Competition’s Newest Weapon: Blimps

Bernie — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 09:04:36 -0500

You know the competitive landscape is quite mature when competitors resort to blimps. That’s just what’s happening between DirecTV and its central Florida cable competitors. It all revolves around the cantankerous issue of the NFL Network. The NFL Network is battling cable companies to get carriage on their basic tiers. Many cable companies are resisting, and putting NFL Network on a digital or “sports” tier. Others, including Time Warner Cable don’t offer NFL Network at all. As a result, millions of cable subscribers can’t watch NFL Games on the NFL Network. DirectTV, Verizon FiOS, and other cable competitors are seizing on this issue to build competitive advantage, by offering NFL Network on less restrictive tiers. DirecTV is trying to exploit this advantage, thus the blimp.

DirecTV will be flying their Starship blimp over the Tampa/St. Petersburg market during tonight’s Denver Broncos/Houston Texans game, and displaying the actual game on the blimp’s 2,100-square foot video display. People from the ground will be able to watch the actual game on the blimp. DirecTV is taking aim at Brighthouse Networks, the local cable MSO, which does not carry NFL Network. DirecTV will continue the blimp tactic across central Florida, including Orlando, for the next few NFL Network game broadcasts. There is no end in sight for this dispute. Even Senator John Kerry has offered to try to mediate. I guess our nation’s many problems will need to take a back seat as the Senator resolves the ultra important issue of who gets to watch the game tonight.

Verizon and NFL Lay Groundwork for Future of Television Sports

Bernie — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 09:16:47 -0500

The NFL Network and Verizon are providing glimpses into the future of sports on television through their NFL Network Game Extra package this year. The package offers eight Thursday/Saturday prime time games, which are viewed online through a broadband connection. Offered to Verizon broadband subscribers (FiOS or DSL) who also subscribe to a Verizon video package (either through a FiOS or Verizon DirecTV bundle), the package provides a variety of exclusive features that are not available for traditional television viewing – at least not yet.

The features include the ability to select from up to four camera angles; live online chats with other NFL Network Game Extra viewers during the live games; game statistics, highlights and drive-chart simulations during the games; and on-demand video highlights of the games. Verizon does not intend to charge for the package. While this experiment is limited to online viewing for now, it certainly represents the future of sports on television. These are the types of features that IPTV promises to deliver – true differentiation over the traditional viewing experience. To be fair, there’s nothing here that cable can’t emulate, and DirecTV has already demonstrated that they know how to leverage interactive sports packages for competitive differentiation through their venerable NFL Sunday Ticket package. It’s just a matter of time before these features make their way to the “big screen.” The NFL Network Game Extra is also a prime example of the growing convergence of broadband content with traditional television viewing, which will fuel further innovation in the total entertainment experience. Carriers who embrace this convergence and learn how to leverage it, will certainly gain competitive advantage.