DirecTV offers Sunday Footbal in HDTV

Football season is coming and that means DirecTV Satellite TV provider is gearing up to heavily promote for new subscribers. The football season is the biggest time of the year for satellite television. And companies like DirecTV have created unique programs for the football season to attract new viewers.

This year DirecTV will win more Sunday football fans with its HD and interactive offerings this fall. CBS Sports has partnered with the nation's largest satellite television provider to carry the Sunday games live each week in high-definition to sports package subscribers during the 17-week season. Broadcast in 1080i, CBS will deliver two weekly games in HD scheduled at 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. EST each Sunday to the DirecTV subscribers.

"The NFL Sunday Ticket package really is the crown jewel of our sports subscription packages," said Bob Marsocci, senior director of corporate communications. "[By offering it in HD], we think it will enhance the appeal of and interest in it."

To get the programs, DirecTV subscribers of the NFL Ticket Package must have an HDTV set, a DirecTV HD set-top box with a multi-satellite dish containing three LNBs (low noise blocdown), which allows customers to get DirecTV HDTV broadcasts and other channels. DirecTV, in addition to offering satellite TV, also sells HD television sets and HD boxes.

Two games are designated by CBS as primary games each week, which are broadcast by CBS to a large portion of national television households via over-the-air and cable connections.

With 11.5 million customers, DirecTV could attract more consumers to HDTV with its channels. "HD sets have become more popular in the last year-and-a-half," Marsocci said, declining to disclose the number of DirecTV's HD and NFL Sunday Ticket Package subscribers. The industry and viewers can expect to see more deals between DirecTV and others, he said, as well as more sports programming in HD.