Author Topic: Watch sports without cable  (Read 21668 times)

JZinCO

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Watch sports without cable
« on: January 27, 2016, 03:40:13 PM »
Hey Mustachios,
Had a casual discussion with the gf about cable/satellite. She's wouldn't want to cut the cord because of sports. I agreed but was pretty sure there were other non-traditional providers. I've since found Sling. Their basic package has espn and some other channels I like (such as Discovery). I also saw that for $5 extra per month, you can get an extended sports package which would allow us to watch our alma maters.
 
For those that have Sling, how do you enjoy it? Can you add/remove packages as you please? Maybe we could have the sports package during the fall/spring and get rid of it when we don't want it. We would need to buy a DVR to record shows as well right? Or can the roku do that?
For those that have a different alternative, please share.

Thanks.

AZDude

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Re: Watch sports without cable
« Reply #1 on: January 27, 2016, 03:51:19 PM »
I use Sling, at least during college football season. There have been lots of threads about this. It depends entirely on what sport you want to watch, and whether you follow the local teams or out of market teams.

Basically, in order of ease of watching without cable:

NFL - Most local and big time games are on free tv, exception being MNF which is on sling. Sling also comes with access to WatchESPN, which can stream content on-demand(but only from ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPN3, not from the other ESPN channels).

NCAAF - Lots of good games on free tv, and even more on ESPN via sling. You do miss out on some games, but you should rethink your life if you are watching that much football.

MLB - MLB.TV is by far the best sports app. Its ~$25 per month for 6 months. You can watch games live or on-demand via roku, apple tv, fire tv, etc... If you want to watch the local team, you will need to do some shenanigans to fool the app into thinking you are out of market. This is not too difficult, but does require some technical skills.

NBA League Pass - Its like $50 a month for the season for all games(minus local broadcasts), or like $35 for one team(not the local team). If you want to watch the local team, its more difficult than MLB, but it can be done. Sling TV does have ESPN and TNT, which will show 500 Lakers games plus a few others...

NHL/Bull Riding/Golf/Tennis/Whatever - No idea, since I don't watch or follow these.


JZinCO

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Re: Watch sports without cable
« Reply #2 on: January 27, 2016, 04:02:55 PM »

There have been lots of threads about this.
Coulda searched, but besides sling, I don't know what is out there so didn't know what to search for. And I figure this is an evolving and growing niche so I didn't know if there were newer options.

NHL/Bull Riding/Golf/Tennis/Whatever - No idea, since I don't watch or follow these.
Looked it up and Sling includes Altitude for my market which covers 'whatever' pretty well.

tj

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Re: Watch sports without cable
« Reply #3 on: January 27, 2016, 07:25:01 PM »

There have been lots of threads about this.
Coulda searched, but besides sling, I don't know what is out there so didn't know what to search for. And I figure this is an evolving and growing niche so I didn't know if there were newer options.

NHL/Bull Riding/Golf/Tennis/Whatever - No idea, since I don't watch or follow these.
Looked it up and Sling includes Altitude for my market which covers 'whatever' pretty well.

When did Sling add RSN's?

JZinCO

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Re: Watch sports without cable
« Reply #4 on: January 27, 2016, 07:51:02 PM »
agh! No I read wrong.
womp womp

mxt0133

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Re: Watch sports without cable
« Reply #5 on: January 27, 2016, 09:08:17 PM »
Search for peer to peer sports and look for .eu sites.

AZDude

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Re: Watch sports without cable
« Reply #6 on: January 28, 2016, 10:29:20 AM »
Search for peer to peer sports and look for .eu sites.

Be sure to have good virus/spyware protection, be OK with so-so picture quality, and be OK with morally questionable behavior. This also goes back to what sport do you watch. NFL is great, NBA is OK... MLB... not so good unless you live in a handful of markets.

MandalayVA

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Re: Watch sports without cable
« Reply #7 on: January 28, 2016, 10:35:47 AM »

NHL/Bull Riding/Golf/Tennis/Whatever - No idea, since I don't watch or follow these.

For the NHL there's Hockeystreams.  For roughly ten bucks a month you get ALL NHL games, no blackouts.  You can even watch minor league hockey if that's your thing.  If all you care about are the playoffs Hockeystreams offers a playoff package for $25, and again you get all the games.  As a Mustachian hockey fan I find HS to be one of the joys of life.  :D

tj

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Re: Watch sports without cable
« Reply #8 on: January 28, 2016, 10:43:53 AM »

NHL/Bull Riding/Golf/Tennis/Whatever - No idea, since I don't watch or follow these.

For the NHL there's Hockeystreams.  For roughly ten bucks a month you get ALL NHL games, no blackouts.  You can even watch minor league hockey if that's your thing.  If all you care about are the playoffs Hockeystreams offers a playoff package for $25, and again you get all the games.  As a Mustachian hockey fan I find HS to be one of the joys of life.  :D

Also morally questionable. The only legal streaming outlets in the USA for the NHL is NHL Gamecenter Live and NBC Sports Extra.

