DIRECTV & CBS Extend HD March Madness

SOURCE: TVPredictions.com, January 23, 2007

‘Washington, D.C. (January 23, 2007) — DIRECTV has signed a multi-year agreement with CBS to continue offering a pay package of NCAA college basketball tournament games every March.

The ‘NCAA Mega March Madness’ package will include up to 37 out of market games in the first three rounds of the tournament, including an unspecified number of high-def broadcasts.

DIRECTV has carried the pay package for the last few years. The new agreement also calls for the satcaster to offer the CBS-owned CSTV channel to an expanded audience. CSTV airs college-theme shows and events.

“We’re not only generating new revenues through the NCAA satellite package, but by offering CSTV to more than 8 million DIRECTV customers, we’ve significantly expanded its reach,” CBS CEO Leslie Moonves said in a statement.

For DIRECTV, the CBS extension gives the satcaster another exclusive sports package for years to come. DIRECTV now has the exclusive rights to the NFL Sunday Ticket and reportedly is close to landing an exclusive deal for Major League Baseball’s ‘Extra Innings’ package of out of market games.

“From its inception, exclusive sports programming has set DIRECTV apart as the leading multi-channel provider of the world’s most important and exciting sporting events,” said DIRECTV CEO Chase Carey.’

DIRECTV to Get ‘MLB Extra’ Exclusive; HDTV Expected

SOURCE: TVPredictions.com, January 22, 2007

‘Washington, D.C. (January 20, 2007) — DIRECTV is close to landing an exclusive deal to carry Major League Baseball’s ‘Extra Innings’ package.

That’s according to an article in today’s New York Times.

The deal is expected to begin this season and will likely allow DIRECTV to air a large number of games in High-Definition TV. The satcaster is planning to expand its high-def capacity in the second half of this year and has been searching for programming partners to fill the space.

DIRECTV has offered regional MLB high-def broadcasts in the past as part of its Extra Innings package. However, the greater HD capacity should allow the satcaster to deliver those games nationally.

MLB Extra Innings permits viewers to watch approximately 50-60 ‘out-of-market’ baseball games for a set fee. The pay package has been available on cable, EchoStar and DIRECTV until now.

If DIRECTV lands the exclusive rights as expected, it would give the satcaster two exclusive sports packages. DIRECTV has had the exclusive rights to the NFL Sunday Ticket for more than 10 years.

As part of the deal, the Times reports, DIRECTV will also carry MLB’s new baseball channel exclusively in 2009.

The newspaper writes that DIRECTV will pay MLB $700 million for seven years for the exclusive rights to Extra Innings and the new baseball channel.’

What are the DIRECTV Parental Controls?

DIRECTV knows how influential television is to children and understands how important it is for a parent to be able to control what their children are watching.
The powerful “Locks and Limits” feature gives the parent several options for monitoring their children’s access to DIRECTV programming.

You can use the parental controls option to lock out entire channels, set and limit viewing times, allow viewing based on MPAA ratings or block specific movies and establish spending limits on pay per view.

Setting up the Parental Controls Option is Easy:

1. Press the “menu” button on your remote control and select “Parental”, then press “Edit Settings”. Look for the selections that indicate “Ratings”, “Channel Blocks”, “Spending” or “Hours”.
2. Follow the easy-to-understand on-screen directions.
3. Select “Lock Now” and you will be asked for a personal identification number (PIN).
4. After setting up, you will need to enter your PIN to watch all restricted programming that you setup.

For an on television demo, tune in to DIRECTV BASICS on channel 201 and learn how to setup Locks and Limits if you have the HUGHES or RCA receiver models.

How do I Record and Watch Recorded Programs?

How do I Record and Watch Recorded Programs?

DIRECTV offers over 250 channels of 100% digital–quality DIRECTV® programming, plus all the control of digital video recording including advanced search, pause, record and rewind features. To pause, rewind, record and play recorded programming; you will need the DIRECTV Plus DVR equipment. With the DIRECTV Plus DVR system you can choose how, when and what you watch on your television.

How to record a program that you are currently watching –

1: To record the program you’re watching, simply press the RECORD button once on your remote.

2: If you press the RECORD button a second time while watching a program, the Onscreen Display will give you the ability to ‘keep recording’, ‘Stop and Keep’ or Stop and Delete’.

If you would like to record a second program at the same time, simply select that program from the Guide or tune to it and repeat the steps above. If you wish to watch a different program while recording, you can go to another channel. You can record up to 2 programs at once. (Requires connection of 2 satellite inputs from a multiple-LNB DIRECTV® System antenna.)

Recording Current and Future programs From the guide –

1. To find a program you’d like to record, press the GUIDE button twice to see what’s playing.

2. Use the ARROW buttons to highlight the show, then press record. The Record Icon will appear.

Recording an entire seas on of your favorite show

1. Find the show you’d like to record in the Guide. Highlight the show and press RECORD.

2. For programs that run in episodes, once you choose a show to record, you can press RECORD a second time. This will enact the Series Link™ feature, which will record every episode of your show on this channel, even if the time slot changes.

