ($9.99/mo.) is required. In some markets, a five-LNB Dish and H20 model DIRECTV Receiver are needed to receive HD local networks delivered by DIRECTV.

It looks to me like they are saying you'll need the 5-LNB only for local market games that are NOT available on the Ticket. There is no mention of needing the 5-LNB to access the HD Ticket....

Ut oh. According to directv's web site in the fine print in the Sunday Ticket section:

To access DIRECTV HD programming, Multi-Satellite dish, along with a DIRECTV HD Receiver, HD television equipment and HD Access fee ($9.99/mo.) is required. In some markets, a five-LNB Dish and H20 model DIRECTV Receiver are needed to receive HD local networks delivered by DIRECTV.

It looks to me like they are saying you'll need the 5-LNB only for local market games that are NOT available on the Ticket. There is no mention of needing the 5-LNB to access the HD Ticket....

There have been many posts on this in the past that it was going to be MPEG 4 this year so unless something changed I wouldn't count on seeing it in MPEG 2 but hey I have been wrong before

not according to ken h:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1032067Key word there is "plans." As of last week, CBS will not say "all." Hopefully, that'll change. But as of today.. do not assume "all in HD" is a guarantee. If that changes, I'll letcha know.

yea people keep saying how there are more games ota but that doesnt solve the problems of:


The thing is that there are less OTA games now than ever. The NFL-N package took mostly from the national Saturday late-December FOX/CBS games (and a game or 2 from ESPN). At most, there is one or two more games available w/o ST now than there ever was via OTA/regular cable.

The thing is that there are less OTA games now than ever. The NFL-N package took mostly from the national Saturday late-December FOX/CBS games (and a game or 2 from ESPN). At most, there is one or two more games available w/o ST now than there ever was via OTA/regular cable.

i think they count the nfln games as u dont need the ticket for them.

Called the CSR and asked her to take it off my account! It's just too expensive now! Hell we don't even have a local team here. My local teams are San Francisco and San Diego. :rolleyes:

i think they count the nfln games as u dont need the ticket for them.



Of course, but again, that package was mostly pulled from the Saturday late-season national games that used to appear on FOX/CBS.

I did a comparison. Taking out the 3 games/Sunday afternoon most get each week, I compared the number of national games scheduled for ESPN/NFLN/CBS/FOX/NBC in 2008 to national games on ESPN/CBS/FOX/ABC 10 years ago. There are 43 such games in 2008 and there were 41 such games in 1998, so like I said before, there is at most, a 2 game difference. 2 games does little to diminish the relative value of ST.

NFL ST since 1994

I'm not at all happy with the every single year ST rate increase and, truth be told, I will likely pay for SF if I can't get out of it (so far, credited the $99 every season). Unfortunately, from what I've been reading in various forums these past few weeks, it looks like this year will be much harder to get the SF credit compared to previous years. Nevertheless, at $20.47/week over 17 weeks ($249 renewal + $99 SF), it's still a bargain compared to a sports bar with no guarantee of a quality viewing experience and/or game you want, and the cost of food and drinks.

For my $20.47/week, I get a pause button, a spectacular viewing experience, a clean bathroom (for the most part), and plenty of eats. I may flip flop when ST goes above $300, as we all know it will. But for now, I think I'm still on board.

I agree with your logic....still on board.

Of course, but again, that package was mostly pulled from the Saturday late-season national games that used to appear on FOX/CBS.

I did a comparison. Taking out the 3 games/Sunday afternoon most get each week, I compared the number of national games scheduled for ESPN/NFLN/CBS/FOX/NBC in 2008 to national games on ESPN/CBS/FOX/ABC 10 years ago. There are 43 such games in 2008 and there were 41 such games in 1998, so like I said before, there is at most, a 2 game difference. 2 games does little to diminish the relative value of ST.

Very Interesting it seems like more

Very Interesting it seems like more

That's because it's more spread out. For example, instead of having 3 games each on a couple Saturdays late in the season on FOX/CBS/ESPN, they've been spread out to several Thursdays on NFLN.

I pinged Gary Qualls, a VP for DirecTV, this am, and this was his response to my note about SF being a ripoff for people already paying for HD:

Super Fan offers our customers significant value beyond just games in HD. The mix channels, red zone channel and ability to watch games
anywhere on your computer with Super Cast.

Let me know if there is anything we can do to solve any technical
issues.

Thanks for the business and feedback.

Gary

Blah, blah, blah... all that other trash means nothing to me. I have told him for 2 years running to separate HD from the rest of the crap they have in SF, and see how many fantasy folks want to pay $99 for that other stuff. Of course, they won't do that, as they would get very few folks signing up for it, IMO.

edited so as to not offend fantasy fans...

I pinged Gary Qualls, a VP for DirecTV, this am, and this was his response to my note about SF being a ripoff for people already paying for HD:



Blah, blah, blah... all that other trash means nothing to me. I have told him for 2 years running to separate HD from the rest of the crap they have in SF, and see how many fantasy freaks want to pay $99 for that other stuff. Of course, they won't do that, as they would get very few folks signing up for it, IMO.

I am with you 100% I have no interest in all the other crap I just want HD football. I am sure there is plenty of interest for others with fantasy leagues in what not but for me all I want and use is the HD.

Give Gary this URL and see how many dissatisfied customers he has - I don't do fantasy football and rarely watch the Red Zone and mix channels. I just want HD games.

The red zone channel is the best for fantasy leagues... oh well... i still got it for the regular price and the super fan for free....

What is the 'regular price' with SF free?

So I just get a call from the "President's Office of Direct TV", and the gal proceeds to tell me what a value SuperFan is, how they are contractually bound to charge for HD on NFL games, how it wouldn't be fair to people who don't watch sports to subsidize HD for those that do, blah, blah, blah. I let her drone on, and when she was done, asked why SuperFan wasn't a part of ST back when I first signed up, yet I still saw a good portion of the games in HD? And why did SF show up just after D* overpaid the NFL for the exclusive rights to broadcast the whole schedule? Coincidence? I think not, and have told them that every year that I have protested SF.

She then called me a habitual complainer, recounting my past calls to get SuperFan thrown in for free. I agreed, and told her that I told Gary last year that I would protest SF every year, as I am being charged for something that used to be part of the package. Now, I realize that prices go up, and I don't mind paying the higher price for ST. But when D* tries to cover up their own overpayment to the NFL, by bundling the previously included HD with a bunch of other worthless crap, and tell us how much the new bundle of crap is worth, I have the right as a consumer to say, not so fast.

Sunday Ticket is a great hook, so maybe they didn't overpay for it. It honestly is the only reason I still have a satellite dish on my roof. I work for a company owned by AT&T, and the U-Verse lines were laid in our neighborhood last week. If I spit the Sunday Ticket hook, I can set the D* junk, (including the reconditioned HD DVR the installer tried to tell me was brand new), on the curb, and say sayonara. We had hail on the casa in May, and will be getting a new roof this month. That would be a good time to not have the dish put back up there, no?

Finally, I asked the gal why she called me. She said it was to tell me that I wasn't getting SuperFan for free. I told her she should have saved her breath, that Gary had already told me that earlier. For all of you that are getting CSRs to waive SF, my hat is off to you. There are other subscribers out here that are getting the big weinie!! :mad:

I haven't called the office of the president in a long time and each time I did I got what I wanted. I understand D* is trying to make a buck or 2 or 3 however I still believe this SF crap needs to go.

I haven't called the office of the president in a long time and each time I did I got what I wanted. I understand D* is trying to make a buck or 2 or 3 however I still believe this SF crap needs to go.

Well, they called me, and it was pretty clear that the purpose of the call was to NOT give me what I wanted. Good luck if you give them a call; as you know, and as this thread attests, consistency is never a stong suit for D*. :cool:

Well, they called me, and it was pretty clear that the purpose of the call was to NOT give me what I wanted. Good luck if you give them a call; as you know, and as this thread attests, consistency is never a stong suit for D*. :cool:

If they were to call and give me crap I would have Verizon there the next day.

Going out of there way to tell you they will not help you? Possibly special circumstances I don't know about, but........

Going out of there way to tell you they will not help you? Possibly special circumstances I don't know about, but........

Maybe you never know???

Going out of there way to tell you they will not help you? Possibly special circumstances I don't know about, but........


You've never had someone try to tell you were getting a good deal, when you really didn't think so? That's all it was. When I told her Gary had already told me I wasn't getting SF earlier today, she said she didn't know that.

Lack of communication at D*? Nah, say it ain't so, Uncle Jim! Say it ain't so....! ;)

So I just get a call from the "President's Office of Direct TV", and the gal proceeds to tell me what a value SuperFan is, how they are contractually bound to charge for HD on NFL games, how it wouldn't be fair to people who don't watch sports to subsidize HD for those that do, blah, blah, blah. I let her drone on, and when she was done, asked why SuperFan wasn't a part of ST back when I first signed up, yet I still saw a good portion of the games in HD? And why did SF show up just after D* overpaid the NFL for the exclusive rights to broadcast the whole schedule? Coincidence? I think not, and have told them that every year that I have protested SF.

