NFL Can't Show Expat Fans Games They Paid $240 To See
Eric moved out of the country and tried to take the NFL with him via NFL GamePass, the service — not available in the U.S. — that lets fans watch games online from abroad.
One problem with the otherwise miraculous concept, which the NFL really, really needs to make available here — it hasn't worked so far this year. Eric writes:
I, like many other Americans, live abroad. And, like many other Americans, love football. The NFL offers a service for people outside of the US called, Gamepass. Not only can you watch HD football, you can pause and rewind as well. All this for only around $240. Yeah, quite a chunk of change to watch what people in the US get for free. Plus, we get all the commercials too!
So, imagine my surprise when I couldn't even get to the login page this Sunday. I wasted 2 1/2 hours this Sunday trying to login. This was happening to everyone, based on what I was reading online. Many were getting the message, "too many connections." Crazy huh?
I decided to send a complaint to the NFL. The first two times, when I clicked send on their website, I got an error and had to start all over again explaining the problem.
I am sending this to Consumerist.com because I have seen you right the wrongs before. All the people outside the USA, who love football, and paid lots of money, would love to get the NFL's attention on this issue.
According to a report in the U.K's Telegraph, the NFL is, er, taking the problem seriously. A spokesman told the paper:
We experienced a network delivery problem that caused poor video quality on Game Pass HD during Sunday's games. Steps have been taken to address the issue and we do not expect a recurrence. We will refund the fans who were impacted one week worth of Game Pass HD service. Those fans will receive an email from NFL.com this week explaining how to receive their refund.
I'm probably a bad person, but I feel sorrier for myself, for not being allowed to order NFL GamePass, than for Eric. The NFL is pretty much the only reason I get cable — I live too far out in the boonies to pick up channels over the air — and would love to cancel it and give the NFL $240 a year. Well, that is if they could actually get GamePass to work.
NFL Game Pass streaming collapse 'won't happen again', says League [Telegraph]
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Comments:
Not surprising that the NFL would screw this up. I love my football, but they make me mad. I actually went to great lengths to put up an antenna to get signals from stations out of my market (Baltimore) so that I can watch more Eagles games.
Phil if you're within 75 miles of the towers and don't live in a hole, chances are pretty good that for under 200 bucks you can pick up any OTA they're broadcasting. I'm just under 60 from the York, PA stations and they come in in crystal clear HD all day long.
If you're a New England fan trust me they did you a favor.
I hate football. But yeah, a lot of US expats use this service out here (in Israel). Boo on the NFL.
@RamV10: As a Ravens fan living in Michigan, part of me is sympathetic to your plight. A much bigger part of me wants to chastise you for not appreciating the brand of football played in your own backyard.
I don't wanna interrupt you, man, and imma let you finish, but on Sunday, Ray Lewis read one of the best signals of ALL TIME.
To be fair, although $240 is a lot compared to free, it's only free if you live in your team's home market. In Manhattan, DirecTV just started allowing us to get Sunday Ticket online (since most places on the island aren't exactly conducive to satellite dishes)... it's $350 for the season, and I'm pretty sure that's just straight streaming, no built-in pausing and rewinding.
Notice how they are not sending an email notifying you that they HAVE refunded 1 games worth.
You have to "DO SOMETHING" to CLAIM your refund....
coudln't you just install a slingbox on a buddy's tv?
@Elcheecho: Your buddy is then required to keep that channel, not flip to other games, and not have his wife co-opt the TV for another purpose since Slingbox requires the user to control the physical TV. Slingbox also doesn't record the game for watching later, which I believe this service does. Given time zone issues, that would be key for users abroad.
The NFL is a big back of suck. I haven't been married long enough to resent my family so I don't watch football.... yet.
@44 in a Row:
And, DTV's Sunday Ticket isn't in HD if you're streaming it. I paid for half of my cousin's DTV package so I could watch all the games on my laptop (since I don't have DTV and can't get it installed). It's cheaper for both of us and we both get to watch all the games.
@Ronin-Democrat: So? Not everybody had the problem, so how should the NFL find out who was affected? Or, are you saying they should refund everybody?
Netflix did this earlier this month for a short outage. I got an email telling me I could claim a refund by clicking a link in the email or going to their website. No big deal. I didn't ask for the refund since I wasn't affected and Netflix got raves on this site for their high quality customer service. I guess you're PO'd at them too since "You have to "DO SOMETHING" to CLAIM your refund...."
LOL, good tag. It sounds like NFL GamePass is in a competition with MLB.tv for the Super Bowl/World Series of Suck.
@chiieddy: If he's willing to pay $240, he could pay the $10/mo for a seperate cable box only to be used for Sling...
"I, like many other Americans, live abroad."
Really, Many other Americans?
Are there enough of you that you can qualify for statehood? Nope. Sorry. Rewrite your opening statement and you might go further in life.
@chiieddy: Not necessarily true. If his buddy has cable, he can split it and run a direct feed into the Slingbox, thus giving it it's own independent feed away from any interference from home dwellers.
Regarding recording, check out NCH's Debut software. It will allow him to capture anything on his monitor - targeting the specific window of video - and save it in a variety of formats. Best of all, it's free.
Good luck!
@StanTheManDean: WTF? It's true that many other Americans live abroad. I don't get what problem you have with it?
