9 ms·

Sports. ESPN + NFL Redzone + TNT + Local channels in HD have no good alternative on the internet. If they did I wouldn't pay for TV.

jusben1369 12y ago
Yes! Cable = Sports. If they somehow decouple those two then I'm all Internet.
- dublinben 12y ago
  Do you get ESPN3 through your ISP? It covers most sports both live and recorded, and doesn't require a cable subscription.
  - brewdad 12y ago
    Most sports? Hardly. Sure you can, in theory, watch American Football, Rest of the World Football, basketball, and baseball on ESPN3, but if you want to see these sports played by teams that matter then you need regular ESPN or a cable subscription to view them. All the games that matter were removed from the ESPN3 lineup at least a couple of years ago.
    - skizm 12y ago
      ESPN3 access gives you access to all espn channels including regular espn. I use it every day for sports center and baseball.
      - cc439 12y ago
        I'm unable to access ESPN's live feeds without a login provided by my cable company. That login flags what ESPN channels I pay for so, for example, I can't watch ESPN U without paying for an upgraded "sports" package filled with garbage channels. I do have access to some live and recorded events, but the selection is limited to filler content like college volleyball and minor league soccer. Another plus is the ability to use my neighbor's login without restrictions since our cable provider's flagging system is piss poor. As long as I know somebody paying for cable I can cheat the system.
      - gnoway 12y ago
        This is not true. Unless something has changed recently, college football on ESPNU is not shown on ESPN3. This has caused more than one game I cared about to be (legally) unviewable for me.
    - mcdougle 12y ago
      It shows pretty much all college sports (at least, all of what's broadcasted on cable anyways -- and then some). Sometimes there's a blackout on a game, which is annoying, though.... It's just not that great for professional leagues.
  - jgalt212 12y ago
    Even if my ISP had a deal for ESPN3 service, I would not use b/c it's a slap in the face to net neutrality.
  - enjo 12y ago
    Are there ISP's streaming ESPN3 without a cable subscription containing ESPN? My local options both require you to subscribe to a TV package.
- dshanahan 12y ago
  or split a cable sub with someone and use it to log into live events. everyone wins!
- wkdown 12y ago
  MLB At Bat NHL Gamecenter NBA League Pass NFL Sunday Ticket (currently DirecTV exclusive via contract) * I am assuming you are American and/or care only about the four major sports in the US. Not sure about futball, rugby, cricket, tennis, cycling, etc
  - npizzolato 12y ago
    I'm pretty sure those don't include playoff games though and they also block out local games.
  - FireBeyond 12y ago
    NBA League Pass is a horrific abomination. I was debating it, and came across articles that showed that depending on your location and nominated team(s) it could be nearly impossible to get more than 25 games for your favorite team (out of an 82 game season). 30% of the season showed on a "Season Pass" costing approximately $200? No thanks.
    - feld 12y ago
      Spend $5/mo on unblock-us.com and you can see every "blackout" game...
    - antimatter 12y ago
      Check out ballstreams.com
  - kevincrane 12y ago
    MLB.tv only works for out of market games, and worked amazingly when I was in school across the country, but useless when I moved back, and I got a free subscription to stream NFL Sunday ticket for the season and directv had basically no competency in streaming so it almost never worked. Honestly, I bought a TV antennae from best buy and a long HDMI cord for my laptop and that's satisfied all of my sports needs through OTA broadcasts and questionable streaming sites.
    - orbitur 12y ago
- yeukhon 12y ago
  Well depends, http://www.verizonwireless.com/wcms/consumer/products/video.html http://www.verizonwireless.com/wcms/consumer/products/video.... So if you use Verizon wireless you can stream from your tablet all you want. I think other ISP are doing the same too.
- programminggeek 12y ago