She then called me a habitual complainer, recounting my past calls to get SuperFan thrown in for free. I agreed, and told her that I told Gary last year that I would protest SF every year, as I am being charged for something that used to be part of the package. Now, I realize that prices go up, and I don't mind paying the higher price for ST. But when D* tries to cover up their own overpayment to the NFL, by bundling the previously included HD with a bunch of other worthless crap, and tell us how much the new bundle of crap is worth, I have the right as a consumer to say, not so fast.

Sunday Ticket is a great hook, so maybe they didn't overpay for it. It honestly is the only reason I still have a satellite dish on my roof. I work for a company owned by AT&T, and the U-Verse lines were laid in our neighborhood last week. If I spit the Sunday Ticket hook, I can set the D* junk, (including the reconditioned HD DVR the installer tried to tell me was brand new), on the curb, and say sayonara. We had hail on the casa in May, and will be getting a new roof this month. That would be a good time to not have the dish put back up there, no?

Finally, I asked the gal why she called me. She said it was to tell me that I wasn't getting SuperFan for free. I told her she should have saved her breath, that Gary had already told me that earlier. For all of you that are getting CSRs to waive SF, my hat is off to you. There are other subscribers out here that are getting the big weinie!! :mad:


Wow. I half expect them to next send a rep to your door to kick you in the nuts.

You've never had someone try to tell you were getting a good deal, when you really didn't think so? That's all it was. When I told her Gary had already told me I wasn't getting SF earlier today, she said she didn't know that.

Lack of communication at D*? Nah, say it ain't so, Uncle Jim! Say it ain't so....! ;)

I meant that it seemed rude of them.

Wow. I half expect them to next send a rep to your door to kick you in the nuts.

Castle Doctrine here in Texas, I wouldn't recommend it...

:D ;)

I haven't called yet as I hate to have to play the game. Before I do I think I will scrutinize the Brown's schedule as I understand many more games are available on a national level this year. My team (Browns) is the only team I am willing to pay for so maybe to save $300.00 in return for missing half the games........maybe.

I haven't called yet as I hate to have to play the game. Before I do I think I will scrutinize the Brown's schedule as I understand many more games are available on a national level this year. My team (Browns) is the only team I am willing to pay for so maybe to save $300.00 in return for missing half the games........maybe.

Yep, instead of D*, I should really be cheesed off at my Vikes, who seem to have had a decent off-season, thereby getting my hopes a little higher than they normally would have been.... :rolleyes:

Just to add my story to the mix -

I have gotten SuperFan for free every year since it started. Last year they tried to bill me for it ... when I threatened to cancel Sunday Ticket, they relented.

We're a HD/Every preimum channel / 3 sports package household so we must be an upper tier customer.

This year they wouldn't budge on SuperFan, so it seems like they are cracking down more. I ended up canceling Sunday Ticket and they didn't blink, even after speaking to retention.

I imagine I will regret this during the first Sunday I can't watch my team or flip around to different games, but I can't justify $350 any more.

+ favre might be coming back now. :D

I haven't called yet as I hate to have to play the game. Before I do I think I will scrutinize the Brown's schedule as I understand many more games are available on a national level this year. My team (Browns) is the only team I am willing to pay for so maybe to save $300.00 in return for missing half the games........maybe.

Hello Brownbacker... I think I read the Browns were to be on national tv seven times this year. Fox has them against cowboys week one for the national game. I did quit the ticket this year because of this and the 350 bucks.

I called in today with the intention of canceling ST if they didn't give me SF for free. (like I got last year) The guy that took my call heard what I had to say, offered me a $99 credit to offset the SF charge and wondered if that was enough to get me to keep ST. I told him yes. He put me on hold and came back on about 2 min later and said "done". Took 5 min total. I guess I got lucky.

Superfan is free this year to everyone and if they don't give it to you, refer to this e-mail I just got today.
http://customerinfo.directv.com/directv/?U70u4GW4VnxsZAopNJRzJuyJE4BEpvy5U

Superfan is free this year to everyone and if they don't give it to you, refer to this e-mail I just got today.
http://customerinfo.directv.com/directv/?U70u4GW4VnxsZAopNJRzJuyJE4BEpvy5U

Not free to everyone. Look right underneath Antoine Winfield's knee. You are evidently one of DirecTV's "select customers". Good for you, (sincerely), but this is another part of the whole SF screwjob that has been a pain in my side. Some current D* customer's get the offer, some don't. :mad:

I have been a long time ST subscriber (~1996) and I was not offered the free SF, even though every year I call, complain and get it for free. I feel that if I pay for ST and HD access every month anyways that SF should be included.

Even though I thing ST is too much $$$, I went ahead and called CS to do my
annual spiel of why I should get SF thrown in for free. No dice..so I canceled ST right then and there. It seems to me that there are different pricing strategies for some that seems odd. I for one think that professional sports is pricing itself out of most peoples pocket books considering the current state of the economy. That and ridiculous player salaries..

My cancellation of ST now has me rethinking the whole D* thing. I also have cable, but used DTV for mostly sport packages and a change of pace in my home theater. Like I said above, I have been a subscriber since ~1996, but I guess D* wants new blood and doesn't care about long time subscribers that help build there network..hmmm sounds strikingly familiar..

Now to call my cell phone company.....

I haven't called yet as I hate to have to play the game. Before I do I think I will scrutinize the Brown's schedule as I understand many more games are available on a national level this year. My team (Browns) is the only team I am willing to pay for so maybe to save $300.00 in return for missing half the games........maybe.

Looks like you may be in luck...

http://www.footballdrills.com/blog/nfl-schedule-2008-national-tv-appearance-winners-and-loosers/

But check it against this, as the first guy has the Vikes with 2, and there appears to actually be 3:

http://blogs.timesunion.com/sportsmedia/?p=378

I received the email offer for free superfan. FWIW, I cancelled last year because I just didn't want to pay that much (ST+superfan). I expect that is why I received the offer this year.
It does suck if you don't get the offer, especially if you have purchased ST every year like I had (until last year).
I went for it but if I don't get it free next year, I will cancel again.

So there are e-mails circulating about free SuperFan? I can tell you what type of customer ISN'T getting them: the one who has paid the stated asking price for years. I have never called to complain about the price of any of my programming and never threatened to cancel if I didn't get something for free.

I guess I should start doing that. :rolleyes:

So there are e-mails circulating about free SuperFan? I can tell you what type of customer ISN'T getting them: the one who has paid the stated asking price for years. I have never called to complain about the price of any of my programming and never threatened to cancel if I didn't get something for free.

I guess I should start doing that. :rolleyes:

Nope. All that will get you is a call from the "Office of the President", telling you that you are a habitual complainer. :p :D

So there are e-mails circulating about free SuperFan? I can tell you what type of customer ISN'T getting them: the one who has paid the stated asking price for years. I have never called to complain about the price of any of my programming and never threatened to cancel if I didn't get something for free.

I guess I should start doing that. :rolleyes:


I would call and ask about the free superfan offer. You might get it. Alternatively, you could cancel it at the end of each season to see if you get better offers.

My offer was $20 off regular price + free superfan.

Looks like you may be in luck...

http://www.footballdrills.com/blog/nfl-schedule-2008-national-tv-appearance-winners-and-loosers/

But check it against this, as the first guy has the Vikes with 2, and there appears to actually be 3:

http://blogs.timesunion.com/sportsmedia/?p=378

the thing is in the blogs he is only counting primetime national tv appearences....the browns play the cowboys in week 1 and its the fox national game which most people will get....the blog doesnt count it cause its not primetime but like i said alot of people will get that game.

Just wanted to share my latest D* experiences.

I recently had a bunch of promos on my account that expired bringing the total monthly bill to well over $100. I have their HD plus every premium movie channel package. Called CS, told the rep I was going to switch back to my local cable provider, after a short conversation he gave me all premium channels free again for 3 months and knocked $10 off the bill for the next 12 months.

Then this past Sunday as I went to watch the Euro Cup final I realized that my local ABC affiliate was down on D* but working on Cox. After watching the game on a 1" flash player on my computer I called CS, talked my way up to a supervisor and got a ST discount of $50 with Super Fan included.

Not too shabby by these guys. I never had this type of service from Cox or Time Warner.

I never had this type of service from Cox or Time Warner.

That TYPE of service? They don't even serve customers in the same dimension. Customer Service reps for cable companies are actually located on the other side of a black hole. The evil side.

You can bitch for 45 minutes about service outages and poor quality signal to a cable co, and beside the privilege of being transferred 37 times, they will then credit your account 68 cents for your trouble. Government regulation has created a monopoly for those companies, and they take every advantage.

