The National Football League season is fast approaching, and that means a financial decision is in order for many hardcore fans. No I’m not referring to those who buy season tickets for the home team. This is the time of year that many have to figure out whether the NFL Sunday Ticket offer is within their means. Lets take a look at a few of the frequently asked questions about this popular package.

Is the NFL Sunday Ticket available on cable?

No. This package remains an exclusive of Direct TV. In fact, the contract to carry the NFL package has been renewed by the NFL and Direct TV, meaning you will only get full access on satellite TV through the year 2014. There is some hope that the Red Zone channel may be available to cable TV companies and Dish Network, but it won’t be happening in this season.

How much is the Sunday Ticket going to cost in 2009?

At this time, early bird sign ups can get the NFL bundle for 9.95, or five payments of $55.99. The regular price is expected to be $300 for the full season.

Are all of the games going to be in HD?

Only if you subscribe to the Superfan package in addition to Sunday Ticket. Superfan is 0, or five payments on your Direct TV bill. It will provide HD access, as well as the Red Zone channel and Super Cast access which will allow you to stream the games to your computer or cell phone.

Exactly what games are included?

The NFL Sunday Ticket 2009 will show you all of the games that are not on regular network or cable TV. This means all of the early and late games on Sunday. The Monday Night Football game and the Sunday evening games will continue to be on ESPN and NBC respectively.

So is the Direct TV NFL Sunday Ticket bundle in your budget this year? With costs nearing 0 for Sunday Ticket games in HD, it certainly is a decision that you shouldn’t rush to make.

You may recall that exactly one week ago, your old buddy Doug got all bonered up about NFL Network and Comcast finally reaching an amicable agreement. In particular, it was starting to sound like Comcast subscribers would not only get NFL network at no extra charge, but that we’d also get the very-excellent Red Zone Channel for free as well. I mentioned that it “seems way too good to be true” and, as it turns out, it looks like it is indeed too good to be true.

Sports Illustrated’s Peter King recently said the following:

“Clarifying one thing about the Red Zone Channel on Comcast. Last week I said the league’s smart deal with the cable giant would put the Red Zone Channel (the one that jumps from game to game on Sundays, showing scoring opportunities) on Comcast’s digital tier. No so, most likely.

Other cable outfits who make deals to put NFL Network on their digital cable tiers will probably place Red Zone on a pay tier similar to the one the league argued the NFL Network shouldn’t be on. The reason is because the Red Zone Channel is added value, not something the league wanted to give Big Cable as part of the deal to make the Network more widely distributed on the regular digital tier. So if you’ve got Comcast and you want this premium channel, you’ll likely have to pay an additional $7 or so per month to get it, which, over a four-month term, is probably a reasonable cost if you’re an NFL devotee who loves immediacy and can’t wait for the halftime or post-game highlights.”

So King may have been wrong about it being free. Now hopefully he’s wrong about being wrong. In all honesty, paying $7 per month for the Red Zone Channel is still going to make it seem like a good deal to anyone who’s already excited about it. Free would make it oustanding, though — Comcastic, even.

[via Consumerist]

Is this a trick? IT FEELS LIKE A TRICK! I’m either dead or dreaming because not only did Comcast and NFL Network just reach an agreement to make NFL Network part of Comcast’s Digital Classic package, but Comcast subscribers will also get access to the Red Zone Channel that’s usually shown only on DirecTV as part of the insanely expensive Sunday Ticket package.

The Red Zone Channel, for those of you who have never witnessed it in all its glory, is a single channel that flips between live NFL games any time a particular team gets inside the 20 yard line (or “the red zone,” as it were). So if you play fantasy football or Pick’em like I do, you want to watch every minute of every game. The Red Zone Channel is the next best thing.

This still seems way too good to be true. If the season rolls around and I’m watching NFL Network as part of my regular cable package and have access to the Red Zone Channel at no extra charge, I’ll be absolutely elated.

Oh, and the actual news. Comcast and NFL Network agreed to a fee of somewhere between 40 and 50 cents per month, per subscriber, according to the New York Times. NFL Network previously wanted 70 cents, which Comcast said was way too expensive.

Ultimately, it seems, NFL Network wants eyeballs and four years of not-a-lot-of-eyeballs apparently convinced it to ease up on pricing. It’ll be truly interesting to see if DirecTV’s Sunday Ticket drops in price now, too.

[via Consumerist]