We could just watch soccer instead! *
Seriously, I'm considering having my father buy an external blu-ray DVD burner so I can DL and burn the games he doesn't normally watch just so he doesn't go into football withdrawal. I wish college teams had their games in the spring so there wasn't that six months of no football.
* I am in no way condoning watching soccer. Soccer is what French women play while their men make dinner.
According to recent estimates by the U.S. State Department, there are 6.6 million Americans living overseas, a little more than the entire population of the state of Massachusetts.
From [www.transitionsabroad.com]
So, get your panties out of a twist, there are plenty enough to hypothetically apply for statehood. I dont even get how your comment is relevant to ANYTHING the OP was even complaining about
@StanTheManDean: Well, given an estimate of 4-7 million *non-government-employed* Americans living abroad, plus a million or so US military stationed overseas and lets say another half million to million non-military government employees--and you would crack the top 20 on the list of states, if this population were considered a state.
[www.usnews.com]
Try a US proxy server.
@AirIntake: @Shoemaster: channelsurfing.net is a great one too. has a link to justin.tv on it as well
@44 in a Row: $350 for streaming? I'm not even paying that much for the whole Sunday Ticket package, and it includes the streaming.
That damn NFL....they screwed me this weekend, too. I started Randy Moss in my fantasy league and he....oh, wait....this doesn't have anything to do with that.
"We do not expect a recurrence?" What? Are they kidding? Oh please if these guys are this good, they should work for the government. LOL.
@Hooray4Zoidberg: Same if you're a Cowboys fan. First regular season game in the new $1B shrine to Jerry Jones - and almost as many Giants caught Romo's passes as Cowboys.
@stormbird: "Soccer is what French women play while their men make dinner." WTF? Obviously this person has never watched a true European soccer match. European soccer is awesome if you've never watched it live and it isn't some stupid junior high school activity that kids in the States do. Much more action and excitement than American football ever had and it's non-stop -- literally. Sorry dudes,,I've been there and there ain't no comparison. I challenge any NFL football player to do what the Pro Soccer players do.
"Steps have been taken to address the issue..."
Steps have been taken? I guess the problem has been solved, right? Probably not.
I agree entirely. In my 11 years of playing soccer I had insane conditioning. I ran a 4.62 40 from that. I also had the endurance to run cross country in H.S.
Oh and the physical contact was my favorite part. I broke my arm playing soccer but also broke the noses of two other players. Bruised ribs was the norm after every game. I have seen plenty of limbs broken in soccer.
If ya'll think soccer is a sissy sport, come on down to the Baton Rouge fields. I'm there every Sunday night.
And meanwhile CBS allows you to watch EVERY game of the NCAA Tourney online for Frackin' FREE(!) With no outages or delays.
@dukegreene:
No...that was Norv Turner making a Hall Of Fame player look every bit that with poor coaching.
You don't remember the field goal attempt on THIRD down before the half ended too?
Ray is awesome, but c'mon!
Bye.
@G.O.B.: Come on!: Except that I pay $80/year for MLB.tv. For every live game and archives dating back to the 2007 season. And you don't have to be overseas to use it. True, it blacks out FOX Saturday games, ESPN Sunday games, and (in my case) the Orioles and Nats. But I don't care because those are on the TV anyway. As an out-of-area Red Sox fan, MLB.tv is absolutely worth the money. I'd pay twice as much as I do for it.
$240? Not so much.
@seattlemaninblue:Yes I understand that, it's not why I posted. I was just commenting on the shit performance of the Pats I wish the game had been blacked out because it was damn painful to watch.
@SacraBos: That game was an embarrassment for the Cowboys for so many reasons, not the least of which was that Jones insisted on the Giants being the first team to play them in the new stadium...only to watch the Boys' offense choke and basically hand the ball over with a bow on it.
@LeChiffre: Don't get all defensive, LeChiffre...I'm pretty sure it was just a quote from a TV show, not a true attack on the game.
Ahhhh the NFL...
Ruining it for everyone since the 1980's.
Seriously NFL, fire the marketing department. They are not making you any friends. I would even surmise that you would make a lot more money if you would just dump the blackout rules.
@StanTheManDean: Why does this offend you? I do not see anything textually incorrect in the writer's introductory sentence. Or are you operating out of a sense of xenophobia?
@LeChiffre: Yeah, although a lot of the action is players diving to the ground like they just had a leg amputated any time an opposing player gets near them. Whatever "action" doesn't fall under that heading is players bitching at the refs.
If you want action, watch rugby.
And before your blood pressure gets any higher, that was mostly tongue in cheek- I enjoy watching footy and support Liverpool. But I'd take a good rugby match over a soccer match any day of the week.
@dukegreene: Oh I like the ravens, and I watch the ravens when they don't interfere with the eagles, but because of Blackout rules, I'd be more likely to see eagles games on just about anywhere else than I am here.
I'm a country boy from PA. Gotta go with the eagles.
This is awesome. You pay $240 for this pass thingy, and I don't.
This is how NFL ought to do all their channels: the people who WANT it pay for it. The people who do not want it don't have to pay for it bundled in with all their other cable or satellite channels.
This is how ESPN should be: you want it, you pay extra for it. You don't want it, your cable bill goes down.
Phil, justin.tv. Check it.