I haven't decided what I'm going to do about SF yet - but I'll have to check my email to see if I'm a "select" customer or not. I did get SF free last year due to being a new subscriber. I'll definitely threaten to cancel for a shot at getting it free - but I'll probably just cancel if I can't. $200 is pushing it imo. At $250, they're far past what I'm willing to pay. My computer is in the same room as my TV - so I have no problems live-tracking my fantasy players. I don't need to see the plays. Just the points ;)

At $250, they're far past what I'm willing to pay.

It's $250 IF you get SF for free. It's $350 otherwise. :mad:

Did not get the special e-mail either (and what criteria are they using?). I wonder if I do cancel this year, they will try to woo me back next year. Like "new subscribers" to magazines getting a better rate vs. renewals.

I went ahead and called the sports telephone number on the e-mail offer, and told the CSR that I wanted to take advantage of the offer for $20.00 off NFL plus free Super Fan. He said he had to bring up my account. Some where in there I said I had an e-mail offer, and he sounded very enthusiastic and congratulated me. I assume he then had my account and his attitude changed, and he would have to put me on hold. He came back and was not so entusiastic. Keep in mind I never said I had received an e-mail offer. He said, in effect, that if I had an e-mail offer it would be credited for Super Fan by Sept. 7. I said I was concerned it wouldn't get done and described my efforts last year which resulted in a compromise $50.00 credit. He again put me on hold. He came back and asked me to verify my e-mail address. I gave it to him, and I then asked for his name and employee number. He said he had made a note on my account, and repeated I would get a credit by September 7. For the third time he told me what a good customer I am.

I guess we can all draw conclusions from my conversation, but mine is that they don't know what to do at this point. Obviously, I am not on their list of receipients who received the "sacred" e-mail.

While D*** can pretty much do whatever they please, it is not a level playing field. If we don't like what they do, we can't cancel w/o paying a penalty. Not fair.

An interesting coincidence is that VERIZON was on my street laying FIOS cable. That is an option. I am finally cancelling my E* subscription for several reasons, not the least of which is their HD DVR has a major glitch with no fix in sight.

I'd love to see D* offer team packages. Let me see all my Steeler games in HD. $20+ a week is getting to be not worth it to watch one game...

Anyone know if they will let you cancel the ST and get a refund after you have started paying? I've made two payments now and am having second thoughts.

Anyone know if they will let you cancel the ST and get a refund after you have started paying? I've made two payments now and am having second thoughts.

Asked that of a CSR recently. You can cancel the whole shebang prior to the first game. After that no dice.

I'd love to see D* offer team packages. Let me see all my Steeler games in HD. $20+ a week is getting to be not worth it to watch one game...



Great Idea. Will never happen.

Being in my early 70's, I remember when the individual teams "sold" their TV rights. Indeed, the early Browns had a 4 team (as I recall) network that came on with: "This is the Network of the Champions". But you have to give it to the owners. They figured that millions were to be made so each team sold its TV rights to the league, and the rest is history. I recall that the Browns were the last hold out.

When the NFL sold the rights to CBS, you used to get the home team announcers in your market. In other words, same video feed to each market, but separate audio feed.

Thought you "young uns" might enjoy a little history.

I have seen a few posts discussing the available HD games and that most NFL games are now broadcast by the networks in HD (few SD games). Since the majority of the games are broadcast in HD, will those games be available in HD even if you do not purchase SF?

Since the majority of the games are broadcast in HD, will those games be available in HD even if you do not purchase SF?
Only the ones on your local station, just like if you didn't purchase ST at all.

Called up, complained, took about 10 mins but the CSR gave me superfan for free this year. Total $250 sunday ticket, Superfan $0. Same as last year. I'm happy. It's a pain to call and complain, but it beats payin $100.

Called up, complained, took about 10 mins but the CSR gave me superfan for free this year. Total $250 sunday ticket, Superfan $0. Same as last year. I'm happy. It's a pain to call and complain, but it beats payin $100.

Happy for you; but unbelievable. What next.

Happy for you; but unbelievable. What next.

I agree, I would have cancelled the whole thing if they said no. I've never had to pay for superfan, and i've been getting sunday ticket for like 7 years, since the HD games were free, so it's an easy argument. I don't complain o them often, just once every year right around this time over superfan.

the key thing here though, is that the CSR was able to give it to me for free without putting me on with a supervisor or going to retention, so there's obviously some kind of option in their system, the trick might just be making sure you get a good CSR on the line.

the key thing here though, is that the CSR was able to give it to me for free without putting me on with a supervisor or going to retention, so there's obviously some kind of option in their system, the trick might just be making sure you get a good CSR on the line.

Exactly. Now that's customer service, right? Ha!

I sent this URL to Gary Qualls, so he can see that I am not the only one that thinks paying for SF is BS.

Happy for you; but unbelievable. What next.
Unbelievable?

Hardly. This has been the case since SuperFan appeared on the scene. Further, all of the multichannel providers do the exact same thing, in one form or another. Some people simply get better deals than others.

We used to have a topic called 'CSR Russian Roulette' that pretty much covered it...........

Unbelievable?

Hardly. This has been the case since SuperFan appeared on the scene. Further, all of the multichannel providers do the exact same thing, in one form or another. Some people simply get better deals than others.

We used to have a topic called 'CSR Russian Roulette' that pretty much covered it...........

on another site they have a poll:
out of 108 responders 40% are getting superfan for free.

on another site they have a poll:
out of 108 responders 40% are getting superfan for free.

What's the site?

on another site they have a poll:
out of 108 responders 40% are getting superfan for free.

Now there's a statistic that may come in handy, although I'm not sure how.

This will be my 6th season of Sunday Ticket and I've managed to get the $99 Superfan charged waived every time with a quick phone call.

I was going to call after getting my first bill with the ST charge on there, and I just received it. However, I noticed the line items for both show this:

08/02 08/01 NFL SUNDAY TICKET Early Renewal in 6 Payments 41.50
08/04 09/03 NFL SUNDAY TICKET SuperFan Renewal Notice: No Payment Due

Could it be that I've already got it for free with the renewal, or do they not start billing it yet?

Anyone else showing a $33 charge for Superfan yet?

What's the site?

dbstalk....directv programming forum....poll:the free sf poll thread.

08/02 08/01 NFL SUNDAY TICKET Early Renewal in 6 Payments 41.50
08/04 09/03 NFL SUNDAY TICKET SuperFan Renewal Notice: No Payment Due

Could it be that I've already got it for free with the renewal, or do they not start billing it yet?

Anyone else showing a $33 charge for Superfan yet?

I thought the same thing last year. Because SF is 3 installments of $33, it will likely appear on one of the next 2 bills. If so, you will still need to make your annual phone call. :(

one good thing, I got this email today:

Confirmation: DIRECTV® Service Credit

Acct # X

This email confirms that a credit of $99.00 has been applied to your DIRECTV account.

We recommend that you keep a copy of this e-mail for your records.

To confirm that this credit has posted, please sign-in to your account at directv.com (or register, if you haven’t yet) and click on View Recent Activity.

I like that they're doing this now, so you don't need to call up months down the road with a he said/she said story.

dbstalk....directv programming forum....poll:the free sf poll thread.
DBSTalk is a sister site to AVS, nobody is going to care if you link directly to the thread:

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=132225

Unbelievable?

Hardly. This has been the case since SuperFan appeared on the scene. Further, all of the multichannel providers do the exact same thing, in one form or another. Some people simply get better deals than others.

We used to have a topic called 'CSR Russian Roulette' that pretty much covered it...........

Allow me to expand. Unbelievable in the REAL WORLD. Business as usual in the D* WORLD.:(

Ut oh. According to directv's web site in the fine print in the Sunday Ticket section:

To access DIRECTV HD programming, Multi-Satellite dish, along with a DIRECTV HD Receiver, HD television equipment and HD Access fee ($9.99/mo.) is required. In some markets, a five-LNB Dish and H20 model DIRECTV Receiver are needed to receive HD local networks delivered by DIRECTV.

It looks to me like they are saying you'll need the 5-LNB only for local market games that are NOT available on the Ticket. There is no mention of needing the 5-LNB to access the HD Ticket....

Got a mailer today from D* to get me "excited" about my renewal to ST. In the same mailer was an insert telling me "URGENT! You will not see games in HD without your free HD equipment update." It gave me a phone number for my free HD equipment update @ No Charge and No extended contract. The "fine print" sounds like one free HR20 or 21 and free install of 5 LNB dish.

Also on my bill I have a charge next month for NFL ST but no superfan at all. Charge for ST is 6 payments of $41.50 as stated in the mailer. The mailer also said I was going to be renewed to SuperFan for "just" 6 payments of $16.50.

I have 3 HD receivers I have owned forever so I may see if I can get all three upgraded for free on this deal.

Sure sounds like no MPEG4 - no HD Sunday Ticket to me only SD Sunday Ticket.