Paul der Krake

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Re: Watch sports without cable
« Reply #9 on: January 28, 2016, 10:50:41 AM »
I think I've signed up for Sling's free trial at least 3 times, usually when there's a big UNC ball game that's only on ESPN. I wish them luck, but $20 for one or two games per month at most isn't enough for me to leave my payment info on file with them.

There are plenty of interesting NFL/CFB games available every week OTA. Sure sometimes it's not the game I was hoping for, but that keeps me honest about the amount of televised brutality I want to dedicated my time to.

For golf, NBC usually has a few tournaments, and the fine folks at Augusta National somehow manage to dictate very commercial-light terms to CBS year after year. Very enjoyable viewing experience.

Unfortunately, there is very little appetite for tennis in the states, so I tunnel my traffic to Wimbledon's and the French Open's respective local interwebs. #thuglife

eliza

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Re: Watch sports without cable
« Reply #10 on: January 28, 2016, 10:55:34 AM »
NHL sells a package that I'm sure you could chromecast or something.  Not sure if there is an option to sling NBSCN which carries most of the broadcast hockey games in the US. 

Or you could do my cheap-ass version of using Google Chrome Invisible mode to get repeated 5 minute previews of the NHL.com streaming broadcast.   (Not recommended if you are a huge hockey fan, because it inevitably cuts out at a key moment and then can take 30 seconds to get a new window up and running.) 


eliza

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Re: Watch sports without cable
« Reply #11 on: January 28, 2016, 11:34:56 AM »

For the NHL there's Hockeystreams.  For roughly ten bucks a month you get ALL NHL games, no blackouts.  You can even watch minor league hockey if that's your thing.  If all you care about are the playoffs Hockeystreams offers a playoff package for $25, and again you get all the games.  As a Mustachian hockey fan I find HS to be one of the joys of life.  :D

I had no idea it was that reasonable to pay for the NHL streaming.  I may have to rethink my approach.

Daley

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Re: Watch sports without cable
« Reply #12 on: January 28, 2016, 11:37:09 AM »

For the NHL there's Hockeystreams.  For roughly ten bucks a month you get ALL NHL games, no blackouts.  You can even watch minor league hockey if that's your thing.  If all you care about are the playoffs Hockeystreams offers a playoff package for $25, and again you get all the games.  As a Mustachian hockey fan I find HS to be one of the joys of life.  :D

I had no idea it was that reasonable to pay for the NHL streaming.  I may have to rethink my approach.

It's not, unless you're okay with dealing with gray market rebroadcasters who stick their servers and banks in jurisdictions that don't adhere to international copyright law.

eliza

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Re: Watch sports without cable
« Reply #13 on: January 28, 2016, 12:53:26 PM »

For the NHL there's Hockeystreams.  For roughly ten bucks a month you get ALL NHL games, no blackouts.  You can even watch minor league hockey if that's your thing.  If all you care about are the playoffs Hockeystreams offers a playoff package for $25, and again you get all the games.  As a Mustachian hockey fan I find HS to be one of the joys of life.  :D

I had no idea it was that reasonable to pay for the NHL streaming.  I may have to rethink my approach.

It's not, unless you're okay with dealing with gray market rebroadcasters who stick their servers and banks in jurisdictions that don't adhere to international copyright law.

Ohh, I thought he was quoting the price for the official NHL stream.  Nevermind.  I'll stick with my own morally questionable repeated use of the official stream's free trial period.  (I plead the fifth related to any potential historical use on my part of gray market rebroadcasters)

tj

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Re: Watch sports without cable
« Reply #14 on: January 28, 2016, 01:01:12 PM »
Honestly, by the time you add up all the various streaming packages, you might as well just go with cable.

My sister and I are considering dropping cable at the end of next month when our teaser rates are up, but it is more of a time thing not a money thing. We don't want to waste so much time in front of the TV. Substituting streaming doesn't solve the "time suck" problem, at least for me it wouldn't.


katsiki

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Re: Watch sports without cable
« Reply #15 on: January 28, 2016, 01:08:20 PM »
I'm on a sling trial right now (3 week trial btw - www.sling.com/hrblock/).  So far, so good.  I'm not into sports so I can't help much with your question.  However, I have been impressed with Sling's quality of service (on Roku) and the on-demand options/episodes.  I didn't know you got on-demand capability for the channels offered, but maybe everyone else does :)

MandalayVA

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Re: Watch sports without cable
« Reply #16 on: January 28, 2016, 01:19:43 PM »

For the NHL there's Hockeystreams.  For roughly ten bucks a month you get ALL NHL games, no blackouts.  You can even watch minor league hockey if that's your thing.  If all you care about are the playoffs Hockeystreams offers a playoff package for $25, and again you get all the games.  As a Mustachian hockey fan I find HS to be one of the joys of life.  :D

I had no idea it was that reasonable to pay for the NHL streaming.  I may have to rethink my approach.

It's not, unless you're okay with dealing with gray market rebroadcasters who stick their servers and banks in jurisdictions that don't adhere to international copyright law.

