Thursday night games to cost Amazon Prime customers more

[ArtVandalay]

1 minute ago, agilen said:

This is not correct, unless you have circa-2005 internet access. DirecTV uses fairly dated technology for its satellite feeds; Prime Video gives you way more bits and better codecs, long as your connection is ~100mbps (pretty standard for a cable modem). Also, you can’t compare DTV’s Sunday ticket streaming with Prime Video; DTV has known for years they weren’t going to renew, so they haven’t spent any money on the streaming tech while the rest of the providers have been moving forward on quality.

 

No networks today produce NFL in 4K BTW - anything you see called that is upscaled from their HD cameras.

You're wrong.  ESPN produces in native 4k, Fox is upscaled... but the upscaled is still better than 1080p.

 

And no streaming for live sports doesn't hold a candle to the satellite quality and my internet is 120mbps, I've even run side by side, even with a full minute delay on the stream (make sure no one is texting you during the game!) the quality just doesn't perform for live sports, it never runs flawless.

 

My brother in law swears by streaming had us over to watch a game and the stream got shuddered and buffered abs I just start laughing.  Cousin of mine too his stream has quality issues for the college national Chamionship one year. I've heard the claims and theories they just don't follow through on live events.

 

If you have recorded shows allowed to buffer, sure great quality, but live sports it's just not there vs live TV especially when 4k native or upscaled never mind the delay. 

 

A lot of live sport streams still are not in full 1080p.

 

I swear people that only stream refuse to acknowledge this unless forced to, I got a buddy like this and both me and another guy that do both live TV and stream had to force feed to show him and I'm DTV other guy is fiber optic... 

[Sammy Watkins' Rib]

Consider that the cost of everything is going up these days, I would doubt that even half of the increase is truly due to just the rights to the Thursday night games. They may be using that as the excuse to why they are raising their annual membership but I got to believe an increase was in order even before this deal was made with the NFL.

[agilen]

36 minutes ago, ArtVandalay said:

You're wrong.  ESPN produces in native 4k, Fox is upscaled... but the upscaled is still better than 1080p.

 

And no streaming for live sports doesn't hold a candle to the satellite quality and my internet is 120mbps, I've even run side by side, even with a full minute delay on the stream (make sure no one is texting you during the game!) the quality just doesn't perform for live sports, it never runs flawless.

 

My brother in law swears by streaming had us over to watch a game and the stream got shuddered and buffered abs I just start laughing.  Cousin of mine too his stream has quality issues for the college national Chamionship one year. I've heard the claims and theories they just don't follow through on live events.

 

If you have recorded shows allowed to buffer, sure great quality, but live sports it's just not there vs live TV especially when 4k native or upscaled never mind the delay. 

 

A lot of live sport streams still are not in full 1080p.

 

I swear people that only stream refuse to acknowledge this unless forced to, I got a buddy like this and both me and another guy that do both live TV and stream had to force feed to show him and I'm DTV other guy is fiber optic... 

ESPN has never broadcast an NFL game in 4K: https://www.sportsvideo.org/2021/10/11/espns-monday-night-football-crew-tests-rare-s35-pl-mount-fujinon-lens-on-near-sideline-cart-camera/

 

I’m sure there are a lot of unhappy anecdotes about streaming and it can suffer from poor ISPs, badly configured WiFi, internet weather, etc. Latency is totally up to the provider and what technology choices they make; it’s easy to beat over-the-air latency, but a lot of providers use a large buffer to drive down rebuffer rates (which most of them track as the KPI). Fact is, for mid-90% of viewing sessions there are no rebuffers on a responsible streaming provider (Prime Video is way up near the top).

 

Quote

A lot of live sport streams still are not in full 1080p.

You are definitely right about this, which is a bummer. But there are 0 broadcast channels that distribute 1080p; Fox and ABC/ESPN distribute 720p, NBC and CBS distribute 1080i. DirecTV picks up all their primary distribution feeds in these formats to send to your set-top-box.

 

Most (not all) of these broadcasts are now shot in 1080p60 and those are handed off to the broadcaster’s streaming app, which will stream their top rendition at 1080p60. So if you want the best quality - streaming is your only option.

[RyanC883]

4 hours ago, msw2112 said:

My wife orders packages almost daily through Amazon Prime, so there's no chance we'll be canceling.  I have a couple of Fire sticks on older TVs and the app installed on one of my newer ones, so I won't miss any of the NFL Thursday games. 

 

I have not used Prime for any live content to date, so I wonder how it will work in terms of the broadcasts.  I live in the West, so I often am not home from work by the time the games start.  In the past, I would often record from Fox or NFL Network to my DVR and watch later.  I don't subscribe to or own any Amazon DVR product.  Will I be able to simply start the games from the beginning when I want to watch the stream (and then pause and resume as I like) or will I only be able to watch live?  Does anyone know how it works/will work?  In the past, when the games were available on Prime, it was just easier to watch on Fox or NFL Network, so I never tried the Amazon stream.

 

Walmart plus!

[TBBills]

6 hours ago, dorquemada said:

 

You like paying more?  Welp you're gonna love it when all games go PPV

 

Maybe the 'fixed' firestick and some eastern european sports sites next year then

Just stream it illegally. 

[SCBills]

Lots of Amazon fans in this thread I see..  
 

Y’all are going to love the future where you can give them all your money, instead of just a couple dollars here and there. 

[Doc Brown]

First hike in four years and it's only $1.66 more a month.  You can't even get a cup of coffee at Tim Horton's for that much.