The other thing I was wondering is how D* will price ST next year when the locals will all be in HD?

I guess they would still offer a SD package to subscribers with no HD receiver, right?

But would not attrition make that go away at some point when everyone has a digital TV?

Allow me to expand. Unbelievable in the REAL WORLD. Business as usual in the D* WORLD.:(

Like I said, all multichannel providers, and I mean all, engage in this behavior, to one extent or another. DirecTV is by no means alone when it comes to inequitable dealings with subscribers.

The other thing I was wondering is how D* will price ST next year when the locals will all be in HD?

I guess they would still offer a SD package to subscribers with no HD receiver, right?

But would not attrition make that go away at some point when everyone has a digital TV?

I'd get all ST subs into HD receivers, and if they want to use the SD outputs, fine.

The other thing I was wondering is how D* will price ST next year when the locals will all be in HD?

The gal from the "President's Office" told me the other day that there were going to be no changes to the way Sunday Ticket HD is handled, (wrapping it up with a bunch of meaningless stuff, and calling the turd baby "SuperFan"), until at least after the 2010 season. I imagine that coincides with the expiration of thier exclusive deal with the NFL.

I imagine that coincides with the expiration of thier exclusive deal with the NFL.
It coincides with the expiration of their CURRENT exclusive deal with the NFL. Let's not pretend there won't be another one, because there will. Nobody, including the NFL, DirecTV, CBS, and Fox wants to see NFLST move away from being exclusive to DirecTV.

It coincides with the expiration of their CURRENT exclusive deal with the NFL. Let's not pretend there won't be another one, because there will. Nobody, including the NFL, DirecTV, CBS, and Fox wants to see NFLST move away from being exclusive to DirecTV.

I wouldn't be so sure about that. Around the time of the current contract being signed, there was some speculation that that would be the last exclusive that the NFL agreed to. Don't forget that $ is king to the robber barons that are the NFL owners. If DirecTV doesn't bend over, (and thus, continue to to bend their subscribers over), at the time of the next contract, the deal could be off. And there is also that anti-trust issue that pops up everytime a new contract is signed.

In any event, there are at least a couple more years of the anguish that is StuporFan. :mad:

I've had ST since 2001, and had been able to get SF for free every year except for last year. Last year I got a $50 credit. I cancelled ST for this year, but it wasn't the money issue. I cancelled because the lack of dual live buffers in the HR20 killed the way I watched football with Sunday Ticket. I thought about re-subscribing for this year, but wasn't able to get the SuperFan for free. $350+ is too much for something I asn't using much last year.

In the event this hasn't been posted yet, I'd imagine many of you might find this helpful: http://customerinfo.directv.com/directv/?U70u4GW4VnxsZAopNJRzJuyJE4BEpvy5U

--Mav

In the event this hasn't been posted yet, I'd imagine many of you might find this helpful: http://customerinfo.directv.com/directv/?U70u4GW4VnxsZAopNJRzJuyJE4BEpvy5U

--Mav

it was post #101....but the "select customer" disclaimer on its kills many people.

it was post #101....but the "select customer" disclaimer on its kills many people.

Ah-ha. I have only 1/2-way been paying attention to this since I'm not willing to shell out that kind of coin for ST/SF, but the email think piqued my interest enough that I thought it worth posting. Sorry I didn't catch it posted earlier.

Anyone ever figure out how you get to be a qualifying "Select Customer"?

--Mav

P.S. FWIW, I'm with those who think this ability to haggle with D* is ridiculous. They need to make pricing consistent (actually, I'd prefer consistently better, but just "consistent" would be fine at this point). I wonder how much of an administrative headache it causes for them to have to keep track of 12,000,000 separate and distinct plans/pricing!

For $350 you could almost afford to go to an NFL game. By yourself. No food or drinks. No souvenir.

For $350 you could almost afford to go to an NFL game. By yourself. No food or drinks. No souvenir.

Considering that the ST appeal for a lot of us is watching the "home" team play, when we no longer live in that area, I'm considering getting a Slingbox. For much less than D* is charging for one season of ST, I can pick up a Slingbox, have someone back home set it up, and BINGO! Vikes games in Texas! Year after year!

Considering that the ST appeal for a lot of us is watching the "home" team play, when we no longer live in that area, I'm considering getting a Slingbox. For much less than D* is charging for one season of ST, I can pick up a Slingbox, have someone back home set it up, and BINGO! Vikes games in Texas! Year after year!

Remeber I'm old and way out of touch. What is a "slingbox"?:confused:

Considering that the ST appeal for a lot of us is watching the "home" team play, when we no longer live in that area, I'm considering getting a Slingbox. For much less than D* is charging for one season of ST, I can pick up a Slingbox, have someone back home set it up, and BINGO! Vikes games in Texas! Year after year!

Not that it is a bad idea, but Slingbox PQ is worse that watching SD D*, but again it would be cheaper and a one time expense, plus beer for your friend. If your friend back home has a high speed upload - like 500kps - then your quality might be around 640 x 480. If I am wrong on this someone please correct me. I have the original Slingbox and still like to watch it when I travel, you just have to know the limitation when you are on the road. I find sports to be the hardest to watch because of all the motion.

Remeber I'm old and way out of touch. What is a "slingbox"?:confused:

http://www.slingmedia.com/go/slingbox

I wouldn't be so sure about that. Around the time of the current contract being signed, there was some speculation that that would be the last exclusive that the NFL agreed to.
The speculation occurs every single time. Without fail. The NFL will not open up the distribution of NFLST. CBS and Fox wouldn't stand for it, and no matter how greedy you consider the NFL to be, they can't afford to lose their TV partners.

The speculation occurs every single time. Without fail. The NFL will not open up the distribution of NFLST. CBS and Fox wouldn't stand for it, and no matter how greedy you consider the NFL to be, they can't afford to lose their TV partners.

It was open last time, but Comacst begged off as it was too expensive. It wouldn't surprise me at all if DirecTV's exclusivity on ST is over the next time around. The dynamics of delivering content will have changed quite a bit in the next 2 years. It will probably be something like the MLBEI is today.

The speculation occurs every single time. Without fail. The NFL will not open up the distribution of NFLST. CBS and Fox wouldn't stand for it, and no matter how greedy you consider the NFL to be, they can't afford to lose their TV partners.

They also can't afford to lost the anti-trust exemption they were granted in 1961. Think what you want...

Phew! This was the first time I had to do the CSR roulettle dance for the SF credit.

Two days ago, I got a guy in their NM call center who seemed like he was trying to break the record for quickest cancellation. I tried to slow him down and engage him, but it didn't work. This morning, the complete opposite. I got a gal in their TN call center and she immediately offered me the $10/month for 12 months credit. I told her I didn't want anything more than what I was asking for (i.e. just the $99 SF credit), but she said it would be easier for her to do the $120 arrangement.

We'll see what happens again next summer...

The other thing I was wondering is how D* will price ST next year when the locals will all be in HD?

But would not attrition make that go away at some point when everyone has a digital TV?

The digital conversion next years means all channels will have to be digital NOT high def. High def signals are digital, not all digital signals are high def. Make sense?

Phew! This was the first time I had to do the CSR roulettle dance for the SF credit.

Two days ago, I got a guy in their NM call center who seemed like he was trying to break the record for quickest cancellation. I tried to slow him down and engage him, but it didn't work. This morning, the complete opposite. I got a gal in their TN call center and she immediately offered me the $10/month for 12 months credit. I told her I didn't want anything more than what I was asking for (i.e. just the $99 SF credit), but she said it would be easier for her to do the $120 arrangement.


Every time I think I've heard it all. Now this. What next? Kep em coming.:)

The digital conversion next years means all channels will have to be digital NOT high def. High def signals are digital, not all digital signals are high def. Make sense?

I guess what I was trying to say - and was clear as mud - was that there will be no 4:3 analog signal anymore, only digital. Almost every football game in digitial is in HD. D* could show the games in WS SD or 4:3 SD and take up more bandwidth and channels to do this. But I believe Ken H has the right idea, that it would make more sense for D* to get their NFLST subscribers into an HD receiver. This could create additional revenue paths for them as lots and lots of people are going to be buying HD TV/s even if they don't need to.

I'm going to try to call tomorrow about the upgrade deal I talked about on the last page and I'll let everyone know what happens.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=easterbrook/071030

A MUST READ. I liked the assertion that "NFL ST is D*'s Loss Leader".

I like how he talks about how rain makes the signal go away he made it sound like if it sprinkled you were screwed. That is an old article from last year so nothing really new there but still good reading.

Called back today and told them I wanted to cancel ST. When the rep started to process the cancellation, I asked her "aren't you going to put your retention manager on the line?" She asked why I was cancelling (the spiraling cost, $99 Superfan) and put me on hold. When she came back on the line, she offered me Superfan for free and charged me a total of $269.