Ohh, I thought he was quoting the price for the official NHL stream.  Nevermind.  I'll stick with my own morally questionable repeated use of the official stream's free trial period.  (I plead the fifth related to any potential historical use on my part of gray market rebroadcasters)

I'm a she.  :D

Hockeystreams is based out of the Netherlands, which per the site operators is not under the jurisdiction of the NHL.  It's been around for close to a decade so there's no way in hell Gary Bettman doesn't know about it.  If he had a problem with it, he would have shut it down with authority or found a way to profit from it.  In other words, don't worry about it.  The main difference between HS and Center Ice is that you'll see commercials.  I often amuse myself by using the CBC, TSN or RDS (French) feeds to watch Canadian commercials, which can be pretty funny.

michaelrecycles

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Re: Watch sports without cable
« Reply #17 on: January 28, 2016, 01:30:22 PM »
I've signed up for and cancelled Sling twice, based on the NBA season. It's pretty convenient, there's no contract, and you may even get a free or discounted Roku when signing up. I don't believe you can record Sling content.

One thing I was shocked about - a GS Warriors game was scheduled for ESPN. I live in the SF Bay area and that game was blocked on Sling. They responded to me on Twitter that this was due to local blackouts (I knew local games were blacked out on NBA League Pass, but this was ESPN.) I'm pretty sure any cable network doesn't block out ESPN if it's a local game, but Sling doesn't have an answer for that yet.

JZinCO

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Re: Watch sports without cable
« Reply #18 on: January 28, 2016, 01:32:09 PM »
Honestly, by the time you add up all the various streaming packages, you might as well just go with cable.
I don't know about that; at least where I am the sports and premium packages are absurd. A 20/mo base rate for sling and 5/mo for extra sports is really tempting me and I am willing to do without NFL network, sadly. Obviously I will go shopping around in the end.

As for the eu stuff, yeah I've done that for UFC fights but not everyone is as reckless as I am when it comes to clearly-not-legal viewing.

I'm pretty sold on trying out sling. That we can try it out on a trial basis means I can convince roommates and others to ease into it.

Any other subscription-based over-the-top providers I should consider as a replacement to cable to get my tv shows and sports fixes?

tj

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Re: Watch sports without cable
« Reply #19 on: January 28, 2016, 01:34:35 PM »
Honestly, by the time you add up all the various streaming packages, you might as well just go with cable.
I don't know about that; at least where I am the sports and premium packages are absurd. A 20/mo base rate for sling and 5/mo for extra sports is really tempting me and I am willing to do without NFL network, sadly. Obviously I will go shopping around in the end.

As for the eu stuff, yeah I've done that for UFC fights but not everyone is as reckless as I am when it comes to clearly-not-legal viewing.

I'm pretty sold on trying out sling. That we can try it out on a trial basis means I can convince roommates and others to ease into it.

Any other subscription-based over-the-top providers I should consider as a replacement to cable to get my tv shows and sports fixes?

If sling is good enough, then of course it's mroe cost efficient, but when you start adding MLB.TV, NHL Gamecenter, Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu, etc...are you really saving $$?

katsiki

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Re: Watch sports without cable
« Reply #20 on: January 28, 2016, 01:36:50 PM »
Any other subscription-based over-the-top providers I should consider as a replacement to cable to get my tv shows and sports fixes?

We never run out of things to watch with Amazon Instant Video/Prime and Netflix.  With Sling added to that, I might finally cut the cord.  We still struggle to find good news sources but CBSN, Skynews and Euronews cover the world pretty well.

Daley

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Re: Watch sports without cable
« Reply #21 on: January 28, 2016, 01:56:39 PM »
Hockeystreams is based out of the Netherlands, which per the site operators is not under the jurisdiction of the NHL.  It's been around for close to a decade so there's no way in hell Gary Bettman doesn't know about it.  If he had a problem with it, he would have shut it down with authority or found a way to profit from it.  In other words, don't worry about it.

It's not that the NHL doesn't not have a problem with it, they do. They CLEARLY do. The NHL can't legally do anything about it because of the jurisdictions deliberately used by Hockey Streams. With the company being located in the Netherlands, they have no legal recourse to actually take them down due to Dutch copyright law. Legally hamstrung for a decade =/= tacit approval, they've been trying for ways for years. Plus, Hockey Streams ToS basically hoists all legal liability in copyright infringement in your region onto you for using and paying sorry dontating for it. It's clearly theft, but the company is exploiting loopholes in international law to basically rip off the NHL. It's gray market in name only because of the remaining international legal loopholes that let them get away with it, but technically by the letter of domestic law, its users are still breaking the law using the service.

JZinCO

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Re: Watch sports without cable
« Reply #22 on: January 28, 2016, 02:04:50 PM »
Honestly, by the time you add up all the various streaming packages, you might as well just go with cable.
I don't know about that; at least where I am the sports and premium packages are absurd. A 20/mo base rate for sling and 5/mo for extra sports is really tempting me and I am willing to do without NFL network, sadly. Obviously I will go shopping around in the end.

As for the eu stuff, yeah I've done that for UFC fights but not everyone is as reckless as I am when it comes to clearly-not-legal viewing.

I'm pretty sold on trying out sling. That we can try it out on a trial basis means I can convince roommates and others to ease into it.

Any other subscription-based over-the-top providers I should consider as a replacement to cable to get my tv shows and sports fixes?