  Why else do you think the WWE Network is such a huge deal. It's the first huge step for sports entertainment.
- dba7dba 12y ago
  Cable = Sports is why I am not watching ANY sports other than little snippets I can grab on youtube or mlb.com. Seriously. Have not watched a full game (definitely not MLB, NFL, NBA) of anything in a LONG time. And none in family (yes little kids too) are watching much sports on TV either. Definitely not enough to grow up to be a fan of a particular pro sports league or a team, other than soccer via AYSO. IMHO pro sports commissioners should start thinking about how less and less young kids are exposed to sports via TV (because not much to watch on non-cable TV) and what that means for potentially smaller fan base in the future. Just my 2 little cents...
  - icantthinkofone 12y ago
    What's funny is I would sign up for MLB.com in an instant if I could watch the local game but they block that so I'm out.
    - determinant 12y ago
      This was my frustration also. It surprises me that they haven't worked out an arrangement to either make that feature an upgrade or worked out a way to make financial arrangements with (I'm guessing) the people who have broadcast rights for a market.
    - btrautsc 12y ago
      I don't have cable anymore, but watch most of the games with a buddies Comcast log in on my iPad. Which is the most infuriating part... I have NBA League Pass, live in a separate TV market (same state) from my preferred team, but still a large percentage of games are blacked out. If someone (Apple/ Amazon/ startupX) figures out how to get great live sports content on demand to consumers, they will have an amazing company.
    - cylinder 12y ago
      Get a VPN or use a DNS "hack" ...
  - untothebreach 12y ago
    My one regret with cutting the cord was that I gave up my precious Red Wings. NHL.com has a yearly subscription to watch the games online, but paying for that meant that I would have paid just as much for cutting the cord, as I did for having cable.
canvia 12y ago
Young people don't care about sports either. eSports like they have on Twitch.tv are more and more popular. A $35 leaf antenna from amazon gets you all the local HD channels for free.
- mrjatx 12y ago
  Your first statement is absolutely ridiculous. Do you have data to back this up? I'm not in some "~esportz~" community - but I'm not in a sports community either, and you know what happens to my facebook when an athletic game is on? 20-30yo people talking about it in a massive flood. I have, as far as I know, never seen any of my friends (general Austinites of various walks of life) mention esports. If you're referring to the 12-15yo crew; they don't pay cable bills anyway.
  - whoopdedo 12y ago
    If 20-30 year olds aren't paying for television, is it because they don't want to or that they can't afford it? Narrow the criteria to people under-40 who own a house and I'd expect a much larger subscription rate.
    - mrjatx 12y ago
      The 20-30 group that is familiar and accustomed to streaming services, or even the basic Netflix delivery service (circa 1997) is not even remotely similar to the generation of kids born in the 70s. And the same goes with the 70s to the 50s. Who still has landlines? Those over the age of 45. (OLD graph but good info; http://ww3.hdnux.com/photos/07/74/73/2084546/7/628x471.jpg http://ww3.hdnux.com/photos/07/74/73/2084546/7/628x471.jpg) They've spent most of their lives with land line phones being the most common means of long distance communication. It was considered essential. Cable is not considered essential to this up and coming generation (millenials) even more so than it was considered not essential to my generation. Why are you assuming that you need to be 40 and a homeowner to be able to afford $35/mo cable? I'm 29 and have never once in my life paid for cable. I'm an engineer and own. I use Plex with Rokus and Chromecast. Prior to these devices I used Netflix mostly, they started streaming in 2007 but from 1997 to 2007 they still had a fairly decent delivery service.
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
joe_the_user 12y ago
Lol, I don't "pay for TV", literally don't owe a TV, but surprise, surprise, someone charge me for it.

