DirecTV snaps up fantasy stats

DirecTV is once again ramping up its football-related interactive services, most notably giving subscribers the ability to track player performances while viewing NFL regular season games.
The new NFL SUNDAY TICKET “Player Tracker” allows fans to select up to nine NFL players from around the league and track their performance throughout the day via real time on-screen alerts on every Sunday Ticket game channel, Game Mix, and Red Zone Channel. The alerts appear when one of the selected players does anything of significance during a game — whether it’s a 71-yard rush, or a two-yard touchdown pass. In addition, fans will be able to bring up a “My Players” statistical overlay at the touch of a button, listing up-to-the-minute cumulative statistics for their players. To access these new features, all that is required along with the Sunday Ticket service is interactive DIRECTV system equipment.

“With our new interactive features for this year’s NLF Sunday Ticket fantasy players no longer have to face the dilemma of tracking their fantasy team players and their opponent’s players on their computer while watching the games themselves on TV. ‘Player Tracker’ brings it all together,” said David Hill, president, DIRECTV Entertainment. “It’s always been our mission to make NFL Sunday Ticket the ultimate destination for die-hard NFL fans and fantasy players every Sunday, and as their needs evolve, we intend to evolve with them.”

According to the Fantasy Sports Trade Association’s 2005 national survey, more than 13 million adults play fantasy football. On average, these individuals participate in up to three separate leagues simultaneously.

In addition to the new “Player Tracker” feature, DIRECTV has added a variety of new team stats available on demand, including first downs, third-down efficiency, interceptions/interception yards and fumbles/fumbles lost. Individual Stats have also been beefed up, providing stat lines for the top four players on each team in rushing, passing and receiving. Finally, a “Today’s Best” tab will feature the top five players from the day’s NFL SUNDAY TICKET games in each of the three aforementioned categories.