If sling is good enough, then of course it's mroe cost efficient, but when you start adding MLB.TV, NHL Gamecenter, Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu, etc...are you really saving $$?
It's not a fair comparison because cable doesn't include many of the aforementioned services so you'd have to pay for those with or without cable.

Here's what I want. Solid want: Basic cable tv shows, access to NFL. Nice to have but not a strong want: NHL, HBO, Showtime, MLB.
The comparison should be based on what my current situation is versus others. I have basic cable (access to all NFL except Thursday games which are on NFL network), Netflix (free, a friend offered for me to drop mine and she would cover it because it doesn't add cost to her)

Sling sounds like a solution for me.

redcedar

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Re: Watch sports without cable
« Reply #23 on: January 28, 2016, 02:08:42 PM »
For me, Sling has been better than expected. I read alot about issues especially on popular events like Monday Night Football on ESPN or a Presidential Debate on CNN. Users would experience significant pixelation, skipping or jumping, and other issues. While I have had a short lived issue here and there, it has been very rare on popular events and nonexistent shows that lack such broad appeal.

The Sling team has hinted at DVR like services in the future which would be a big functionality boost for many people.

One thing to watch out for is that if you signup for service using one of their promos like $50 off Roku 3, you are committing to 3 months of service. Ok ok you say, I get that. Well the issue that I had is that Sling would not let me add another group of channels in a month-to-month fashion. I could either add that extra channel group for the full 3 month commitment required by the Roku discount or wait until the 3 month commitment ended to then add that extra channel group as month-to-month.


dramaman

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Re: Watch sports without cable
« Reply #24 on: January 28, 2016, 02:11:42 PM »
Reading this thread makes me very grateful that I have never found any pleasure from watching sports on TV. It made cord cutting so much easier.

tj

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Re: Watch sports without cable
« Reply #25 on: January 28, 2016, 02:11:48 PM »
Quote
It's not a fair comparison because cable doesn't include many of the aforementioned services so you'd have to pay for those with or without cable.

My point was that having a regular cable subscription which gives you your local RSNs, FS1, FS2, NBCSN, CBSSN, TNT, TBS, MLBN, NHLN, NBA TV, NFLN and all the ESPNs, you are probably spending as much as if you bypassed cable with all those out of market packages. You wouldn't need to buy all those out of market packages, because you have plenty of sports in the cable subscription. I feel like Hulu  wouldn't be needed if you had a tv subscription to CW, NBC, ABC etc which it carries.

Yes, if all you awnt is NFL and shows that are on the networks that Sling carries, then it clearly makes sense. If you watched shows on say USA and FX instead of TNT and TBS, it wouldn't be a solution.

My comment was generally speaking, not for your specific wants. NBA fans in particular would probably have the best luck with Sling because of ESPN and TNT both being included.

The nice thing about NFL is if you live anywhere that gets good service with an antenna, you could a hole bunch of programming for free. No antenna reception out here.
« Last Edit: January 28, 2016, 02:15:38 PM by tj »

JZinCO

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Re: Watch sports without cable
« Reply #26 on: January 28, 2016, 02:18:42 PM »
Tj, I think you have access to more inclusive cable packages than I do, and possibly fairer pricing.

I guess I countered that the comparison should be about what to do in my situation, because that's what the original post is about.

At any rate, I've learned that Sling is the only provider in their space (providing live cable shows on a non-cable/dish platform). This sounds like the ticket.
« Last Edit: January 28, 2016, 02:20:15 PM by JZinCO »

Khaetra

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Re: Watch sports without cable
« Reply #27 on: January 28, 2016, 02:18:58 PM »
One thing I refuse to go without is cable/sat.  I love sports and if I lived elsewhere I would get the separate packages so I could watch my teams, but since they are all local I need cable/sat to watch them.  Plus both my son and I enjoy tennis, golf, racing, etc.

tj

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Re: Watch sports without cable
« Reply #28 on: January 28, 2016, 02:24:50 PM »
Tj, I think you have access to more inclusive cable packages than I do, and possibly fairer pricing.

I guess I countered that the comparison should be about what to do in my situation, because that's what the original post is about.

At any rate, I've learned that Sling is the only provider in their space (providing live cable shows on a non-cable/dish platform). This sounds like the ticket.

We tend to bounce back between Time Warner & AT&T, they both have teaser rates for the first year, and no contract required like the satellite companies., but it also depends on how many tv's you have and what they given carrier charges for equipment and such. Sling can only be used on one TV at a time, so if you're a single dude, no problem, but a family, each person would need their own Sling subscription to access those channels.

dodojojo

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Re: Watch sports without cable
« Reply #29 on: January 28, 2016, 03:52:59 PM »
Klowdtv is a legal site which streams BEIN and Gol channels--so it's a lot of soccer.  I pay $7.50 monthly.  I watch about 3-5 games a month so I'm not sure if I'll keep the service after this season.  I like soccer a lot but don't feel like I should be paying a subscription fee unless I watch many more games.

A friend 'lends' me his cable log-in details so I can watch Premier League games on NBC sports.  Again, I average about a game a week.