jusben1369 12y ago

Yes! Cable = Sports. If they somehow decouple those two then I'm all Internet.

dublinben 12y ago
Do you get ESPN3 through your ISP? It covers most sports both live and recorded, and doesn't require a cable subscription.
- brewdad 12y ago
  Most sports? Hardly. Sure you can, in theory, watch American Football, Rest of the World Football, basketball, and baseball on ESPN3, but if you want to see these sports played by teams that matter then you need regular ESPN or a cable subscription to view them. All the games that matter were removed from the ESPN3 lineup at least a couple of years ago.
  - skizm 12y ago
    ESPN3 access gives you access to all espn channels including regular espn. I use it every day for sports center and baseball.
    - cc439 12y ago
      I'm unable to access ESPN's live feeds without a login provided by my cable company. That login flags what ESPN channels I pay for so, for example, I can't watch ESPN U without paying for an upgraded "sports" package filled with garbage channels. I do have access to some live and recorded events, but the selection is limited to filler content like college volleyball and minor league soccer. Another plus is the ability to use my neighbor's login without restrictions since our cable provider's flagging system is piss poor. As long as I know somebody paying for cable I can cheat the system.
    - gnoway 12y ago
      This is not true. Unless something has changed recently, college football on ESPNU is not shown on ESPN3. This has caused more than one game I cared about to be (legally) unviewable for me.
  - mcdougle 12y ago
    It shows pretty much all college sports (at least, all of what's broadcasted on cable anyways -- and then some). Sometimes there's a blackout on a game, which is annoying, though.... It's just not that great for professional leagues.
- jgalt212 12y ago
  Even if my ISP had a deal for ESPN3 service, I would not use b/c it's a slap in the face to net neutrality.
- enjo 12y ago
  Are there ISP's streaming ESPN3 without a cable subscription containing ESPN? My local options both require you to subscribe to a TV package.
dshanahan 12y ago
or split a cable sub with someone and use it to log into live events. everyone wins!
wkdown 12y ago
MLB At Bat NHL Gamecenter NBA League Pass NFL Sunday Ticket (currently DirecTV exclusive via contract) * I am assuming you are American and/or care only about the four major sports in the US. Not sure about futball, rugby, cricket, tennis, cycling, etc
- npizzolato 12y ago
  I'm pretty sure those don't include playoff games though and they also block out local games.
- FireBeyond 12y ago
  NBA League Pass is a horrific abomination. I was debating it, and came across articles that showed that depending on your location and nominated team(s) it could be nearly impossible to get more than 25 games for your favorite team (out of an 82 game season). 30% of the season showed on a "Season Pass" costing approximately $200? No thanks.
  - feld 12y ago
    Spend $5/mo on unblock-us.com and you can see every "blackout" game...
  - antimatter 12y ago
    Check out ballstreams.com
- kevincrane 12y ago
  MLB.tv only works for out of market games, and worked amazingly when I was in school across the country, but useless when I moved back, and I got a free subscription to stream NFL Sunday ticket for the season and directv had basically no competency in streaming so it almost never worked. Honestly, I bought a TV antennae from best buy and a long HDMI cord for my laptop and that's satisfied all of my sports needs through OTA broadcasts and questionable streaming sites.
  - orbitur 12y ago
yeukhon 12y ago
Well depends, http://www.verizonwireless.com/wcms/consumer/products/video.html http://www.verizonwireless.com/wcms/consumer/products/video.... So if you use Verizon wireless you can stream from your tablet all you want. I think other ISP are doing the same too.
programminggeek 12y ago
Why else do you think the WWE Network is such a huge deal. It's the first huge step for sports entertainment.
dba7dba 12y ago
Cable = Sports is why I am not watching ANY sports other than little snippets I can grab on youtube or mlb.com. Seriously. Have not watched a full game (definitely not MLB, NFL, NBA) of anything in a LONG time. And none in family (yes little kids too) are watching much sports on TV either. Definitely not enough to grow up to be a fan of a particular pro sports league or a team, other than soccer via AYSO. IMHO pro sports commissioners should start thinking about how less and less young kids are exposed to sports via TV (because not much to watch on non-cable TV) and what that means for potentially smaller fan base in the future. Just my 2 little cents...
- icantthinkofone 12y ago
  What's funny is I would sign up for MLB.com in an instant if I could watch the local game but they block that so I'm out.
  - determinant 12y ago
    This was my frustration also. It surprises me that they haven't worked out an arrangement to either make that feature an upgrade or worked out a way to make financial arrangements with (I'm guessing) the people who have broadcast rights for a market.
  - btrautsc 12y ago
    I don't have cable anymore, but watch most of the games with a buddies Comcast log in on my iPad. Which is the most infuriating part... I have NBA League Pass, live in a separate TV market (same state) from my preferred team, but still a large percentage of games are blacked out. If someone (Apple/ Amazon/ startupX) figures out how to get great live sports content on demand to consumers, they will have an amazing company.
  - cylinder 12y ago
    Get a VPN or use a DNS "hack" ...
- untothebreach 12y ago
  My one regret with cutting the cord was that I gave up my precious Red Wings. NHL.com has a yearly subscription to watch the games online, but paying for that meant that I would have paid just as much for cutting the cord, as I did for having cable.

canvia 12y ago

Young people don't care about sports either. eSports like they have on Twitch.tv are more and more popular. A $35 leaf antenna from amazon gets you all the local HD channels for free.

mrjatx 12y ago
Your first statement is absolutely ridiculous. Do you have data to back this up? I'm not in some "~esportz~" community - but I'm not in a sports community either, and you know what happens to my facebook when an athletic game is on? 20-30yo people talking about it in a massive flood. I have, as far as I know, never seen any of my friends (general Austinites of various walks of life) mention esports. If you're referring to the 12-15yo crew; they don't pay cable bills anyway.
- whoopdedo 12y ago
  If 20-30 year olds aren't paying for television, is it because they don't want to or that they can't afford it? Narrow the criteria to people under-40 who own a house and I'd expect a much larger subscription rate.
  - mrjatx 12y ago
    The 20-30 group that is familiar and accustomed to streaming services, or even the basic Netflix delivery service (circa 1997) is not even remotely similar to the generation of kids born in the 70s. And the same goes with the 70s to the 50s. Who still has landlines? Those over the age of 45. (OLD graph but good info; http://ww3.hdnux.com/photos/07/74/73/2084546/7/628x471.jpg http://ww3.hdnux.com/photos/07/74/73/2084546/7/628x471.jpg) They've spent most of their lives with land line phones being the most common means of long distance communication. It was considered essential. Cable is not considered essential to this up and coming generation (millenials) even more so than it was considered not essential to my generation. Why are you assuming that you need to be 40 and a homeowner to be able to afford $35/mo cable? I'm 29 and have never once in my life paid for cable. I'm an engineer and own. I use Plex with Rokus and Chromecast. Prior to these devices I used Netflix mostly, they started streaming in 2007 but from 1997 to 2007 they still had a fairly decent delivery service.

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

joe_the_user 12y ago

Lol, I don't "pay for TV", literally don't owe a TV, but surprise, surprise, someone charge me for it.