NFL Sunday Ticket is dead, Dazn takes over

[InMontreal]

Weird we haven't mentionned it earlier.

No idea how OTT provider DAZN pulled that off, but they signed a contract with the NFL and takes over Sunday Ticket. Out-of-home football teams supporters have to figure out how to bring the internet feed to their HDTV.

Bell announced to their customers they'll provide ALL sunday games. "How will they pull that off?" you may ask? Temporarily import local US stations ? Nope.
Remember those CTV stations localed outside of mandatory markets for digital transition back in 2011 ? Namely, Timmins, Sault Ste.Marie, Sudbury, North Bay, Prince Albert, Yorkton, Sydney, and Red Deer. No change, they're still broadcasting in analog, but Bell recently decided to add those stations to all their Bell Fibe customers. OK, what's the point ?
...Drumroll...
Those neglected-by-geography Bell-owned stations will instead broadcast the remaining football games while the other CTV stations are busy simsubbing. Bell will make sure to hammer you with the usual Bell products commercials, CraveTV, Virgin mobile, TSN Radio and other related products, including the highly-annoying Trivago...

- Bell Fibe customers have to subscribe to Timeshifting package.
- For Toronto, Rogers carries CFTO Toronto, CKCO Kitchener, CKY Winnipeg, CFCN Calgary, CIVT Vancouver, CJCH Halifax, and some CTV2 stations. None of those small market stations. Don't know which areas Rogers and Cogeco covers, but they'll have to figure something out while Bell rides on the exclusivity.
- Videotron carries only CTV Montreal and Vancouver. Switching to Bell is the only option.

[lostjon]

Anything and everything that Bell can do to recover the losses sustained from not being able to simsub last season's Super Bowl, I suppose...

NFL Sunday Ticket will still be offered on Bell Fibe and Bell Satellite. The package was temporarily withdrawn from their channel lineups but over on Bell Fibe, it has been relocated starting with channel 3001 and a total of 10 feeds (3001-3010), exclusively in HD. Not sure where it appears for Bell Satelllite. Meanwhile, the previous slots allocated to NFL Sunday Ticket have now been filled with the additional CTV feeds. NFL RedZone on the other hand, will remain exclusive to DAZN for the Canadian market.

[PokerFace]

I'm now more of a College Football fan, but I'll still watch many NFL games OTA and online. I'll even watch both versions of NFL Redzone for awhile online before I choose which games to focus on. However, if all the games are mostly equal in interest for me, I'll often choose whether to watch more of the DirecTV Redzone version hosted by Andrew (Big Ears) Ciciliano, or the NFL Network version hosted by Scott Hanson. Unfortunately, both versions often annoy me because after a big play (especially on the DirecTV version) they'll often cut away to another game without letting me see enough replay angles to digest the play. It leaves me with the feeling of being cheated, so I then have to quickly go to the game and watch what I missed.

I don't know if Rogers and the gang offered both versions of Redzone to its subscribers in the past, but if Dazn only offers the NFL Network version (since they offer NFL Network in the package), that would piss me off.

I have mixed feelings about online exclusives, but I much prefer them to cable/satellite exclusives, even if it means that there is a dip in quality (picture, audio and functionality). At some point, if Dazn fails to deliver a satisfactory experience, many will just pirate the content, or perhaps jump on over to Bell for its compromised version of NFL Sunday Ticket (Fibe still needs to expand faster to more areas to make this option more likely than piracy).

[Donovan's Monkey]

...I'll often choose whether to watch more of the DirecTV Redzone version hosted by Andrew (Big Ears) Siciliano, or the NFL Network version hosted by Scott Hanson...

Ha ha, that sounds familiar.
Sometimes it almost seems boring on Redzone during the late games when there's only 3 of them, after having 8 or 9 at once in the early window.
And then when you try to watch the Thursday, Monday, or Sunday night game, and definitely when they get to the post-season, it's -- What? -- only one game at a time?

[PokerFace]

If Bell is actually going to show all the games as they say, I don't know why Dazn's print ad (in Toronto Star) claims that they have 4 exclusive games this opening weekend:

1) Cardinals vs Lions

2) Ravens vs Bengals

3) Jaguars vs Texans

4) Panthers vs 49ers

Obviously CTV won't be able to show all the games, but the Lions game is apparently also on some Fox affiliates available in Canada, so perhaps only 3 games this opening weekend are really Dazn exclusives (plus NFL Redzone I assume - since the reg NFL channel on Rogers etc., will air NFL GameDay Live - simply highlights of the games and analysis, which is actually quite good, especially for the casual fan [which it now appears applies to me -- I'll just basically watch the Patriots for now]).

[InMontreal]

Found this pearl on another forum...

This is brilliant , watching the Jets vs Bills game , which is a Dazn stream of a CTV simsubbing of a CBS broadcast , along with the CTV commercials.

OK ! Dazn ain't a CRTC-regulated service so you expect them to take the feed from the originating station like Sunday Ticket used to do, as in, gimme-a-break-from-cancon service, but since the NFL sided with Bell about maintaining simsub during the Superbowl, it's possible the deal NFL signed with Dazn has forced them to redistribute the CTV feeds when available to geo-localized Canadians ? It's important to remember here that CTV doesn't produce anything, they just redistribute the games on all their local CTV feeds from Toronto HQ.

[PokerFace]

Ha ha. Bell is everywhere. Perhaps the other DAZN countries are stuck with watching their own local station feeds through DAZN as well.

DAZN Canada ... Be careful what you wish for.

[PokerFace]

http://business.financialpost.com/te...-miss-cable-tv
[NFL working with DAZN to fix streaming problems, fans say they miss cable TV]

Excerpt from the above article link:

For its part, the NFL acknowledged the rough start to the season with a statement from Michael Markovich, the NFL’s vice president of international media and business development.

“We are aware of the issues that our fans may have faced this past week/weekend and apologize for the inadequate service. We are absolutely committed to working with DAZN to provide our fans with the NFL experience that they deserve,” Markovich said.

The NFL is urgently assessing the information and data from the weekend and will also do so for Monday night’s games, he said.

“We will then define the right next steps to best serve our Canadian fans,” he said.

[Donovan's Monkey]

We're used to seeing all games in the last weekend (Week 17) of the NFL regular season on the Sunday, but this year it will be a little more unusual. It's been decided there won't be a Sunday night game on NBC (it's New Year's Eve), so all 16 games will be in the afternoon with apparently 9 of them in the later (4:25 pm ET) time slot.
http://aliveforfootball.com/2017/12/...me-in-week-17/
http://www.nfl.com/schedules/2017/REG17