Are those who say they are getting SF for Free really getting if for Free? As a past subscriber I was initially offered ST for $249 (6 X $41.50) and SF for $99 (6 X 16.50). So those who are paying $269 with the Free ST are not getting a $99 discount. Seems like the D* shell game. Their email to me claimed the $249 was $50 off their retail cost for ST.

I just cancelled ST as I think the price is getting out of hand and as my own protest for the loss of HD DNS. Sunday and Monday nights get many of the better games and I can watch all the local team games on my networks. Since I am not an "out of market" fan, the price crossed my threshold. The CSR agree with me that it was getting too expensive and made no effort to keep me. He even said that he gets it free at a D* employee and that he would not buy it if it wasn't free. Not much of a retention attempt!

Are those who say they are getting SF for Free really getting if for Free? As a past subscriber I was initially offered ST for $249 (6 X $41.50) and SF for $99 (6 X 16.50). So those who are paying $269 with the Free ST are not getting a $99 discount. Seems like the D* shell game. Their email to me claimed the $249 was $50 off their retail cost for ST.

the prices are all over the place....some people are paying $269 for st and getting sf for free as sf just shows up as $99 charge on the bill but then also shows a $99 credit back too for a total sf charge of $0.

Are those who say they are getting SF for Free really getting if for Free? As a past subscriber I was initially offered ST for $249 (6 X $41.50) and SF for $99 (6 X 16.50). So those who are paying $269 with the Free ST are not getting a $99 discount. Seems like the D* shell game. Their email to me claimed the $249 was $50 off their retail cost for ST.

I just cancelled ST as I think the price is getting out of hand and as my own protest for the loss of HD DNS. Sunday and Monday nights get many of the better games and I can watch all the local team games on my networks. Since I am not an "out of market" fan, the price crossed my threshold. The CSR agree with me that it was getting too expensive and made no effort to keep me. He even said that he gets it free at a D* employee and that he would not buy it if it wasn't free. Not much of a retention attempt!

$249 renewing sub, $269 Early bird sub.

reading other sites it seems that starting today everyone thats calls is getting sf for FREE !!!

I called just now fulling committed to cancelling. the CR (not even customer retention) asked if I would keep it if they would knock $10/month off for 6 months. I declined. She then offered free SF. I asked if she could do better. So she offered SF for free and $10/month off for 6 month. So bottom line was $189 for the ST with SF. I agreed.

$189 for the ST with SF.
If DirecTV offered that to me, I'd take it in a heartbeat. But I've never subscribed to ST, so they'd never give me that offer.

If DirecTV offered that to me, I'd take it in a heartbeat. But I've never subscribed to ST, so they'd never give me that offer.

So what is your interest in this thread? :confused:

reading other sites it seems that starting today everyone thats calls is getting sf for FREE !!!

Link?

reading other sites it seems that starting today everyone thats calls is getting sf for FREE !!!

If in fact that is the case why don't D* just drop this stupid add on and stop wasting not only our time but all the calls into their call centers.

If in fact that is the case why don't D* just drop this stupid add on and stop wasting not only our time but all the calls into their call centers.

Because the number of people on internet forums only represents a very small percentage of NFL subs. Other people don't know that you can call and get it for free.

Because the number of people on internet forums only represents a very small percentage of NFL subs. Other people don't know that you can call and get it for free.

I hear you and agree but I still think this just a waste of time for their customers and their csr's

Link?

just posts from dbstalk.

Got my first bill with ST and SF on it yesterday, just called, and the CSR first offered $10 credit per month for 6 months. I said I would take that for 12 months, but quickly amended that to 10 months, telling her I wasn't looking to make any money, just not to get dinged for SF. She said she would issue me a $99 credit, showing up on my next bill. Good for me, but it still doesn't damper my comments on the hit or miss behavior of D*, nor the ridiculous nature of charging D* customers for HD twice.

I am about to bite the bullet and sign up for ST and the free premier package for 4 months. My only other alternatives where I live is Comcast or AT&T dish network. My question is more related to D* in general. How is the HD quality on D*? Is it a solid service overall, aside from ST? How are the HD-DVRs?I am just scared about being locked in for 2 years if I dont really like the service all that much considering ST is only about 4 months out of the year.

Thanks guys.

I am about to bite the bullet and sign up for ST and the free premier package for 4 months. My only other alternatives where I live is Comcast or AT&T dish network. My question is more related to D* in general. How is the HD quality on D*? Is it a solid service overall, aside from ST? How are the HD-DVRs?I am just scared about being locked in for 2 years if I dont really like the service all that much considering ST is only about 4 months out of the year.

Thanks guys.

Everyone has different opinions but I have been with D* since 96 so needless to say I have had a good experience with them. I think you will find that most agree the HD on D* with the new MPEG 4 is really very good. I use to have the HD Tivo but like D*'s box better. Is everything perfect with D* of course not but I think you will be happy with the choice. Good luck in whatever you choose.

By the way you will find people on these boards that hate D*, Dish, cable and every other provider out there, but love their provider. These boards for the most part are negative so keep that in mind.

So what is your interest in this thread? :confused:
What does it matter?

I am one of the few grandfathered "ST-ONLY" D* subscribers - have been this way since 2000 - I have FIOS for my regular TV package. For 8 months out of the year my receiver sits unplugged on a shelf and my monthly D* reads $0. I am happy to say that I have never paid for SF and, after tonight, I won't again in 2008.

I called and spoke with a CSR earlier this evening and very nicely requested that the $99 SF fee be waived. I indicated that HD games used to be included in the package and that it is not right that now they look to charge an extra $99 to see them. She initially offered $10 off for 6 months, but I was persistent and requested that the entire amount be waived as it had in the past -she reconsidered and said that she would be able to waive the entire amount.

Then it got interesting -- the D* billing system would not allow her to modify the cost of SF on my account. She said that because I do not have a base package, any change (new order, credit, etc.) would DQ me from the "ST-ONLY" subscription and subsequently force the addition of a base package onto my account.

Next, she showed some real initiative and went back to my bills from last year - she said that she would need to "get creative" with the billing system in order to apply the credit. In the end, she told me that I would need to pay the ST & SF fees as through the regular installments --- however, she would have her supervisor apply a straight $99 credit to my account to cover the SF fee - the credit will be reflected on my next statement.

I am curious, are there any other "ST-ONLY" subscribers on this board? Are you also having luck getting the SF fee waived?

So what is your interest in this thread? :confused:

lol

anyway, i decided last week that enough is enough and after 8 years cancelled sunday ticket. there are a great many things i could do with the reclaimed money and time. plus i get to see my jets for free anyway

wow that was actually too easy. called to cancel and was immediately asked if i would keep it if superfan was free. guess im keeping it another year

wow that was actually too easy. called to cancel and was immediately asked if i would keep it if superfan was free. guess im keeping it another year

"Too easy" would be not to have to make that inane call to begin with.

Congrats! :)

I decided to try calling D* to tell them that I am aware of the offer of NFL Sunday Ticket with free SuperFan for "select" customers and why I had not yet received this after many years as a customer. The CSR apologized telling me that I am a preferred customer and said I should have received this offer. She then immediately took SuperFan off my bill and reduced my total for this month and no ongoing charges for that.

She was extremely nice and I did not have to threaten cancellation or try and negotiate. It just happened.

Paul

I decided to try calling D* to tell them that I am aware of the offer of NFL Sunday Ticket with free SuperFan for "select" customers and why I had not yet received this after many years as a customer. The CSR apologized telling me that I am a preferred customer and said I should have received this offer. She then immediately took SuperFan off my bill and reduced my total for this month and no ongoing charges for that.

She was extremely nice and I did not have to threaten cancellation or try and negotiate. It just happened.

PaulI did the same thing. She credited the first payment of $16.50 for SF; deleted annd added SF for $0.00. ST for $249 (6 x $41.50).

Yep, got the snail mail mailing today, and logged in and looked to see that I am getting SuperFan for free this year. I didn't have to bitch and moan. I almost feel cheated. :) Almost.

Easiest Free SF phone call yet for me. 5 minute call referencing the postcard. Done!

Well, here's my story: I've called D* about 4 times now to get SF for free with no luck whatsoever. The 1st call they offered me $10 off for 6 months; the 2nd call they said you're already getting Sunday Ticket $20 cheaper than Early Bird; the 3rd call they said no dice with no offer at all; the 4th call they offered Showtime free for 3 months (WTF?). So my wife and I decided she would call and cancel Sunday Ticket...hoping in the next couple of days they'd call back and offer free SuperFan if we'd resubscribe to Sunday Ticket (we've had it for about 5 years now). And if they didn't call back, then before Sept 7th, I would call and say my wife screwed up and I didn't want her to cancel. Figuring at worst I could resubscribe to ST with SF for only $20 more than I'm set to pay now. A worthwhile gamble I thought...

