Written by Om Malik
Posted Friday, September 21, 2007 at 3:00 AM PT

 

Sling Scores a Touchdown with NFL/DirectTV

Updated: Sling Media, the early leaders in place-shifting technology have scored a touchdown - they are working with DirecTV on a new offering called SuperCast.

As part of this deal, viewers can get online streams of NFL games every Sunday. The deal has been rumored for a while, but it has been confirmed by a company spokesperson. I couldn’t get the details last night since it was very late, but we spoke to the company and here is the lowdown.

First of all you don’t need a Sling Player to get this video package and you don’t need the Sling software. The video steams are accessed with the Microsoft Internet Explorer browser. If you are a DirecTV/NFL Sunday (HD) package customer, then you get access to the games the web for free as part of your package.

Sling Media is providing a hosted service to DirecTV and is managing the web-operation, including authentication and also decides which streams are available to you based on where you live. The videos are being streamed off DirecTV’s servers, not Sling’s servers. Sling also built the browser-based front end for DirecTV. The service only works with IE browser, which is kinda lame. This is a new business foray for Sling, which till now has been purely a hardware vendor.

The company is looking to expand this business. John Malone, who now owns DirecTV is also an investor in Sling, as is Charlie Ergen, the maverick behind Echostar (DISH), and have been the biggest supporters of Sling. National Hockey League has also partnered with Sling for its clip-and-sling service.

supercast.gif

 

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Topic: Hardware
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Comments & Trackbacks

  1. [...] MEDIA has signed a deal with DIRECTV and the NFL, which will bring NFL games to the popular Slingbox. Viewers will be able to watch online streaming [...]

    MediaBytes 09.21.2007 | MediaBytes with Shelly Palmer Video on September 21st, 2007 at 6:06 am - Permalink

  2. I’m confused does this mean they ae streaming content directly to the slingbox devices themselves bypassing the Direct TV satellite?

    or does this mean as a slingbox owner I can now use a PC/browser to vew the games on teh Direct TV website?

    or does this mean that they are lifting some form of DRM on the slingboxes themselves that I can now access this content I legally should have been able to view anyway?

    Some actual depth/information in the article would be nice rather than regurgitating the pr piece.

    Cheers,
    Dean

    Dean Collins on September 21st, 2007 at 7:45 am - Permalink

  3. Just stream the games please! I’m sick of going to bars on Sundays and being forced to pay/drink beers!

    …maybe I can sue the NFL for making me an alcoholic…

    http://www.SoUrban.net

    Greg on September 21st, 2007 at 8:46 am - Permalink

  4. This would be very interesting to me if I could just subscribe to NFL Sunday Ticket. It’s not so interesting to me as it is though, because I’m not a DirectTV subscriber - and if I were, I would just watch on my TV.

    Seems like a lost opportunity to add people to just this package.

    Tim Marman on September 21st, 2007 at 9:07 am - Permalink

  5. Dean, i updated the post with more details. It was late at night so couldn’t get the details then.

    Om Malik on September 21st, 2007 at 10:37 am - Permalink

  6. I know how you feel Tim. Anyway maybe NFL will listen to the peeps and give them what they want.

    Om Malik on September 21st, 2007 at 10:38 am - Permalink

  7. So this really has nothing to do with the normal sling hardware/service? They are just the company that built this new service.
    I can only assume they might do more programming since they just built the ability to do any type of program from DirecTV.

    Rob @ I love substance on September 21st, 2007 at 11:12 am - Permalink

  8. I think I like the way I did it better. This comes with Superfan which last I checked was an extra $99/year. I recently paid a one time $99 fee for a Slingbox AV and can not only watch my NFL Sunday Ticket games but also anything else on my DirecTivo (which I can now control remotely over the internet). Not sure why anyone would opt for this over a Slingbox unless it comes free with HD (which I don’t have yet) or they like other features like the red zone and all games channels.

    Matt on September 21st, 2007 at 12:32 pm - Permalink

  9. [...] Sling is collaborating with DirecTV on a new offering called SuperCast, which will bring online streams of NFL games to the Web every Sunday. Subscribers to the DirecTV/NFL Sunday package can access these streams for free, though it appears you will only get access to the games available in your geographic region. (Hmmm– isn’t “placeshifting” the whole idea behind Sling?) Sling designed the SuperCast interface (further updates promised soon) and is hosting the service for DirecTV. More details direct from Dave on the Sling community forum. [...]

    Zatz Not Funny!»Blog Archive » Sling and DirecTV Stream the NFL with SuperCast on September 21st, 2007 at 6:31 pm - Permalink

  10. [...] While this is interesting in and of itself, the timing is particularly curious considering Sling just announced a deal with competitor DirectTV to bring its NFL Sunday Ticket to the desktop.It will be interesting to see what EchoStar does with Sling and whether it makes any special [...]

    EchoStar acquired by Sling Media - Loosely Coupled ( by Tim Marman ) on September 25th, 2007 at 5:13 am - Permalink

  11. [...] While this is interesting in and of itself, the timing is particularly curious considering Sling just announced a deal with competitor DirectTV to bring its NFL Sunday Ticket to the desktop.It will be interesting to see what EchoStar does with Sling and whether it makes any special [...]

    EchoStar acquired by Sling Media - Loosely Coupled has moved on September 25th, 2007 at 5:13 am - Permalink

  12. [...] to develop a variety of software-based services including the controversial Clip+Sling. Last week, it was reported that Sling had partnered with DirectTV to provide the software behind its newly launched [...]

    Sling Media sold to Echostar for 0 million | last100 on September 25th, 2007 at 5:32 am - Permalink

  13. [...] big news for Sling Media as of late. First they announced a deal with Direct TV, then just days after, announce they are being bought by Direct TV’s competitor, Echostar. [...]

    Emerging TV - Where video meets Madison Ave. » Blog Archive » Dish Network to buy Sling Media on September 25th, 2007 at 8:50 am - Permalink

  14. [...] working with Sling Media are working together to offer something they call SuperCast.  Om is reporting, …viewers can get online streams of NFL games every Sunday. The deal has been [...]

    Whitebox Mover’s Concierge Systems » Blog Archive » DirectTV, Sling and NFL in Pact! on October 16th, 2007 at 6:43 pm - Permalink

  15. [...] accessories and the Slingbox SOLO, our first unit with integrated component connectivity. We also helped DirecTV stream NFL games, partnered with Europe’s largest cable provider, and were acquired by [...]

    Zatz Not Funny!»Blog Archive » 2007: A Look Back on December 31st, 2007 at 2:24 pm - Permalink

  16. [...] to develop a variety of software-based services including the controversial Clip Sling. Last week, it was reported that Sling had partnered with DirectTV to provide the software behind its newly launched [...]

    Sling Media sold to Echostar for 0 million - Poor Tag on February 4th, 2008 at 10:38 am - Permalink

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