3. Press RECORD a third time to cancel the recording.

NOTE: If you’re watching a show that is not part of a series (a movie, a sporting event, the news), pressing RECORD a second time will cancel the recording. Series Link™ cannot be set in the Onscreen Guide by pressing RECORD twice if that show has already begun.

Finding a program to record by title, person (actor), keyword or channel -

1. To bring up the Quick Menu options while watching live TV, press MENU on your remote.

2. Use the black ARROW buttons to highlight SEARCH in the Quick Menu. Then press SELECT.

3. Once you’ve selected a search by title, person, keyword or channel, you can highlight a show and press SELECT to display the program’s information. Press RECORD to record it.

Watching and deleting a program that you’ve recorded -

1. Press LIST to access the shows you’ve already recorded in your Playlist, or MyVOD.™

2. Use the black ARROW buttons to select the show you want to watch, then press PLAY.

3. If you would like to delete a show, use the ARROW buttons to find the program, then press the DASH button twice to delete.

Accessing your ‘To Do’ list -

Your To Do List is the list of programs you are set to record. It will list each program separately and show you when these programs will be recorded.

1. Press LIST to access shows you have already recorded.

2. Press the YELLOW button to bring up your To Do List.

3. Navigate the Onscreen list using the ARROW buttons to see the programs you are set to record.

NOTE: You can use the BACK button to return to a previous screen.

Making specific changes to your recording options -

When you record a show, you want to record it in its entirety. But sometimes, networks begin their broadcasts early. Or, the big game goes into overtime.
We’ve made it easy to change your recording options so you don’t miss a minute.

1. Press LIST to get to your Playlist. Then press the YELLOW button and use the ARROW buttons to highlight the show you want and press SELECT.

2. Highlight RECORD in the onscreen menu and press SELECT.

3. Use the ARROW and SELECT buttons to scroll through the menus and choose your options, like whether to start recording 10 minutes early or stop recording 5 minutes later. After changing recording options, highlight UPDATE and press SELECT.

Who are the DIRECTV Installers?

We want to ensure that your experience of getting DIRECTV is fast, professional, and easy on you. That’s why we hire only professional, fully-trained and knowledgeable installers to come into your home and help you install your system as well as answer any questions that you may have on the spot.

What’s even better news is that your basic installation is FREE! Once you schedule an appointment for installation, you’re done… the DIRECTV installer will completely install your DIRECTV System for you. This includes installing a satellite on your roof, balcony or other location, connecting your receiver to your TV, and a They will mount the DIRECTV® Satellite in the most appealing location for your home, apartment, condominium or townhouse. You may need to ask permission before getting a DIRECTV® System installed.

Feel assured that your DIRECTV system will be professionally and properly installed by DIRECTV’s certified, highly-trained installers.

What is the difference between DIRECTV vs. Cable Television?

DIRECTV is light years ahead of cable television with more variety, better quality and reliability, lower prices for more channels, higher customer satisfaction and inclusion of your local channels.

With DIRECTV you get more variety… a whole lot more. Choose TOTAL CHOICE PREMIER programming and get over 255 all-digital channels including 31 premium movie channels from HBO, Cinemax, Showtime and Starz, 25 regional and specialty sports networks, and 72 commercial-free XM Satellite radio channels. DIRECTV is also the only provider to offer NFL Sunday Ticket and NCAA Mega March Madness. You can’t get that on cable.

DIRECTV offers you superior customer satisfaction! DIRECTV has been ranked #1 by JD Power among Cable and Satellite Providers for Customer Satisfaction for 6 consecutive years. DIRECTV has a much lower percentage of outages… you will get a signal 99.96% of the time, rain snow or shine. Plus, when you’re ready to move, DIRECTV’s Mover Connection will get your DIRECTV service ready at your new place, all for FREE.

Unlike cable, DIRECTV gives you crystal-clear, 100% digital-quality viewing experience every time you turn on your television. This also includes your local network channels. Cable television offers you a combination of analog and digital service, you can never be sure, but with DIRECTV, the choice is clear and so is the programming!

Plus, last year millions of cable subscribers made the switch to DIRECTV. One of the biggest and most recognizable differences between DIRECTV and Cable is the customer satisfaction rate. According to the 2006 American Customer Satisfaction Index for the 6th year running DIRECTV is ranked number one while cable satisfaction didn’t make the list.

The choice is clear… If you want the biggest variety of shows, movies, sports, and news for the least amount of money, you want to watch your all your shows in digital video and sound and you want the option of watching them in High Definition and recording them on a DVR receiver, then DIRECTV is what you’re looking for.