...so today the wife calls to cancel and gets SuperFan thrown in for free. Now there's no need for the rest of my brilliantly diabolical plan. And now I'm a happy guy and acknowledge there's a reason she's referred to as "my better half". So if you're getting nowhere with D* on SuperFan, based on my experience, I advise letting a likeable person make the next call :)

The first 3 times you called did you say you want to cancel ST? Thats all I had to say, and she immediately offered free SF....

The first 3 times you called did you say you want to cancel ST? Thats all I had to say, and she immediately offered free SF....

No, I didn't. I politely asked if there were any promotions, or credits available to me that would make the Sunday Ticket/SuperFan package more affordable because I didn't want to cancel. It appears that approach is much less successful that threatening to cancel.

I'm happy with D* and their services, but not real happy that to get a reasonable deal with them (I swapped 2 HR10-250's for 2 HR20-100's last year at this time) , you've got to be willing to cancel or quit their service altogether. I understand their point of view and realize they're in business to make money and not friends but I find it disheartening and tedious to deal with them.

I'm so sick of playing this game for Sunday Ticket & Baseball SF so I finally canceled ST this season. Even if I could've gotten it for $249 it's still way too much with 3-4 games on every Sunday + Monday. Is there any way to get the TV schedule for local markets to get an idea of what games will be on CBS & Fox for even the first few weeks of the season? I'm in Los Angeles.

I'm so sick of playing this game for Sunday Ticket & Baseball SF so I finally canceled ST this season. Even if I could've gotten it for $249 it's still way too much with 3-4 games on every Sunday + Monday. Is there any way to get the TV schedule for local markets to get an idea of what games will be on CBS & Fox for even the first few weeks of the season? I'm in Los Angeles.

Rams, Raiders, Chargers, and 49ers. That's why I have Sunday Ticket.

UGHH! I hate all those teams but damm my better half wont let me get sunday ticket. god im starting to hate watching football just because i cant watch the games of the teams i like patriots,packers,bears vikings,chiefs,and broncos,hell at this point i wouldnt even care if the games werent in HD! as long as i got to see the teams i like.

Right now they have a deal if you get NFL Sunday Ticket that you get the Premier package free for 4 months. Well, after 4 months is up, can you downgrade to the Plus HD DVR package or no?

after 4 months is up, can you downgrade to the Plus HD DVR package or no?
Absolutely. Your only obligation is to maintain Choice or higher.

Absolutely. Your only obligation is to maintain Choice or higher.
That would work then. I don't really care about HBO and all the other premium channels. The only thing is, you have to pay $9.99 for HD access and I think their may be a HD DVR fee. They have a free HD DVD upgrade, but I think I read in the fine print that there is a $5.99 DVR fee or something. Well, if I switch the the HD DVR Plus package, HD access is included right? But what about the HD DVR fee (if there is one -- I'm not sure).

That would work then. I don't really care about HBO and all the other premium channels. The only thing is, you have to pay $9.99 for HD access and I think their may be a HD DVR fee. They have a free HD DVD upgrade, but I think I read in the fine print that there is a $5.99 DVR fee or something. Well, if I switch the the HD DVR Plus package, HD access is included right? But what about the HD DVR fee (if there is one -- I'm not sure).

They have a $5.99 DVR fee that covers whatever number of DVRs that you have. The fee is the same whether you have HD DVRs or SD DVRs.

Do they still charge you the $5.99 HD DVR fee if you have the Plus HD DVR Package? I thought I read on their website that HD access and DVR service was included with that package.

The CSR I talked to was really nice, so I accepted her offer of $10 off for six months. I know I could play CSR roulette and eventually get it completely free, but my dignity from not having to beg for a deal is worth the $39 I left on the table.

Called to cancel Sunday Ticket was not expecting a deal.
they asked why, I said to expensive.
they offered Premier package free for 4 months, I said I would not want ST. without Superfan and I could not swing it now, still not expecting a deal.
they offered me $10 off for six months.
I said I would take it.

My D* bill is now $111.99 and it was $77.99 so for an extra $34 per month for 4 months (minus the extra $20 discount for the other 2 months, a total of $116 ) I get Sunday Ticket w/Super Fan, HBO, Cinamax, Starz, Showtime, and some other channels for 4 months. After that I will return to my HD/DVR package.

I am happy, and I thought I was canceling ST.

Do they still charge you the $5.99 HD DVR fee if you have the Plus HD DVR Package?
Nope, it's included in the price of the package.

So for the Premiere package you have to pay the DVR fee of $5.99 a month, but with the Plus HD DVR package you don't? Sorry for all the questions, its just a bit confusing trying to figure all this out.

So for the Premiere package you have to pay the DVR fee of $5.99 a month, but with the Plus HD DVR package you don't?
Right.

Makes sense now and the 4 months free sounds like a good deal.

I am one of the few grandfathered "ST-ONLY" D* subscribers - have been this way since 2000 - I have FIOS for my regular TV package. For 8 months out of the year my receiver sits unplugged on a shelf and my monthly D* reads $0. I am happy to say that I have never paid for SF and, after tonight, I won't again in 2008.

I am curious, are there any other "ST-ONLY" subscribers on this board? Are you also having luck getting the SF fee waived?

I'm one of those grandafathered ST-Only people, and have been for years. I keep one box active for $0 a month and every year I have to call to activate my other standard def boxes.

When I went to the D* website this year, I couldn't even see my equipment/package because the screen flashed red "Need Base Package - Call Today!

Since I have cable with my Tivo Series 3 (HD) I can't see paying for a base package just to keep the NFL. My fingers are crossed that I can retain my 'grandfathered status', much less getting SF. Will keep you informed!

I would be very interested in a ST only package, and would, in fact pay ST and SF for it, after this season. I'm an AT&T employee, and am eligible for great U-Verse savings, as soon as they get set up in my area. That savings, over what I am paying D*, would more than pay for the full ST boat. I am sure they would never go for that.

So let me get this straight.

I can't get games in HD with my ST plan unless I have stupid SuperFan? That's ridiculous. I'm definitely calling to cancel and get a credit, hopefully.

Just called to say I wanted to cancel Sunday Ticket. Told them I was hooked on HD and just found out I had to pay extra for the games in HD and didn't want to watch them in SD. On hold for a few seconds...they came back with a "wonderful offer."

Any deals to get SF for free if you are a brand new D*TV customer and first time ST subscriber. You would think they would let me have it for free to entice me to add it next year.

When I went to the D* website this year, I couldn't even see my equipment/package because the screen flashed red "Need Base Package - Call Today!

My fingers are crossed that I can retain my 'grandfathered status', much less getting SF.

Funny - up through last year, I was able to access all of the functionality of the website (e.g. order hardware, etc.) - now, I get the same RED error message that you get whenever I click on anything other then "view my bill." When I was on the phone with the CSR regarding getting a credit for SF, I joked that after being with D* for 8+ years, albeit it in a limited ST/SF-Only capacity, "I feel like a neglected stepchild."

I was told by a CSR a couple years back that D* was trying to oust ST-only subscribers like you and I and that, "this might be the last year that you can get ST without a Choice package" --- again, this conversation took place 2-3 years ago, so they obviously have not chosen to cut us off... yet.

Not to hijack the thread, but whenever D* has broached the 'you must get a base package' subject with me, my defense has always been that I live in the Philadelphia region and D* has been unable to get the rights to broadcast CSN-Phila -- there is some funky legal loophole that Comcast has used to restrict D* from gaining the rights to CSN-Phila.

Because of this, D* is not an option for any 76ers/Flyers/Phillies fan living in the Philly area as 95%+ of their games are broadcast exclusively on this channel. For many years, Comcast was the only 'choice' for the Philly sports fan living locally. This finally changed ~2 years ago when Verizon was able to secure the broadcast rights to CSN-Phila. as part of their FIOS TV offering ---- I switched from Comcast to FIOS at that time.

Until and unless the CSN-Phila channel is made available by D*, I could never consider D* to replace FIOS as my provider. Fortunately, I was able to get, and thus far been able to maintain, a ST/SF-only subscription to augment my FIOS subscription - for me, this is the best of both worlds.

Just called, said "Cancel Sunday Ticket" at the prompt, told the CSR that I already had the HD package and that I thought the ST+SF price was too much for me, since I definitely wanted HD games, and asked if there was something they could do for me. They immediately said they could give me SF for free. The CSR added SF for $99 and immediately applied a $99 credit - all shows up on my account.

When do the channels light up or even show up on the guide? Also my first time getting NFL ST, which channels get the "red zone" and the multi games on one screen channel and other special channels?

When do the channels light up or even show up on the guide? Also my first time getting NFL ST, which channels get the "red zone" and the multi games on one screen channel and other special channels?

All in the low 700s.

When do the channels light up or even show up on the guide? Also my first time getting NFL ST, which channels get the "red zone" and the multi games on one screen channel and other special channels?

You'll probably see the channels in the guide in late August, but they will be dark except on gamedays.

