First Impressions

I agree with you it would be nice to have the NFL network.  But with every streaming service has its pros and cons. But with Directv Stream, you do get the most for your money even without the NFL network as there are so many features that other streaming services do not have as they are the only streaming providers that have their own box that you can use channel numbers and use voice control and you get 20 streams on your home network and 3 streams 2 of which can be tv outside of your home network so if you wanted to share your service with someone or you have a vacation home or even travel a lot you can take it with you no matter where you go.  They also have been adding networks that have given us new channels while some other streaming platforms have removed channels.  And if you ever need help most people come to the forum to get help as long as it is not an account issue as yes their customer service can be unreliable and most defiantly needs work.

I would like to add that I think the Direct TV Stream remote is first class.  It seems very well designed for the purpose, and just has a nice feel to it in the hand, a balance and weight that make it easy to keep a hold of.

A predecessor service (DirecTV Now, back when it was owned by AT&T) carried NFL Network until early 2019 - when the carriage contract renewal came up, it was dropped.  There was public disagreement between AT&T and the NFL as to why, as well as some theories from outside observers..  Part of it was clearly money - DirecTV Now was losing a lot of subscribers, due in part to a recent price increase, and they couldn't afford another one to pay for the increased charge the NFL was demanding - which AT&T said the NFL wouldn't negotiate on.  The NFL claims AT&T didn't even offer to negotiate, but that seems a bit unlikely (though what the NFL seems to call "negotiation" is "pay us what we want", so maybe).  Some theories with no supporting evidence circulated - that AT&T wanted the right to sell Sunday Ticket with DirecTV Now (which had never had Sunday Ticket) as part of a deal for NFL Network, that one side or the other was using NFL Network as leverage for the renewal of Sunday Ticket on DirecTV satellite, or (related to the cost issue) that AT&T wanted to put NFL Network on a high tier (or maybe as a separate fee add-on) and the NFL said no (because they get paid per subscriber, so either of those would significantly cut their fees.

Much time has passed, AT&T is no longer the direct owner, and the Sunday Ticket issues no longer apply (since Sunday Ticket won't be on DirecTV regardless).  But the money issues remain.  So will it ever come back?  Anything is possible.  If it does, I'd hope it would be in a (not currently existing) separate sports package, because I personally have no interest in paying more to get it - in fact, I'd be happy for a bunch of the existing (expensive) sports channels (like ESPN) to go with it, lowering the base package costs, but Disney is very unlikely to go for that, and package costs effectively never go down.

I appreciate that history.  My main purpose for NFL Network is their recording of games for me.  Because I'm an early to bed, early to rise, type of guy, anyway, I found that I could eliminate any need, whatsoever, for subscribing to Prime Video for Thursday Night Football by simply allowing NFL Network to record the game overnight and getting up at 4am to watch it, which is what I do, anyway.  Not having NFL Network eliminates that as a solution.  I might have to pay Prime Video the, now, $15 a month, during football season . . . or just forego it, altogether.  The Prime Video app on my smart TV, didn't work on my free trial offer, but I'm thinking I might give it another try from the DTVS streaming device, next season to see if THAT works.  I will STILL record the games and watch them at 4am.