DirecTV has just The Ticket for Sony and NFL - Ingles

I’ve subscribed to the NFL Sunday Ticket via DirecTV for 11 years now — faithfully.

So when the satellite service announced that it was including the Ticket, as football junkies fondly refer to it, for free for new subscribers, I called. How dare they give away what I had to pay $350 for last season. They quickly responded to my loyalty and gave me the Ticket.

And now I know why they were quick to agree.

DirecTV has much bigger plans for its crown jewel of sports. Building on its NFL Sunday Ticket To-Go platform, which enables viewing on portable devices, the TV provider will offer the service on Sony’s Playstation 3 game console via a downloadable app through the Playstation Store.

I have no way to quantify how many PS3 subscribers have DirecTV. Ultimately, that’s not who they are targeting. The reality is that close to 20 million people have bought a PS3 since its 2006 debut. That’s a vast swath of earning potential, considering the package, which allows fans to view virtually any NFL game on Sundays, sells for $350.

The deal also comes at an opportune time for Sony, provided the electronics manufacturer can move more units. Sales of PS3 units plummeted in the second quarter by 25 percent versus the same time last year, possibly due to recent concerns about the Playstation Network, a key site for gamers and geeks alike, being hacked.

Acquiring access to the Ticket along with enacting a $50 price cut earlier might be enough to entice reluctant sports fans to purchase it along with those who can’t get the service because of obstructions near their home. When you consider the fact that apps for streaming services such as Netflix, Blockbuster on Demand, Hulu Plus and Vudu are available and it’s a blu-ray DVD player, it’s close to a one-stop entertainment hub, so some might view it as a bargain. This article was written by George Thomas and appeared in The Akron Beacon Journal.