[TBBills]

42 minutes ago, SCBills said:

Lots of Amazon fans in this thread I see..  
 

Y’all are going to love the future where you can give them all your money, instead of just a couple dollars here and there. 

The sky is falling! I love how a dollar more is going to quickly end up being "all your money"

 

You probably shouldn't be on the internet b.c you cannot afford it. 

[HOUSE]

Oh, so now I need to pay for "fixed" Thursday night football?

 

And....and... the price is going up

[Nextmanup]

On 2/3/2022 at 6:11 PM, T&C said:

Who still pays for games that aren't broadcast in their area/subscriber any more... people still do that?

This is the approach I will follow for a TNF game, if it actually appeals to me.

 

They are usually terrible matchups (maybe that will change with the new TV K).

 

The reality is I will probably just learn to skip TNF most of the time, and that is OK with me.  

 

I can just picture some random TNF game being Chicago vs. Detroit, or Houston vs. Atlanta, and me not even willing to go through the bother of watching it through "alternative means" via the internet.

 

 

On 2/3/2022 at 11:39 PM, agilen said:

ESPN has never broadcast an NFL game in 4K: https://www.sportsvideo.org/2021/10/11/espns-monday-night-football-crew-tests-rare-s35-pl-mount-fujinon-lens-on-near-sideline-cart-camera/

 

I’m sure there are a lot of unhappy anecdotes about streaming and it can suffer from poor ISPs, badly configured WiFi, internet weather, etc. Latency is totally up to the provider and what technology choices they make; it’s easy to beat over-the-air latency, but a lot of providers use a large buffer to drive down rebuffer rates (which most of them track as the KPI). Fact is, for mid-90% of viewing sessions there are no rebuffers on a responsible streaming provider (Prime Video is way up near the top).

 

You are definitely right about this, which is a bummer. But there are 0 broadcast channels that distribute 1080p; Fox and ABC/ESPN distribute 720p, NBC and CBS distribute 1080i. DirecTV picks up all their primary distribution feeds in these formats to send to your set-top-box.

 

Most (not all) of these broadcasts are now shot in 1080p60 and those are handed off to the broadcaster’s streaming app, which will stream their top rendition at 1080p60. So if you want the best quality - streaming is your only option.

I had to laugh when my friend talked about buying a 4K TV some years ago--she is the sort of person who has to have the latest electronic gadget.

 

I told her the world is not even caught up to 1080 HD yet, and now they want to jump to 4K? 

 

I have literally hundreds of TV channels through Comcast cable, and the vast majority of them are not even HD...still, in 2022.

 

As a side note, I have noticed how many live sporting events look like utter crap and are clearly not high definition.

Also, a lot of on-field cameras that they will switch to now and again are not in HD, while the main camera shot is!  

 

And while on the topic of the technical aspects of broadcasting sports, ever notice that the sound level on all FOX broadcasts is utter garbage?  It's quiet and muted, like the audio channel of the guys talking is coming out of a turned down speaker with a sock in front of it, but the other channel with "crowd noise" is louder and crisp.

 

It's the same for TNT when they invariably broadcast MLB playoff games in the fall.  Their technical quality is the worst in professional sports broadcasting in America.

 

It's horrible.

 

 

 

Edited February 5, 2022 by Nextmanup

[Buffalo_Stampede]

5 hours ago, Doc Brown said:

First hike in four years and it's only $1.66 more a month.  You can't even get a cup of coffee at Tim Horton's for that much.

Humans will buy some crazy stuff at outrageous prices but there's one thing we won't stand for, raising the subscription price.

 

Some of the dudes on here probably love them some OF (if you know, you know), but won't pay $1.66 more a month to watch something that's a luxury.

Edited February 4, 2022 by Buffalo_Stampede

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

Wait until Bezos buys the Broncos.  Buying from Amazon Prime will be like buying something off eBay.  $1.29 Hotwheels car, $49.95 shipping.  And that's  standard 5-7 business days.

[RiotAct]

6 hours ago, Doc Brown said:

First hike in four years and it's only $1.66 more a month.  You can't even get a cup of coffee at Tim Horton's for that much.

are you sure about that?  I thought it went up recently from $95/year to over $100.

[SoTier]

10 hours ago, notwoz said:

Nobody's "forcing" me to subscribe to Amazon Prime. But I don't subscribe to Prime for football and I especially mind being forced to pay for ***** (and Thursday Night Football is *****) I don't watch. Is that plain enough, or do I have to draw you a f***ing picture.

 

Would you like some cheese with your whine?

[Greg S]

I have Directv so basically I watch TNF on Fox and or the NFLN. Am I SOL next year with TNF if I don't subscribe to Amazon? I like TNF as its the unofficial start to the weekend. I really haven't been paying attention to what's going on with Amazon and TNF.

[CapeBreton]

How much is Amazon Prime in the States? I pay $9.19/month in Canada which seems like a good deal.

[nucci]

13 minutes ago, Greg S said:

I have Directv so basically I watch TNF on Fox and or the NFLN. Am I SOL next year with TNF if I don't subscribe to Amazon? I like TNF as its the unofficial start to the weekend. I really haven't been paying attention to what's going on with Amazon and TNF.

I think so. Amazon has exclusive rights to TNF...

[Greg S]

1 minute ago, nucci said:

I think so. Amazon has exclusive rights to TNF...

 

Thanks. I will have to look into that or may just have to go to a local bar near me that has it.

[papazoid]

just pretend the rate hike is all for delivery charges and the football is free.....all better now

[nucci]

Maybe they also get Sunday ticket so all games on Amazon?