Don't have high expectations for the multi-game channel. It's practically unwatchable. The game windows are very small.

The RZC on the other hand is pretty sweet.

Don't have high expectations for the multi-game channel. It's practically unwatchable. The game windows are very small.

Word. D* may be realizing what little the SF piece brings to an average, non-fantasy viewer, besides HD.

Word. D* may be realizing what little the SF piece brings to an average, non-fantasy viewer, besides HD.


If they gave viewers the option/ability to set up their own 4-corner mix (4 games of their choice) w/o any logos or wasted space, I would pay for that.

As it stands now, I use 2 TVs (I split screen my bigger TV w/ one side HD and other SD and have another 20" HDTV next to it) to give me 3 games at once, although I usually have the RZC on one screen.

If they gave viewers the option/ability to set up their own 4-corner mix (4 games of their choice) w/o any logos or wasted space, I would pay for that.

As it stands now, I use 2 TVs (I split screen my bigger TV w/ one side HD and other SD and have another 20" HDTV next to it) to give me 3 games at once, although I usually have the RZC on one screen.

So how is the ADD medication working out for ya? :D

<just messin' with ya, no harm intended...>

After reading all these posts, and having added my 2 cents worth on the NFL, I decided to take a look at my July statement. I have the PREMIER package for $104.99 and the HD EXTRA PACK for $4.99.

However, they charge me an additional $5.99 for DIRECTV DVR service and $9.99 for HD ACCESS. They also charge me $4.99 for PRIMARY LEASED RECEIVER.

Am I being screwed over? How?

I've been procrastinating about calling/ordering/upgrading since my July 8th post on this thread. In the mean time I have gotten mailers about Free SuperFan. I just received Saturday an "urgent" mailer to call them for free equipment upgrade and mention "FREE HD SWAP" .

I finally called today and am getting all 3 HD receivers (one a HDDVR) swapped out for free - free 5 LNB dish install - free SuperFan - no annual commitments. No hassles, all I did was tell them what I wanted and she kept saying "OK". I never answer my home phone and the letter said they had made repeated attempts to reach me by phone.

Paying 6 payments of $41.50 for ST - $250, which I think is $20 higher than last year. But I also paid $50 for SuperFan last year.

Install to be done on 8/22. But my equipment won't have OTA HD ASTC built-in so I will have to figure out how I am going to get that done on all my setups. I'm in the 114th market so not sure when we will be getting D* HD locals.

When they say "swap out", I guess they will want my 2 old receivers that I own - Samsung TS160 and Sony HD300 - or I could use those for OTA HD.

Now I forgot what I asked about the SF. I just saw they had a database failure. :(

I am also a ST-ONLY sub. I called this year to cancel ST since I did not have an MPEG4 receiver or dish so I could no longer get ST in HD. My call got sent to retention and I was offered a "swap", my MPEG3 receiver and dish for a new MPEG4 HD receiver and dish - no contract, no base subscription. I gladly accepted the offer. They came out and did the "swap". My next bill showed a charge of $10 for "HD access" as well as a receiver lease fee. I called and they are now credit me the lease fee each month, saying my new equipment is considered a "loan", not a lease. I then argued that since ST has not started, I currently have no access to HD, and I should not be charged an HD access fee. The rep agreed and credited the $10 HD access fee until ST starts... This months bill shows that I am being charged $16.50 / month for SuperFan but I will probably pay it. I want ST with HD so I'm not inclined to push it. I don't know how much of a bargaining postion I have with no base D* subscription for several years.

I've been procrastinating about calling/ordering/upgrading since my July 8th post on this thread. In the mean time I have gotten mailers about Free SuperFan. I just received Saturday an "urgent" mailer to call them for free equipment upgrade and mention "FREE HD SWAP" .

I finally called today and am getting all 3 HD receivers (one a HDDVR) swapped out for free - free 5 LNB dish install - free SuperFan - no annual commitments. No hassles, all I did was tell them what I wanted and she kept saying "OK". I never answer my home phone and the letter said they had made repeated attempts to reach me by phone.

Paying 6 payments of $41.50 for ST - $250, which I think is $20 higher than last year. But I also paid $50 for SuperFan last year.

Install to be done on 8/22. But my equipment won't have OTA HD ASTC built-in so I will have to figure out how I am going to get that done on all my setups. I'm in the 114th market so not sure when we will be getting D* HD locals.

When they say "swap out", I guess they will want my 2 old receivers that I own - Samsung TS160 and Sony HD300 - or I could use those for OTA HD.

I have had equipment "swapped out" several times over the years. They haven't taken my old equipment with them even once.

I would read the fine print on the contract about your commitment. Those usually come with a couple of years with new receivers.

Finally called and used the strategy many have been using. I said I know that some of their "best customers" had received emails offering SF for free. I said that I thought I was one of their best customers and thus deserved to get SF for free. After they put me on hold for about 15 minutes (the CSR did come back on the line every couple of minutes apologizing for the wait) the CSR came back on and said it was a go: SF for free. Looking at my bill online today, all SF charges have been removed. Not bad for a few minutes of work...

I'm sorry if I missed it, but I was wondering if any new subscribers have been able to get Superfan for free? I just got DirecTV in March, and I get the Premeir package with HD and HD Extra, so I think I should be considered a fairly good customer (automatic payments made by credit card so I'll never miss a payment).

Any chance I might be able to get a deal on Sunday Ticket + Superfan. If not I'll probably skip out.

Any chance I might be able to get a deal on Sunday Ticket + Superfan. If not I'll probably skip out.
The best deal you can hope for is free Superfan. Discounts on ST itself are pretty rare. It's definitely worth a shot.

I've been with D* for about 10 months or so and called a couple of days ago to get info on st and they gave me the premiere pack and super fan free all i pay for is st 4 months at 74and hd accses. I never threatened to leave i just asked for the same deal they give new subs for. Check out dbstalk.com for alot of people who got this deal

The best deal you can hope for is free Superfan. Discounts on ST itself are pretty rare. It's definitely worth a shot.

Definitely, I just called D* because a few months ago I had asked them to remove ST from my package and it didn't happen. When I told her why today, that it's just become too expensive - mentioned that I used to get ST w/HD for $190 total cost - she sympathized and said that since I was such a good customer would I keep ST w/SF if it only cost me a total of $189 all inclusive - I said, uh, sure. :D

Being a "good customer", what ever that means, does seem to help as I don't think I've ever paid for SF, and now a retro rate on ST itself, can't complain at all. :)

I'm sorry if I missed it, but I was wondering if any new subscribers have been able to get Superfan for free? I just got DirecTV in March, and I get the Premeir package with HD and HD Extra, so I think I should be considered a fairly good customer (automatic payments made by credit card so I'll never miss a payment).

Any chance I might be able to get a deal on Sunday Ticket + Superfan. If not I'll probably skip out.

I called them a week after setting up and asked them if they had any deals going on for the superfan setup. The nice lady told me she'd check, did a little tippy tappy on the keyboard and told me she just gave it to me for free.

:D

I have had equipment "swapped out" several times over the years. They haven't taken my old equipment with them even once.

I would read the fine print on the contract about your commitment. Those usually come with a couple of years with new receivers.


Thanks for the tips. I have a letter from them stating "NO COMMITMENT - NOT STRINGS ATTACHED" - Their capital letters, not mine. So I better make sure I keep my letter. It also says I may be getting refurbished equipment.

I've never gotten equipment from D* before, always bought what I wanted and installed my own LNB/s.

I called yesterday morning and signed up for the ST new sub plan for $74.99/month. Before reading this thread in it's entirety today, I didn't know you had to have SF in order to get the games in HD, since I've never gotten ST before now. I called back this morning about 24 hours after originally ordering it, and told the lady that I originally didn't know you had to have SF to get ST in HD, and asked her if there were any deals that I could take advantage of to get it as a new customer.

She put me on hold for about 2 or 3 minutes, came back and said she just gave me SF for free this year. I was hoping for at least $50 off at best, since I didn't know what to expect. I plan on canceling ST after I get done with this new sub deal since my team plays on local channels anyway, but even having ST as a new experience for me is worthless without it being in HD.

I called them a couple of weeks ago to clear up a discrepancy in my bill (they had been charging me for a receiver that I no longer had) and to cancel ST after being somewhat disappointed in the service last year. They compensated the billing error with SF. I came out with SF for about $60.

After getting the notice about being automatically renewed (I think it was the earlybird 'special') for somewhere around 250 and then another 99 for the SF I called Dtv up. I said I got SF free last year and I wanted it free this year also otherwise I would cancel ST. She immediately gave me SF free and I got 3 free months of Showtime and some HD extra pack.

