So after about 15 years, I've canceled NFL Ticket.

[bigben]

I feel the same way. The Al Riveron/Jesse James thing was likely the second-to-last nail in the coffin for me. No reason to devote so much of my time to a game that looks very little like the one I grew up loving.

You think it sucks now? Wait until Ben retires, Bell leaves, and Brown loses a step.
At this point fantasy football is what makes the NFL great to watch for me. As the refs and a mediocre head coach have no influence on my fantasy football team.

 

[JMM]

I was a hardcore subscriber until 2 years ago when I cancelled mine. I had been a continuous subscriber since it was first offered, when I called to cancel they could have cared less. I have also found ways to watch for free.

I too had it from the beginning but cancelled it about 5 or 6 years ago. It had just gotten too expensive and most of the games were on national tv anyways. I used to like watching the other games when the Stillers were not playing but the game went downhill in my opinion so it got to the point that I was paying big bucks and made no sense to buy the package if I could get it over the air for free. A couple years ago I cut the cable all together. Attic antenna and high speed internet access only now.

Remember back in the early days of the ticket and occasionally when the network broke to commercial we just saw live video of the field. No commercials. I think they fixed that pretty quick.

 

[JMM]

I used to call DirectTV and threaten cancelling and they would refer me to the "retention" department that would give me it for free.

Seems they don't do that anymore.

I think we all did.

 

[MTC]

You think it sucks now? Wait until Ben retires, Bell leaves, and Brown loses a step.
At this point fantasy football is what makes the NFL great to watch for me. As the refs and a mediocre head coach have no influence on my fantasy football team.

Yeesh! Enjoy the last hurrah of the Steelers!
The B&G will suffer along with the rest of the league

 

[Stryker]

You think it sucks now? Wait until Ben retires, Bell leaves, and Brown loses a step.
At this point fantasy football is what makes the NFL great to watch for me. As the refs and a mediocre head coach have no influence on my fantasy football team.

Today Ben is the better QB. But Rudolph is the smarter qb. Just watch.

Sent from my [device_name] using Steeler Nation mobile app

 

[Steelr4evr]

You think it sucks now? Wait until Ben retires, Bell leaves, and Brown loses a step.
At this point fantasy football is what makes the NFL great to watch for me. As the refs and a mediocre head coach have no influence on my fantasy football team.

Wait until the flags fly this year for helmet hits going full speed while lowering the shoulder.

 

[Steeler]

I've considered switching from dish to direct just for the ticket, but with Red Zone I can't justify the cost. Red Zone is pretty awesome IMO.

 

[Ghost of Frenchy Fuqua]

...I got tired of the Direct TV nonsense. I cut them years ago...Streams can be found.

That's what I'm hoping. Keep those links coming every Sunday morning!!

I've had the Sunday Ticket for 20 years. Seems they were always willing to negotiate the price; a couple of years I got it at no cost.

But not anymore. Tried to negotiate - they'd have none of it. I figured this would end up happening once AT&T took it over.

So in a few weeks I'm dropping DirecTV and will replace it with one or two streaming services. Any tips or referrals are much appreciated. Anyone have Roku? YouTube?

Toodles DirecTV.

BTW: Someone noted sportsarefree.xyz It's history. But I"m sure some other domains carrying games will materialize.

 

[fedderone]

That's what I'm hoping. Keep those links coming every Sunday morning!!

I've had the Sunday Ticket for 20 years. Seems they were always willing to negotiate the price; a couple of years I got it at no cost.

But not anymore. Tried to negotiate - they'd have none of it. I figured this would end up happening once AT&T took it over.

So in a few weeks I'm dropping DirecTV and will replace it with one or two streaming services. Any tips or referrals are much appreciated. Anyone have Roku? YouTube?

Toodles DirecTV.

BTW: Someone noted sportsarefree.xyz It's history. But I"m sure some other domains carrying games will materialize.

I have Playstation Vue ( you do NOT need a Playstation to have ) for about a year now and I LOVE it. Five simultaneous streams at no additional cost. On all platforms except XBox. I run on my Roku TV, my Apple 4K TV, my PS4, my iPhones/iPads. No issues. You can travel with it. Most like cable/satellite. 4 packages to choose from ranging from 45 - 75 dollars/month. Locals included with all packages. Unlimited cloud DVR. No contract. No complaints.
But compare and contrast with the others. Everyone’s devices/interests are different. But just ditching satellite/cable is the way to go.


Sent from my iPhone using Steeler Nation mobile app

 

[Steelworth]

I used to call DirectTV and threaten cancelling and they would refer me to the "retention" department that would give me it for free.

Seems they don't do that anymore.

Same here. I think we all did and that's why they don't do it anymore. I'm way out of market so I'm getting it, just can't miss a Steelers game.

 

[Steelmann]

I have no idea what you guys pay for direct tv. I am always amazed at how many games I get with the black and gold featured just on my regular channels in Vancouver,Canada. It helps that I have the eastern feeds,and if not I find the games streaming somehow. The odd occasion I can't find them on tv,I actually quite enjoy listening to the play by play on the radio with my headphones. It allows me to piddle about on the house.

As I have gotten older it seems my stress level has gone down during steelers games,but my kids sure as **** don't think so

 

[GRBman]

I gave up the NFL a couple years ago (just for the year) when Goodell didn't suspend Ray Rice for an entire season immediately...and then the league office lied about not being able to get the tape or whatever. That was complete bullshit. They floated the 4-games and then when the public went all ape-**** THEN they came down on him. A dude knocks a woman out cold in an elevator and you give him 4 games? really? I was done at that point.

