Receiver Card & Sports Packages

[DonoRomantico]

I recently moved from Southern California to Arizona. I had and currently have the basic package. When I was in SoCal I was given the local sports package which was Fox Sports West and Fox Sports Prime Ticket. Here in Arizona I only get Fox Sports AZ. I tried to order the total sports package in order to get live games from FSW and FSPT for the additional $12.00 per month, then I found out that all of the major sports teams games are blacked out. I had a old reciever I brought with me from SoCal and I hooked it up and I was watching my local sports teams live on FSW and FSPT here in AZ. This was something that the Directv customer service rep told me would not work here in AZ. When I canceled my old account in SoCal ,these boxes & cards were deactivated. And I do not want to pay for two basic packages in order to get my locals here in AZ and my SoCal sports packages in LA, it is way too expensive.

Here is my question. Since Directv decides which local channels and regional sports channels you get based on your billing address, and I want to watch my locals here, can Directv find out if I get ONLY a card from a friend in Socal and use it in my new box here (which is NOT connected to the phoneline)? I ONLY want it so I can watch the local baseball, hockey, and basketball teams. Will my new box, which is registered to this address in AZ send a signal to Directv so they know I am watching LA channels on someone elses card which is being legitimately paid for? If my friend or I gets caught, I can always tell Directv that he came out here to visit and wanted to watch the LA teams games live and forgot to take it back. The other option I was thinking of pursuing was to have my friend order a 3rd box for the $5 per mo. and send it to me. Could they find out or could I or my friend get in trouble? Everything is legit and they are getting paid, it's just that the box is in another state. My only other option would be to give my old boxes to my friend in SoCal and have him call directv and activate them for his 3rd room, then have him ship them back to me (or does he need them physically to activate them)? Please keep in mind that I have spoken with Directv and asked them if they could find out if I did this and they said NO! I also told them that I am still paying for their service, so I am not pirating anything from them nor do I want to, I just want FSW and FSPT.

Thank you

[superstar221]

Putting an already activated card into your box won't work. Once the card is activated, it is "married" to that receiver.
If you have the box and card activated in one area and move it to another area, the package will remain the same and you'll get the same channels as when it was activated...that is assuming you are still in the spotbeam for those particular channels. If you plug the phone line in you'll have trouble. Directv will tell you that you NEED to have the phone plugged in, and that is not the case. When you first activate a new receiver, you should leave the phone line plugged in for at least 48 hours. THis is how Directv checks your box and makes sure you are receiving the correct programming. After that, you can unplug it and you're good to go. If you unplug it prior to the initial 48 hours after activating, there is a good chance you will lose your local channels very quickly, and then you have to pay a Directv tech to come to your house and figure out why.
Southern Cal to Arizona shouldn't be a problem at all. Directv won't find out and you won't get "caught" if as long as you are legally paying for the box and do not plug the phone line in.

[shadough]

Yes the card is married to the reciever, only a receiver activated in the SoCal area will work. To answer your question, Directv cannot find out about it unless you plug it into the phone line. You'd better have your friend get the receiver; if you buy a recvr, they won't let you buy it w/out first giving an account # it will be active on.....not sure how the leasing situation works now but I imagine somewhat the same way. You shouldn't have any issues w/ spotbeams, the LA TV stations are available nationwide, just the big 4 that is, and the sports networks are also nationwide.

Yes this IS Illegal, as your programming agreement states your only authorized to view programming in your residence and not from any other residence. As far as fines go, usual fine would be the regular monthly subscription fee for that box back to the 1st day of activation (ie $39.99 a month for x months).

you might consider just doing a receiver swap w/ your friend, you send him 1 of yours from AZ, he sends you 1 from LA.