After discoursing with my husband we decided to cancel ST anyways as 250 is still a lot of money. So I called them today and asked to cancel (after first adding HDDVR) and she immediately offered me a 10 dollar programming credit for 6 months which I thought was ok so I accepted. After fiddling with the computer she seemed to run into some trouble with that code or something and then offered me 12 months of the program credit instead- woohoo. She figured out how to do that and so ultimately I'm getting 120 off my bill for the next year which amounts to ST/SF for a total of 130.

In retrospect I'm not sure I did receive SF free last year as I remember we added ST nearly half way into the season for 99. We got the 10 dollar program credit for 12 months at that time as well so I'm thinking we probably did pay 99 for ST and 99 for SF minus the 120 in program credit. So my initial call asking for SF free because we got it free last year wasn't a valid argument but it worked (and it was an honest mistake on my part)

So all said and done I consider that we got ST and SF together for 130 with 3 months free of Showtime and HD extra pack. Our normal package is Total Choice Plus for 54.99 (I think that is an old package that no longer exists) Not sure if it is more economical than their current packages or not.

adding my stats as well..

I was told back in April that I would be getting superfan for free.

Well, I discovered DTV was charging me for it.

So, I called them just now, explained the situation, and they made Superfan free. It was painless and I didn't have to threaten anything.

This is funny...

About 3 or 4 weeks ago, I got the flyer offering Superfan for free. As soon as I got it, I called in and added Sunday Ticket ($269) and did infact get Superfan for free (confirmed with billing detail online).

Well yesterday, I got another flyer offering Superfan for $99. I checked my online account and Superfan is still active (at no charge). I wonder why they sent me the flyer, when they could have easily checked the mailing list to weed out those that already had Superfan.

Keith

This is funny...

About 3 or 4 weeks ago, I got the flyer offering Superfan for free. As soon as I got it, I called in and added Sunday Ticket ($269) and did infact get Superfan for free (confirmed with billing detail online).

Well yesterday, I got another flyer offering Superfan for $99. I checked my online account and Superfan is still active (at no charge). I wonder why they sent me the flyer, when they could have easily checked the mailing list to weed out those that already had Superfan.

Keith

You assume the right hand knows what the left hand is doing?

I just looked at my latest DirecTV bill. The $10/month credit for 6 months I was promised did not appear on this bill. I'll have to call them tonight and I may just say to remove it all. They can get $189 from me for the ST plus SF or they can get nothing.

Called in today and told the operator I was calling to cancel ST because I felt the price was too high. I told her I already paid 9.99 a month for HD access and to charge me 99.00 to recieve all the games in HD on top of the 249.99 was just too much. She quickly offered SF for free and thats all I really wanted, so I'm happy. I do think the base price for ST has gotten a little high, I've had it for 5 years now and it seems like every year the price has gone up. I don't mind paying for ST but to try and pry an extra 99.00 out of their HD subs is unfair. I have already had to shell out extra cash for my original HD DVR equipment and then for a new dish and HR20 and the 9.99 I've paid for 4 years. They refused to give me SF last year for free so I cancelled and I would have done the same this year. Hell when I cancelled last year I got an offer the second week of the season for ST plus SF all for 140.00 . I signed back up and didn't miss a single Bears game, their first 2 games were on national TV. Don't know if they will offer the same deal this year but I would have taken my chances had they refused free SF again

Just called up, told them if I could not get the SF fee waived that I would have to cancel ST altogether, so they gave me the SF for free. Premiere plan w/ 3 extra receivers, so recent bills have been ~$175 since they started billing for the ticket. For anyone who's been procrastinating on making the call, don't forget the season starts Thursday night after which you lose all your leverage; I recall this tripping up folks in the past thinking they had until the opening Sunday to cancel.

Back in July, after much whining on my part, they offered me $10/off a month for a year. The first $10 came off immediately and then not since. Called today and they credited me $110, so now I'm happy. I just wanted free SF, but instead got $120 in credits. Fine by me.

I forget, but do they give a free preview for ST the first week?

I forget, but do they give a free preview for ST the first week?
Nope.

Nope.

Got an email yesterday that there was a free preview this weekend.

I called them a week after setting up and asked them if they had any deals going on for the superfan setup. The nice lady told me she'd check, did a little tippy tappy on the keyboard and told me she just gave it to me for free.

:D

I called yesterday morning and signed up for the ST new sub plan for $74.99/month. Before reading this thread in it's entirety today, I didn't know you had to have SF in order to get the games in HD, since I've never gotten ST before now. I called back this morning about 24 hours after originally ordering it, and told the lady that I originally didn't know you had to have SF to get ST in HD, and asked her if there were any deals that I could take advantage of to get it as a new customer.

She put me on hold for about 2 or 3 minutes, came back and said she just gave me SF for free this year. I was hoping for at least $50 off at best, since I didn't know what to expect. I plan on canceling ST after I get done with this new sub deal since my team plays on local channels anyway, but even having ST as a new experience for me is worthless without it being in HD.

Thanks for all the ideas/input on getting SF. Called today about SF. Signed up with the ST new sub plan 74.99 HD-DVR plan two weeks ago. Told the very nice CSR that I had gotten the free preview email about SF and wanted to know if they had any deals for new subs for HD plan for ST. After a few minutes he said he could give me SF for free. It appeared a few minutes later on my online account. I have no leverage as a new sub, just asked and told him I thought I should get all the HD since I am Premier and signed up for HD access. He agreed. Either they are much more liberal with free SF or I got the right guy at the right time.

Got an email yesterday that there was a free preview this weekend.

SF maybe but not ST.

SF maybe but not ST.
Right, my bad, I read it too quick.

I was not going to get ST this year but living in the central valley of Ca. I realized I would be stuck with Raider and 49er games and not the main national game each week. I called D today and asked the csr what he could do for me . After it was all said and done I got the ST for $290 , SF for free and a $10 programing credit for 6 months. This works out for a total cost of $230 for ST and SF. I decided to take it.

I called.. was offered a $60 credit on my account if i added super fan. How do i go about getting it for free? They told me there was no such thing as free super fan.

Im pissed. I have sunday ticket because i wanted the HD, i had no idea you didn't get HD without superfan.!

What good is a sunday ticket without super fan?

Is there some special number i have to call to get the free super fan? I was talking to a supervisor

I called.. was offered a $60 credit on my account if i added super fan. How do i go about getting it for free? They told me there was no such thing as free super fan.

Im pissed. I have sunday ticket because i wanted the HD, i had no idea you didn't get HD without superfan.!

What good is a sunday ticket without super fan?

Is there some special number i have to call to get the free super fan? I was talking to a supervisor

It's called "CSR Roulette." Call back until you get someone that gives you the deal. Yes, there is a free superfan offer. Many here got the offer via email, others (including myself) just called, asked for it, and got it.

I guess I forgot to report back. I called in Sunday morning (9/7/08) to order Sunday Ticket. I talked to the first customer service agent that answered the phone for me. I asked her what the best deal they had on Sunday ticket was. She told me $280 + $99 for Superfan. I told her that I had read on here that people were getting Superfan for free. I explained that I feel it is unfair for me to have to pay extra to get Superfan so I can get the games in HD when I already have their Premeir package and pay for local channels, and to get all the extra HD channels. I explained to her that I would gladly sign up for Sunday Ticket if I got Superfan for free. If I wasn't going to get Superfan for free I would not be ordering Sunday Ticket because I would not bother watching games in standard definition when other games are available in hi-definition on my other channels.

The lady asked if she could put me on hold for a few minutes. I told her it was fine, she came back about 3 minutes later and said that she got clearance to give me Superfan for free and had everything set up on my account.

That being said, does anyone else have problems with the Sunday ticket channels? A lot of the time my hi-def channels won't work at all on my living room receiver. I have tried resetting the receiver and everything. Then all of the sudden they will show up and start working. I watched the first half of last weeks Bears game on my local channel because the Sunday ticket channel wouldn't work (it worked fine in my bedroom). During the second half it worked fine.

Also, the red button options don't seem to work that great. A lot of the time I have to hit the red button 5 or 6 times befor the screen finally comes up. Sometimes it won't come up at all until I switch channels and it gives the little pop up icon at the bottom telling you to hit the red button for the menu. Anyone else have this problem?

Overall I am glad I picked up Sunday Ticket. Assuming I can keep getting all the games in hi-def without paying extra I will get it every year.

It may be a case of you trying to view a channel that is blacked out in your area because they are protecting local market viewership. I have found this season that any game that is on a local station is balcked out on ST

That's what I thought at first, but then I went in the other room and the same channel worked fine, so it definitely wasn't the game being blacked out.

That's what I thought at first, but then I went in the other room and the same channel worked fine, so it definitely wasn't the game being blacked out.

I guess there maybe some other issues going on then.

I got the Superfan for free as well. I sent them an email and told them I ordered Directv online but before I did I called them to ask some questions to help decide and was told Superfan is for free for new customers. I got a email back the next day saying they took a look at my account and said I qualified for the deal. I'm glad I tried cause having the games in HD is a must for me and I didn't want to pay the extra $99.