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The NFL has considerable experience streaming and they are quite good at it: The NFL has been streaming games for a while now, via Game Pass (available on Apple

The NFL has considerable experience streaming and they are quite good at it: The NFL has been streaming games for a while now, via Game Pass (available on AppleTV, e.g.). What's different here is that someone else licensed the rights to stream the game, i.e., Yahoo. I cancelled cable years ago and would dearly love for the NFL to sell me what I want, but they won't, at least not yet: Game Pass allows the customer to stream the regular Sunday afternoon games, but not the evening games (Thursday, Sunday, and Monday) and not playoffs. I cancelled Game Pass when I realized that (yup, failed to read the fine print). (What about those Sunday games? Well, I have an OTA antenna, and get a full Sunday afternoon's worth of NFL for free, even if I don't get to choose the games - which I could do with Game Pass. I also get many of the playoff games, at least for now, since they tend to be carried by the major networks, and not the cable-only sports channels. (I'm in Canada.))

snowwrestler 11y ago
The NFL also streams prime-time and local games to smartphones on Verizon via their app. That's the only way I can see Monday Night Football since I don't get ESPN. It works well, for me anyway.
aroch 11y ago
Gamepass doesn't stream at 60fps though, has more ads. p.s. Sign up for Gamepass using VPN with an endpoint in another coutry (you can arbitrage the pricing too, some times the cost in another country is $50-80 cheaper). Then all you need to do is login under your VPN, start streaming, and then turn off the VPN once the stream has started. You can watch all the games, including playoffs. No blackouts.
toxican 11y ago
All I want is to be able to pick my team, pay like $15/mo and be able to watch my team play. I don't care about any other team at all, and my team isn't local by any means so I can't use an antenna. AFAIK, I don't have a legal option to watch my team play unless I grab an overpriced cable/satellite plan that I don't want. GamePass isn't for the US (if I remember correctly), and even if it were, the pricing is terrible and has the issues you mentioned. My only option is shady SD streams. It's better than nothing, but I'm willing to throw money at the problem if they'll let me.
- pflats 11y ago
  >My only option is shady SD streams. It's better than nothing, but I'm willing to throw money at the problem if they'll let me. >I don't have a legal option to watch my team play unless I grab an overpriced cable/satellite plan that I don't want. Sounds like you do have another option! (DirecTV pays the NFL 1.5 billion dollars a year to be able to offer you that overpriced plan.)
  - toxican 11y ago
    A realistic option, then? I've no use for anything else that DirecTV has to offer. I've got Netflix and Hulu, so I'm set on TV shows and movies. Unless you think paying that much money just to watch football is a realistic option?
    - phamilton 11y ago
      You'd be surprised at how the cost works out. Bundles exist so expensive content can be subsidized by cheaper content. ESPN costs the provider much more than most channels. In other words, getting ESPN a la carte is going to run you $20-30/month. The other channels in the bundle make it so non sports fans can subsidize your subscription.
bhaile 11y ago
NFL has a phenomenal option that is only available to international users. So what do I do? 1. Use a VPN to connect to Netherlands. 2. Get international gamepass plan for the year. 3. Then use the gamepass app on my tablet. (needs to be sideloaded as it is region locked) 4. Once you start just one game, then disconnect VPN. You will now use your local internet to stream your games. I can chromecast ANY NFL game at ANY time. I typically wait an hour or so after the game ends BECAUSE the NFL strips out the commercials then. :) You can also watch it in condensed mode which only shows every play. A game is 35 minutes or so. With this, I get to watch the games in great HD on my big TV and commercial free.

snowwrestler 11y ago

The NFL also streams prime-time and local games to smartphones on Verizon via their app. That's the only way I can see Monday Night Football since I don't get ESPN. It works well, for me anyway.

aroch 11y ago

Gamepass doesn't stream at 60fps though, has more ads. p.s. Sign up for Gamepass using VPN with an endpoint in another coutry (you can arbitrage the pricing too, some times the cost in another country is $50-80 cheaper). Then all you need to do is login under your VPN, start streaming, and then turn off the VPN once the stream has started. You can watch all the games, including playoffs. No blackouts.

toxican 11y ago

All I want is to be able to pick my team, pay like $15/mo and be able to watch my team play. I don't care about any other team at all, and my team isn't local by any means so I can't use an antenna. AFAIK, I don't have a legal option to watch my team play unless I grab an overpriced cable/satellite plan that I don't want. GamePass isn't for the US (if I remember correctly), and even if it were, the pricing is terrible and has the issues you mentioned. My only option is shady SD streams. It's better than nothing, but I'm willing to throw money at the problem if they'll let me.

pflats 11y ago
>My only option is shady SD streams. It's better than nothing, but I'm willing to throw money at the problem if they'll let me. >I don't have a legal option to watch my team play unless I grab an overpriced cable/satellite plan that I don't want. Sounds like you do have another option! (DirecTV pays the NFL 1.5 billion dollars a year to be able to offer you that overpriced plan.)
- toxican 11y ago
  A realistic option, then? I've no use for anything else that DirecTV has to offer. I've got Netflix and Hulu, so I'm set on TV shows and movies. Unless you think paying that much money just to watch football is a realistic option?
  - phamilton 11y ago
    You'd be surprised at how the cost works out. Bundles exist so expensive content can be subsidized by cheaper content. ESPN costs the provider much more than most channels. In other words, getting ESPN a la carte is going to run you $20-30/month. The other channels in the bundle make it so non sports fans can subsidize your subscription.

bhaile 11y ago

NFL has a phenomenal option that is only available to international users. So what do I do? 1. Use a VPN to connect to Netherlands. 2. Get international gamepass plan for the year. 3. Then use the gamepass app on my tablet. (needs to be sideloaded as it is region locked) 4. Once you start just one game, then disconnect VPN. You will now use your local internet to stream your games. I can chromecast ANY NFL game at ANY time. I typically wait an hour or so after the game ends BECAUSE the NFL strips out the commercials then. :) You can also watch it in condensed mode which only shows every play. A game is 35 minutes or so. With this, I get to watch the games in great HD on my big TV and commercial free.