JZinCO

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Re: Watch sports without cable
« Reply #30 on: January 28, 2016, 03:55:48 PM »
Tj, I think you have access to more inclusive cable packages than I do, and possibly fairer pricing.

I guess I countered that the comparison should be about what to do in my situation, because that's what the original post is about.

At any rate, I've learned that Sling is the only provider in their space (providing live cable shows on a non-cable/dish platform). This sounds like the ticket.

We tend to bounce back between Time Warner & AT&T, they both have teaser rates for the first year, and no contract required like the satellite companies., but it also depends on how many tv's you have and what they given carrier charges for equipment and such. Sling can only be used on one TV at a time, so if you're a single dude, no problem, but a family, each person would need their own Sling subscription to access those channels.
No experience with AT&T. I will have to check them out. Thanks for the headsup on Sling!! I wasn't aware it was one subscription per tv's.

tj

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Re: Watch sports without cable
« Reply #31 on: January 28, 2016, 04:00:11 PM »
Tj, I think you have access to more inclusive cable packages than I do, and possibly fairer pricing.

I guess I countered that the comparison should be about what to do in my situation, because that's what the original post is about.

At any rate, I've learned that Sling is the only provider in their space (providing live cable shows on a non-cable/dish platform). This sounds like the ticket.

We tend to bounce back between Time Warner & AT&T, they both have teaser rates for the first year, and no contract required like the satellite companies., but it also depends on how many tv's you have and what they given carrier charges for equipment and such. Sling can only be used on one TV at a time, so if you're a single dude, no problem, but a family, each person would need their own Sling subscription to access those channels.
No experience with AT&T. I will have to check them out. Thanks for the headsup on Sling!! I wasn't aware it was one subscription per tv's.

You could theoretically use some sort of splitter, my dad has tv's outside that show identical contents from one of his indoor TV's via splitter. My understanding is that you can only have one stream per log-in. I'm not sure if accessing ESPN through WatchESPN or other on-demand programming would be a way around the one stream limitation.

MandalayVA

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Re: Watch sports without cable
« Reply #32 on: January 28, 2016, 06:06:45 PM »
It's not that the NHL doesn't not have a problem with it, they do. They CLEARLY do. The NHL can't legally do anything about it because of the jurisdictions deliberately used by Hockey Streams. With the company being located in the Netherlands, they have no legal recourse to actually take them down due to Dutch copyright law. Legally hamstrung for a decade =/= tacit approval, they've been trying for ways for years. Plus, Hockey Streams ToS basically hoists all legal liability in copyright infringement in your region onto you for using and paying sorry dontating for it. It's clearly theft, but the company is exploiting loopholes in international law to basically rip off the NHL. It's gray market in name only because of the remaining international legal loopholes that let them get away with it, but technically by the letter of domestic law, its users are still breaking the law using the service.

I've found that what drives a lot of people to Hockeystreams--myself included--is the NHL playoffs. True, baseball and basketball have some playoff games on cable, but with the exception of the Stanley Cup finals ALL NHL playoff games are on cable.  If the NHL was smart--Gary Bettman runs it so it's not, but a girl can dream--it would broadcast all playoff games on Center Ice and do what Hockeystreams does and charge a set amount for access (keep in mind the playoffs run over two months).  If it did that, I'd have no problem paying for it.  Until then:

Dear Gary Bettman:

Yes, I get Hockeystreams.  COME AT ME BRO!

Love,
MandalayVA

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Re: Watch sports without cable
« Reply #33 on: January 28, 2016, 06:26:13 PM »
So you probably know someone with cable right? Since 95% of Americans pay for TV. Just find a friend pay them 5$ a month for their password and boom 5 dollar everything you want.  Don't do local cable guys go with DirecTV friend or uverse they usually allow everything thru apps and roku.

tj

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Re: Watch sports without cable
« Reply #34 on: January 28, 2016, 06:47:08 PM »
It's not that the NHL doesn't not have a problem with it, they do. They CLEARLY do. The NHL can't legally do anything about it because of the jurisdictions deliberately used by Hockey Streams. With the company being located in the Netherlands, they have no legal recourse to actually take them down due to Dutch copyright law. Legally hamstrung for a decade =/= tacit approval, they've been trying for ways for years. Plus, Hockey Streams ToS basically hoists all legal liability in copyright infringement in your region onto you for using and paying sorry dontating for it. It's clearly theft, but the company is exploiting loopholes in international law to basically rip off the NHL. It's gray market in name only because of the remaining international legal loopholes that let them get away with it, but technically by the letter of domestic law, its users are still breaking the law using the service.

I've found that what drives a lot of people to Hockeystreams--myself included--is the NHL playoffs. True, baseball and basketball have some playoff games on cable, but with the exception of the Stanley Cup finals ALL NHL playoff games are on cable.  If the NHL was smart--Gary Bettman runs it so it's not, but a girl can dream--it would broadcast all playoff games on Center Ice and do what Hockeystreams does and charge a set amount for access (keep in mind the playoffs run over two months).  If it did that, I'd have no problem paying for it.  Until then:

Dear Gary Bettman:

Yes, I get Hockeystreams.  COME AT ME BRO!

