Football time is still a while away, right? I mean we just finished with the Super Bowl. Still, AT&T has decided to get a jump on things by announcing the price for its DIRECTV NFL Sunday Ticket package for the 2018-2019 season.
A price hike was expected, of course, due to ever-increasing programming costs, and it’s come in pretty modest. The standard package will now set you back $293.94, an increase of about $12 total. The Max plan, which left you have the Red Zone channel and other interactive features, goes up to $395.94, an increase of about $17 total. Both plans include streaming using your mobile device and the DIRECTV NFL Sunday Ticket app.
Obviously no one likes price increases but when you look at these numbers they aren’t scary. I know that Max is edging up to $400 which is a lot of money, but it’s about the price of one decent pair of tickets to a home game and that gives you every game, every Sunday throughout the regular season.
A lot has been made in the media about how some people think the NFL isn’t a sustainable franchise, and that may be true in the future. I know a lot of people who put their kids in soccer instead of football because of the health risks associated with football. Obviously that’s going to create less loyalty over the years. There are also some folks who believe that some NFL team owners use culturally insensitive nicknames for their teams. I respect their opinions but for now it doesn’t seem to be hurting ticket sales.
I’m sure that if the NFL truly does begin to suffer in the future that Sunday Ticket prices will drop in an attempt to get more viewers, but folks that’s a long way off because right now football is still the number one sport in terms of ratings when you look at it game by game, and it’s the number one proven moneymaker for bars and restaurants who have found that profits increase when people come to watch the game.
In the meantime, an increase of $12 or $17, seriously what are we talking about here. This is minor. If you want a year’s worth of football, don’t eat at McDonalds for one day and you’ll make up the increase.
