Local NFL games blacked out on DirecTV Now

DirecTV Now is still working out the kinks on its streaming service. There was the lack of local RSN games which were blacked out in the first week and now are being carried. And now there’s the issue of local NFL games which were blacked out on Sunday. In cities where the networks owned and operated their own station, subscribers saw this:

@directvnow Blacked out shows on channels you have paid for… why is this legal? #DirectTVNow pic.twitter.com/bLskjuU0U4

— Lunchbox (@brianm94) December 11, 2016

And it wasn’t just the NFL pregame shows, it was entire games as well. TV Predictions says this happened all over the country:

“DIRECTV Now subscribers in San Francisco, Tampa Bay, Atlanta and other markets say they can’t watch NFL games on their local channel streams, either.”

@DIRECTVNowHelp NFL games not airing on Fox in NY on @directvnow when the are airing on Fox OTA and cable. This is terribly troubling.

— John Viducich (@johnnyvid) December 11, 2016

@directvnow thanks for the apple TV but I guess I'll cancel

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This is a huge issue. Dish’s Sling TV and Sony’s PlayStation Vue streaming service do not have this problem. Both services can stream local NFL games without any blackouts, no why is there a blackout on DirecTV Now? Requests to AT&T for comment have gone without responses and the lack of an answer gives the appearance that DirecTV Now either doesn’t care about their subscribers or executives are hiding under their desks.

Now DirecTV Now did adjust and manage to correct the RSN blackout issue within the same week. It has one week to bring NFL games to their subscribers otherwise it will leave a black hole on its service. AT&T has been promoting DirecTV Now as the next phase of television, but if it can’t work out sports blackout problems, then any pricetag or free Apple TV device promotion won’t be enough to attract subscribers.

It has to work these issues out immediately otherwise DirecTV Now will get a reputation for not living up to its promises.

[TV Predictions]