Twitter’s streaming rights deal for the NFL’s Thursday Night Football games has left cord-cutting customers of Sling TV unable to watch games on NFL Network until next week.
For the past two weeks, Sling TV has had to explain that no, it does not have streaming rights for all games on NFL Network. For the five Thursday Night Football games broadcast on CBS this season, they are simulcast on NFL Network for cable television subscribers, but cannot be live streamed other than on Twitter.
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Sling TV launched NFL Network last month to much fanfare, making it available to customers in its $25 per month “Sling Blue” package that costs $5 more than its package with fewer channels. But Sling TV does not offer CBS programming.
So as the New England Patriots trounced the Houston Texans on Thursday, Sling TV used its Twitter support account to address at least 25 customers who reacted to being unable to stream the game on their devices with varying degrees of anger and disappointment.
Watch #TNF LIVE tonight on Twitter HERE: https://t.co/m9EO1es6a8
— Sling Answers (@slinganswers) September 23, 2016
Customers were directed to stream the game for free on Twitter. Some who complained on Sling TV’s Twitter support account received the link to a Sept. 9 blog post that listed which NFL Network games were available and explained pregame and postgame shows would be available. The same schedule has made its way to Sling TV’s frequently asked questions page. While some understood the explanation, others threatened to cancel their services.
NFL Network will televise its first Thursday Night Football game of the season next week when the Cincinnati Bengals host the Miami Dolphins, marking the first contest that will be available to Sling TV customers. But for the following three weeks, CBS will have those telecasts, leaving Sling TV customers to have to go back on Twitter.
PlayStation Vue customers have also dealt with a similar issue, as select games on NFL Network are subject to blackout restrictions in markets that don’t carry live CBS or NBC channels. For the five Thursday Night Football games televised on NBC, Sling TV customers only in some markets will be able to watch them simulcast on NFL Network.