Love,
MandalayVA

Comcast pays the NHL huge $$ for the cable rights for NBCSN, CNBC and the USA Network. Why would the NHL offer the programming separately directly to the consumer? Same thing with Rogers on the Canadian side. It's not going to happen. BTW, almost all NBA playoff games are on ESPN and TNT. There's a handful on ABC, but no more than the NHL has on NBC.

Daley

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Re: Watch sports without cable
« Reply #35 on: January 28, 2016, 08:24:07 PM »
I've found that what drives a lot of people to Hockeystreams--myself included--is the NHL playoffs. True, baseball and basketball have some playoff games on cable, but with the exception of the Stanley Cup finals ALL NHL playoff games are on cable.  If the NHL was smart--Gary Bettman runs it so it's not, but a girl can dream--it would broadcast all playoff games on Center Ice and do what Hockeystreams does and charge a set amount for access (keep in mind the playoffs run over two months).  If it did that, I'd have no problem paying for it.  Until then:

Dear Gary Bettman:

Yes, I get Hockeystreams.  COME AT ME BRO!

Love,
MandalayVA

If you hate how Bettman runs the NHL, the only thing that talks is money. Don't like their broadcast policies? Starve them out, and encourage others to do likewise. DON'T give the teams personal or cultural mind share. DON'T spend any money on the NHL. DON'T watch games. DON'T even steal from them. IGNORE THEM. So long as you're still a slave to the puck, they own you and nothing will change.
« Last Edit: January 28, 2016, 08:26:22 PM by I.P. Daley »

MandalayVA

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Re: Watch sports without cable
« Reply #36 on: January 28, 2016, 08:28:22 PM »


If you hate how Bettman runs the NHL, the only thing that talks is money. Don't like their broadcast policies? Starve them out, and encourage others to do likewise. DON'T give the teams personal or cultural mind share. DON'T spend any money on the NHL. DON'T even steal from them. IGNORE THEM. So long as you're still a slave to the puck, they own you and nothing will change.

Couldn't that be said about any entertainment entity, though?  I've heard a ton of people bitch about Disney but they all went thundering to the cineplex when the new Star Wars movie came out.

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Re: Watch sports without cable
« Reply #37 on: January 28, 2016, 08:40:52 PM »
If you hate how Bettman runs the NHL, the only thing that talks is money. Don't like their broadcast policies? Starve them out, and encourage others to do likewise. DON'T give the teams personal or cultural mind share. DON'T spend any money on the NHL. DON'T even steal from them. IGNORE THEM. So long as you're still a slave to the puck, they own you and nothing will change.

Couldn't that be said about any entertainment entity, though?  I've heard a ton of people bitch about Disney but they all went thundering to the cineplex when the new Star Wars movie came out.

Absolutely, and they're equally hypocrites for it. You'll note the bulk of my advice in the guide regarding saving money on entertainment is to consume less, and I couch it a heavily anti-TV message. Probably why it's the most ignored section of the guide. Even the majority of people in these forums are still non-negotiable slavish consumers for some of the most worthless BS around. They'll cut to the bone food budgets, medical care, housing... but G-d forbid they give up their bread and circuses. Football? Who gives a shit about the long term health of these horrendously abused young men! I GOTTA PAY FOR CABLE AND WATCH ALL THE GAMES CAUSE YEAH! FOOTBALL!

Everyone in this thread: you want to save money on sports? Stop watching, and stop spending money on a morally bankrupt institution. Try spending time and playing with your friends and family instead.

MandalayVA

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Re: Watch sports without cable
« Reply #38 on: January 29, 2016, 06:09:25 AM »

Absolutely, and they're equally hypocrites for it. You'll note the bulk of my advice in the guide regarding saving money on entertainment is to consume less, and I couch it a heavily anti-TV message. Probably why it's the most ignored section of the guide. Even the majority of people in these forums are still non-negotiable slavish consumers for some of the most worthless BS around. They'll cut to the bone food budgets, medical care, housing... but G-d forbid they give up their bread and circuses. Football? Who gives a shit about the long term health of these horrendously abused young men! I GOTTA PAY FOR CABLE AND WATCH ALL THE GAMES CAUSE YEAH! FOOTBALL!

Everyone in this thread: you want to save money on sports? Stop watching, and stop spending money on a morally bankrupt institution. Try spending time and playing with your friends and family instead.

I hope you don't hurt yourself falling off your moral high horse.  ;D





Daley

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Re: Watch sports without cable
« Reply #39 on: January 29, 2016, 08:02:13 AM »
I hope you don't hurt yourself falling off your moral high horse.  ;D

May you soon receive the intellectual honesty and clarity to see the greater repercussions to your current actions and choices, and the emotional strength to not let that knowledge destroy you.

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Re: Watch sports without cable
« Reply #40 on: January 29, 2016, 08:11:02 AM »
Honestly, by the time you add up all the various streaming packages, you might as well just go with cable.
I don't know about that; at least where I am the sports and premium packages are absurd. A 20/mo base rate for sling and 5/mo for extra sports is really tempting me and I am willing to do without NFL network, sadly. Obviously I will go shopping around in the end.