The NFL just isn't as exciting as it used to be. There's way too much offense, the game is terribly imbalanced, hitting has been reduced to physics equations, and the TV viewing rules are dumb as hell. I still watch most of the Steelers' games, but I rarely watch anybody else. You couldn't pay me to watch the Jags and Titans...ugh.

I'm all in on College football though, I'll watch some random Mountain West game late on a Saturday Night. I'll watch Mississippi State vs. Auburn, Michigan State and Iowa... Hell yeah.

But the NFL? Nah, too much bullshit around the game now

 

[CharlesDavenport]

I watch the Steelers when they are televised here, and listen to them when they aren't. Lost interest in fantasy football a few years ago but still put the Red Zone on when I am listening to the Steelers. NFL used to be an all day/night thing on Sunday, no more. I'll even miss a game occasionally, which I never used to do. Well, in the 80s..

 

[AggieSteel]

I can't do those choppy free streams like sportsarefree.xyz . Some have said they've had good experiences, but I just get constant buffering, low quality picture, the stream dropping mid-play, having to reload the page, etc. If there are ever RELIABLE free streams in clear HD I'd probably drop the ticket, but for now I'll just take the peace of mind of knowing all I have to do is turn on the TV and find the Steelers and it's crystal clear

 

[black and gold apex]

Listening to all this it is obvious that the fantasy league is what is keeping the NFL popular. I stopped going to games when the fans around would be more interested in the scoreboard highlights from other teams, looking for stats of the players on their teams. NFL does not get it, of course they get all their money from TV rights and sponsors so they will never listen to fan base. If you could pay for the one game you wanted to watch as the Steelers, maybe some would come back the NFL feeds.

 

[JMM]

One thing I have gotten tired of is slow motion replay. Yeah it looks cool to watch the Bus plow over some chump db or Lambert pile drive some bean pole of a WR into the ground but they have replays of every mundane play...Showing a new age WR scamper out of bounds to avoid a hit in slow motion doesn't make it any better. Get on with the next play..

 

[F83]

having a few years like Mason the drop off from ben to him wont be as bad the KS days

 

[steel dino]

I'll probably still watch the Steelers' nationally televised games, but the league won't ever see a nickel of my money ever again. And I really don't feel the same way about the Steelers as I have in the past, so its likely just a short time before I put all of the NFL in my rearview...

Understood totally..

If it wasn't for some lingering interest in my home town football club and NFL wagering....

My interest would be basically null and void..

Go Irish!

Sept 1st - Michigan vs Notre Dame.in The Big House!

Love me some college football...

 

[steel dino]

I gave up the NFL a couple years ago (just for the year) when Goodell didn't suspend Ray Rice for an entire season immediately...and then the league office lied about not being able to get the tape or whatever. That was complete bullshit. They floated the 4-games and then when the public went all ape-**** THEN they came down on him. A dude knocks a woman out cold in an elevator and you give him 4 games? really? I was done at that point.

The NFL just isn't as exciting as it used to be. There's way too much offense, the game is terribly imbalanced, hitting has been reduced to physics equations, and the TV viewing rules are dumb as hell. I still watch most of the Steelers' games, but I rarely watch anybody else. You couldn't pay me to watch the Jags and Titans...ugh.

I'm all in on College football though, I'll watch some random Mountain West game late on a Saturday Night. I'll watch Mississippi State vs. Auburn, Michigan State and Iowa... Hell yeah.

But the NFL? Nah, too much bullshit around the game now

Cant give you enough karma !!

Right on brother...

Saturday late night Pac 10 or Mountain West games are awesome...

 

[MJG77]

I gave up the NFL a couple years ago (just for the year) when Goodell didn't suspend Ray Rice for an entire season immediately...and then the league office lied about not being able to get the tape or whatever. That was complete bullshit. They floated the 4-games and then when the public went all ape-**** THEN they came down on him. A dude knocks a woman out cold in an elevator and you give him 4 games? really? I was done at that point.

The NFL just isn't as exciting as it used to be. There's way too much offense, the game is terribly imbalanced, hitting has been reduced to physics equations, and the TV viewing rules are dumb as hell. I still watch most of the Steelers' games, but I rarely watch anybody else. You couldn't pay me to watch the Jags and Titans...ugh.

I'm all in on College football though, I'll watch some random Mountain West game late on a Saturday Night. I'll watch Mississippi State vs. Auburn, Michigan State and Iowa... Hell yeah.

But the NFL? Nah, too much bullshit around the game now

Hammer meet nail.

 

[MTC]

One thing I have gotten tired of is slow motion replay. Yeah it looks cool to watch the Bus plow over some chump db or Lambert pile drive some bean pole of a WR into the ground but they have replays of every mundane play...Showing a new age WR scamper out of bounds to avoid a hit in slow motion doesn't make it any better. Get on with the next play..

Replay is ruining sports in general. I hate when the refs take forever on deciding a goal in the nhl too.
The difference is football has stop & go flow compared to other sports which makes the game viewing tedious as hell.

 

[ChampYINZ]

I'll probably still watch the Steelers' nationally televised games, but the league won't ever see a nickel of my money ever again. And I really don't feel the same way about the Steelers as I have in the past, so its likely just a short time before I put all of the NFL in my rearview...

Well, bye.

 

[IndySteel]

Fire Tomlin.

 

[Steelr4evr]

I only want the steeler games. I'd prefer the feed out of Pittsburgh for them. I could give two ***** about any other team. I think all my other bitching has been covered in above posts other than that national anthem nonsense they pulled all year. I hope that crap is done.

 

[Stoney]

What's your reason? Anthem protests? Quality of play?

For me, its the protests.