Archived Thread

Blackout of Live Presason Giants Games

yalebowl : 8/27/2015 12:27 pm

This is the first season that I can remember that the Giants have not made a single appearance on television live outside the Giants viewing area. Maybe they have appeared on Cincinnati or Jacksonville local TV or in Albany but not to the rest of the nation.

The only access has been an overpriced stream via a computer connection via the NFL network. That same stream cost maybe $20-30 last year. It was clunky, slow, and constantly buffering.

The only alternative for out of market Giant fans has been the replays on the NFL network. I just watched the Giant-Jacksonville game last night that was recorded on my DVR. The first try for my DVR was lost due to a malfunction with my program guide. But even then the earliest a fan can watch a Giant game has been 2-3 days after the game has been played.

And to think 20-30 years ago I had free access to all the Giant preseason games via the large satellite dish except when the Jets were the TV host for the Giants-Jets game. For some reason if the Jets were doing the game it never got uplinked to a satellite.

During the season I have the Directv package. It doesn't make any sense to not put the preseason games on satellite. How much could it cost to rent a transponder channel for three hours?

I really think the NFL makes a big mistake by ignoring its out-of-market fans during the preseason. A stream from a computer is not the same as watching it from satellite channel. Not everyone has a high speed internet connection.

The NFL is not ignoring out of market fans

Scyber : 8/27/2015 12:33 pm : link

As you said, there is a streaming service you can subscribe to. They set a price they think is viable and you made the choice not to pay it. They will likely review their revenue after this preseason and revise their pricing accordingly for next year.

Well said and couldn't agree more

sjnyfan : 8/27/2015 12:36 pm : link

I'm not only frustrated by no national/out-of-market preseason games but the delay as well. In previous years, even when I had to watch the NFL replay, it was within 24 hours. Now for whatever reason it's more stretched out. The Jets games is Saturday but I won't be able to see it til next Tuesday. I don't know why they can't make this easier, especially for Sunday Ticket customers.

Great point

figgy2989 : 8/27/2015 12:46 pm : link

I am in the NY market, so it is not a problem for me, but buddies who live out of state have said the same thing. They all purcahse the ticket, so they can watch every regular season game, but the NFL won't do the same for preseason? I know they are trying to get more people to but that shitty stream they are offering, but it just doesn't make sense.

Think about it, they make all season ticket holders purchase the two home preseason games no matter what. If you buy the ticket, why can't you have access to preseason games. Sometimes I wonder if the NFL is just getting a little too greedy. They are already the most popular sport, the revenue is through the roof...

And the worst

bc0312 : 8/27/2015 12:48 pm : link

part is that they cut out sections of the game so that it fits nicely in a 3 hour block. That and the scroller on the bottom always ruins the score for me.

I live in northern VT and every Giants preseason game has been on TV.

jsuds : 8/27/2015 1:12 pm : link

The thing that is weird is that the NBC feed is being shown by our FOX affiliate (out of Plattsburgh, NY).

Not sure why this is the case; we have never seen ALL of them in the past....but I am loving it.

RE: The NFL is not ignoring out of market fans

yalebowl : 8/27/2015 1:19 pm : link

I don't buy the stream because I have DSL and the speed was atrocious last year. Constantly freezing up, buffering and losing the stream.

Streaming may work for some but not for me. 30 years ago I just had to rotate my large dish and find the Giants game. That was before the NFL decided to monopolize the distribution of the preseason TV signals. I had my choice of the Giants announcers or the satellite feed of their opponent. It was only when they played the Jets every other year that I was blacked out.

The technology is there. If they can deliver it by the internet they can surely deliver it by DirecTV.

You need a MINIMUM of 10Mbps

Doomster : 8/27/2015 4:22 pm : link

to stream without breaking up.......If you have it in the low "teens", it could dip below 10 and cause breakups....for the most part I was around 20, but since the Charter upgrade, it's closer to 50Mbps...have no problem at all, streaming anything via my Roku....still waiting for the NFL to get their act together for NFL NOw on Roku.....