As for the eu stuff, yeah I've done that for UFC fights but not everyone is as reckless as I am when it comes to clearly-not-legal viewing.

I'm pretty sold on trying out sling. That we can try it out on a trial basis means I can convince roommates and others to ease into it.

Any other subscription-based over-the-top providers I should consider as a replacement to cable to get my tv shows and sports fixes?

If sling is good enough, then of course it's mroe cost efficient, but when you start adding MLB.TV, NHL Gamecenter, Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu, etc...are you really saving $$?

Cable is like $70 a month. Sling is $20. MLB.TV is $25. The combined save money and offer better services. If you have Sling, MLB.TV, NBALP, Netflix, Hulu, etc... Seriously, you are spending WAY TOO MUCH TIME watching TV. Be selective and choose only what you want.

Also, NBALP does allow you buy individual games(for $4.99), if there is ever a specific game you *have* to see.

AZDude

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Re: Watch sports without cable
« Reply #41 on: January 29, 2016, 08:18:03 AM »
If you hate how Bettman runs the NHL, the only thing that talks is money. Don't like their broadcast policies? Starve them out, and encourage others to do likewise. DON'T give the teams personal or cultural mind share. DON'T spend any money on the NHL. DON'T even steal from them. IGNORE THEM. So long as you're still a slave to the puck, they own you and nothing will change.

Couldn't that be said about any entertainment entity, though?  I've heard a ton of people bitch about Disney but they all went thundering to the cineplex when the new Star Wars movie came out.

Absolutely, and they're equally hypocrites for it. You'll note the bulk of my advice in the guide regarding saving money on entertainment is to consume less, and I couch it a heavily anti-TV message. Probably why it's the most ignored section of the guide. Even the majority of people in these forums are still non-negotiable slavish consumers for some of the most worthless BS around. They'll cut to the bone food budgets, medical care, housing... but G-d forbid they give up their bread and circuses. Football? Who gives a shit about the long term health of these horrendously abused young men! I GOTTA PAY FOR CABLE AND WATCH ALL THE GAMES CAUSE YEAH! FOOTBALL!

Everyone in this thread: you want to save money on sports? Stop watching, and stop spending money on a morally bankrupt institution. Try spending time and playing with your friends and family instead.

There is definitely some truth to this, but everyone has their vice. Plus football is a bad example since most games are on free TV.

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Re: Watch sports without cable
« Reply #42 on: January 29, 2016, 08:23:45 AM »
There is definitely some truth to this, but everyone has their vice. Plus football is a bad example since most games are on free TV.

Everyone may have their vice, but actively choosing to overcoming one's vice and denying a destructive habit that comes easy to your personal nature for the sake of the greater good, both personally, and communally, should always be encouraged.

And football is the perfect example, because it's one of the cheapest, most destructive, and most readily available of the tribalism battle drugs.
« Last Edit: January 29, 2016, 08:25:38 AM by I.P. Daley »

dramaman

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Re: Watch sports without cable
« Reply #43 on: January 29, 2016, 08:41:16 AM »
There is definitely some truth to this, but everyone has their vice. Plus football is a bad example since most games are on free TV.

Everyone may have their vice, but actively choosing to overcoming one's vice and denying a destructive habit that comes easy to your personal nature for the sake of the greater good, both personally, and communally, should always be encouraged.

And football is the perfect example, because it's one of the cheapest, most destructive, and most readily available of the tribalism battle drugs.

I don't like watching sports myself, but geez! I mean the thread is asking for advice about how to watch sports without cable and hopefully keep costs down, not a moralizing sermon about the evil of football and watching sports in general. It would be like me going on the Ptel thread and sermonizing how anyone who spends more than $5 a month on a phone bill needs to overcome their phone vice for the sake of the greater good. To each their own man.

neo von retorch

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Re: Watch sports without cable
« Reply #44 on: January 29, 2016, 08:47:41 AM »
I think I.P. Daley has every right to explain why he recommends what he does, especially as people attack his suggestions! He's right...
Quote
tribalism battle drugs
is a great descriptor. MMM encourages us to shift from consumer suckas to makers, creators, creatives, people who get things done. Sport watching forms an addiction, a bond to the people playing the sports. You don't say "the Jets won." You say "We won!" And "those other guys suck" and sometimes it escalates to even worse extremes. Of course, that's not what I.P. Daley came here to say. He offers up suggestions to get a reasonable fill of your drug of choice without throwing your hands in the air and saying "I need all the sports" and then paying for a maximum level cable package. You can get a ton for a small amount of money. Efficiency is king. Focus on your favorites, find reasonable channels to enjoy them, and take control of your decision-making, rather than leaving it up to the "tribe."

dramaman

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Re: Watch sports without cable
« Reply #45 on: January 29, 2016, 08:54:33 AM »
that's not what I.P. Daley came here to say. He offers up suggestions to get a reasonable fill of your drug of choice without throwing your hands in the air and saying "I need all the sports" and then paying for a maximum level cable package. You can get a ton for a small amount of money. Efficiency is king. Focus on your favorites, find reasonable channels to enjoy them, and take control of your decision-making, rather than leaving it up to the "tribe."

