Sony releases new DirecTV ‘NFL Sunday Ticket’ app for PS3

Contrasting recent talk that a new PlayStation console could release as early as next year, Sony continues to support its current system with new features. The company announced on Tuesday that the DirecTV service NFL Sunday Ticket is now available on the PlayStation 3.

Philip Rosenberg, Senior Vice President of Business Development at SCEA, explained at the official PlayStation blog that linking NFL Sunday Ticket to the console requires a previously activated subscription plan for the service through DirecTV. Otherwise, new customers can locate a tab in either the PlayStation store’s media section or in the TV/Video service menu and sign up for the plan.

NFL Sunday Ticket costs $339.95 per season. Sidestepping broadcast lockouts, it features 14 NFL games in high-definition each Sunday. Myriad stat tracking, highlight footage and commercial-free replays are also included in the package – as is the NFL’s own Red Zone Channel. An additional “to-go” plan costs $9.99/month for the five-month season and adds cross-platform support for a variety of smart phones, tablets and PCs.

Some PlayStation blog regulars balked at the price tag, but Sony spokesperson Karen Spearrin attempted to assuage the criticism by confirming a monthly payment plan for those who sign up via PSN.

“The NFL Sunday Ticket subscription will actually be taken out of your PSN Wallet in 4 monthly payments of $84.99,” she commented. “Since the payment for the NFL Sunday Ticket subscription comes out of your PSN Wallet, you can use PSN Cards.”

Spearrin added that access to NFL Sunday Ticket through the PS3 is currently limited to the U.S. user base.

A full video rundown of the service running on the PS3 is available here.