Funny, I didn't see any suggestion from IP about getting a reasonable fill. I only saw postings that anyone wanting to save money should just not watch sports.

Quote from: I.P.Daley
Everyone in this thread: you want to save money on sports? Stop watching, and stop spending money on a morally bankrupt institution.

Daley

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Re: Watch sports without cable
« Reply #46 on: January 29, 2016, 08:58:03 AM »
I don't like watching sports myself, but geez! I mean the thread is asking for advice about how to watch sports without cable and hopefully keep costs down, not a moralizing sermon about the evil of football and watching sports in general. It would be like me going on the Ptel thread and sermonizing how anyone who spends more than $5 a month on a phone bill needs to overcome their phone vice for the sake of the greater good. To each their own man.

Too bad your argument has such a huge hole in it. At least mobile phone service can be used as a tool, and why do you honestly think I advise everyone to only use what they need to begin with?

Sports has no such status.

Also, I'm not the one who brought up illegal streaming sites as a viable method of saving money on getting the fix. This financial independence community is supposed to have a backbone of making ethical choices and striving to make the world a better place, not to let it burn for the sake of our own greed... but that message has been quite lost, and someone needs to remind both the noobs and the old timers of it every once in a while.

Funny, I didn't see any suggestion from IP about getting a reasonable fill. I only saw postings that anyone wanting to save money should just not watch sports.

Which, if you bothered to actually read the entire thread and consider the context, resulted from a discussion about if one is going to pay for the service, not using gray market providers to get their fix and Mandalay's subsequent attempts to justify doing so anyway.



I think I.P. Daley has every right to explain why he recommends what he does, especially as people attack his suggestions!

Thank you.

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Re: Watch sports without cable
« Reply #47 on: January 29, 2016, 09:04:06 AM »
Honestly, by the time you add up all the various streaming packages, you might as well just go with cable.
I don't know about that; at least where I am the sports and premium packages are absurd. A 20/mo base rate for sling and 5/mo for extra sports is really tempting me and I am willing to do without NFL network, sadly. Obviously I will go shopping around in the end.

As for the eu stuff, yeah I've done that for UFC fights but not everyone is as reckless as I am when it comes to clearly-not-legal viewing.

I'm pretty sold on trying out sling. That we can try it out on a trial basis means I can convince roommates and others to ease into it.

Any other subscription-based over-the-top providers I should consider as a replacement to cable to get my tv shows and sports fixes?

If sling is good enough, then of course it's mroe cost efficient, but when you start adding MLB.TV, NHL Gamecenter, Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu, etc...are you really saving $$?

Cable is like $70 a month. Sling is $20. MLB.TV is $25. The combined save money and offer better services. If you have Sling, MLB.TV, NBALP, Netflix, Hulu, etc... Seriously, you are spending WAY TOO MUCH TIME watching TV. Be selective and choose only what you want.

Also, NBALP does allow you buy individual games(for $4.99), if there is ever a specific game you *have* to see.

When you spend $5 a game enough times, it is cheaper to just buy a season package. The NHL came out with a single team package, but at the amount your saving you might as well get the whole package as it brings down the cost per game. I don't disagree that TV is a time suck which is one reason we plan on dropping it. My logic is the sports will still be there when I'm old.  I can't get the time back and I couldn't tell you who won which game a couple days after it happened...so why waste the time? It's not a money thing for me, it's that it's a gigantic time suck that promotes hermit-ism. Now if one had super independent children and were going to be spending time at home by themself anyway, I could see why sports or TV in general would be incredibly appealing to someone.
« Last Edit: January 29, 2016, 09:09:56 AM by tj »

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Re: Watch sports without cable
« Reply #48 on: January 29, 2016, 09:12:10 AM »
I like baseball and would be tempted by MLB.tv if my favorite team wasn't in the local cable lineup, but honestly, I don't really have time to watch much more than is available from over-the-air broadcasters. It's nice to see that Sling is competing with cable on sports. I don't mind the idea of paying for programing, but there does need to be competition to make paid programing more available to those who want to consume less of it at a reasonable price.

Soccer tends to be cheap in the US because it is more popular with immigrants who generally are at the lower end of the social-economic scale. (If you don't mind spanish broadcasts, you probably get a lot of OTA soccer coverage.) Football seems to bring enough viewers that selling advertising on OTA broadcasts is the way to maximize revenue. (I think of the Super Bowl as an TV advertising event with Football filling in during breaks in the advertisements.) Appearently baseball, basketball, and hockey maximize revenue by selling pay TV to consumer suckas.

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Re: Watch sports without cable
« Reply #49 on: January 29, 2016, 09:17:52 AM »
My wife and I have a basic cable package that includes ABC, CBS, USA and NBC but no ESPN. I can usually get my fill of football and college basketball with those channels, and I haven't missed being able to watch my favorite team every single week. In fact, I like watching different teams--I feel like I have gotten a better sense of the league lately. Plus, NBC/USA usually show a Premier League game or two each weekend, and that is my true love.

In any case, I have also been getting really into Cricket and Rugby recently. The WatchESPN App usually allows you to watch non-US competitions for free, and I have been availing myself of that constantly.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!