Ditching cable TV - Question on sports

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rivethead

rivethead

Platinum Member
Jan 16, 2005
2,635
106
106
Hi all,

On April 8th my highly discounted subscription to ATT Uverse ends. I don't want to spend $100/month for 8000 channels full of commercials that I won't watch so I'm dropping them.

Instead I'm going to subscribe to:

1) Amazon Prime (already do for shipping reasons)
2) Hulu Plus
3) Netflix
4) Aereo (for local tv and dvr abilities....although I may just get an antennae instead)


The questions I have:

1) sports - I love Big XII college football. But rarely do I watch it live. Are there any good/legal solutions to watch college and/or pro football? And soccer and hockey for that matter....
2) Do I need a media player like Roku3? Right now I have two tvs and I can already access Amazon, Netflix and Hulu directly through the TVs (or a Blue Ray connected to one of them). I'm not sure what Roku gets me....maybe other channels?
3) For anyone who has gone where I'm about to go (and I suspect lots have).....what am I forgetting about?

Thanks!
 
poofyhairguy

poofyhairguy

Lifer
Nov 20, 2005
14,612
318
126
rivethead said:
1) sports - I love Big XII college football. But rarely do I watch it live. Are there any good/legal solutions to watch college and/or pro football? And soccer and hockey for that matter....
Click to expand...

If you like Big 12 football some content will be on Fox Sport's website, some from OTA ABC (the biggest games), and some will be on ESPN3. To access ESPN3 you will probably have to piggyback on someone who actually has cable- maybe throw a few bones at parents/sibling for access? Then once you get access to ESPN3 you can use hotspot shield to get around local blackouts. One exception is if you are a Texas fan- getting access to LHN feeds will mean not only finding someone with ESPN but someone with LHN access.

There is no way to subscribe to ESPN's services without cable on purpose. Cutting the cord is painful for sports fans. Many just go watch sports games in bars (only real legal option if you can't piggyback).

2) Do I need a media player like Roku3? Right now I have two tvs and I can already access Amazon, Netflix and Hulu directly through the TVs (or a Blue Ray connected to one of them). I'm not sure what Roku gets me....maybe other channels?
Click to expand...

I don't see a reason for a Roku. Honestly to get decent sports streaming (ESPN, Fox Sports desktop site) you might need a fullblown NUC running Windows. They on purpose keep it from being too easy.
 
Last edited:
rivethead

rivethead

Platinum Member
Jan 16, 2005
2,635
106
106
I live in Austin, but I'm actually a Jayhawk fan. Yes, Jayhawk football. Yes, they are the worst team in college football. But hey, I root for them. I didn't say I was sane.

There seems to be a trend in colleges where they're setting up their own networks and those networks include streaming. I'm hoping Jayhawk TV will allow me to stream football games (both live and pre-recorded). That would solve a lot of my concerns. I need to investigate this more.

And you're right....I could always just go to a bar!

Thanks!
 
OILFIELDTRASH

OILFIELDTRASH

Lifer
May 13, 2009
12,333
612
126
If sports is that important then you'll really need some form of cable or satellite tv unfortunately. I enjoy watching sports but pretty just miss out on watching it due to the ridiculous pricing on pay tv. I'd rather go in person a few times a year to my favorite sports team than pay $1500 a year for something I'd rarely use.
 
rivethead

rivethead

Platinum Member
Jan 16, 2005
2,635
106
106
If it comes down to it, saving $ will trump my necessity to watch football. Just seems like a there is an under-served market here.

I can adapt.

On a different note, I'm not sure my spoiled 8 year old can. I better go make sure "Dragons Riders of Berk" and "Ninjago" can be streamed before I do this.....
 
poofyhairguy

poofyhairguy

Lifer
Nov 20, 2005
14,612
318
126
rivethead said:
If it comes down to it, saving $ will trump my necessity to watch football. Just seems like a there is an under-served market here.
Click to expand...

Oh certainly, and it is on purpose. Live sports are the tentpole of the whole old system- they require you to see ads if you want to watch live and they can hook you to the old school cable providers. It is getting worse in college sports with conference networks that simply can make more money in a cable model than an ala carte model (so they will be dragged kicking and screaming into the modern age).

On a different note, I'm not sure my spoiled 8 year old can. I better go make sure "Dragons Riders of Berk" and "Ninjago" can be streamed before I do this.....
Click to expand...

Best idea is to just invest in a pile of DVDs for him. If you want it slick then then rip them and use DNLA to stream those on-demand to your devices from your PC.
 
rivethead

rivethead

Platinum Member
Jan 16, 2005
2,635
106
106
poofyhairguy said:
Oh certainly, and it is on purpose. Live sports are the tentpole of the whole old system- they require you to see ads if you want to watch live and they can hook you to the old school cable providers. It is getting worse in college sports with conference networks that simply can make more money in a cable model than an ala carte model (so they will be dragged kicking and screaming into the modern age).
Click to expand...

Greed sucks.


Oh sweet....all the Dragons and Ninjagos are on Cartoon Network for steaming.

I'm set.
 
NutBucket

NutBucket

Lifer
Aug 30, 2000
27,124
613
126
OILFIELDTRASH said:
If sports is that important then you'll really need some form of cable or satellite tv unfortunately. I enjoy watching sports but pretty just miss out on watching it due to the ridiculous pricing on pay tv. I'd rather go in person a few times a year to my favorite sports team than pay $1500 a year for something I'd rarely use.
Click to expand...
I'd use it quite a bit but not having it just means I can spend my time doing more useful things. I find I spend less time and have much less interest in watching TV when there's nothing I want to watch. The monetary savings are almost a bonus. I love sports too but it's not worth it. I'd rather go to a few games. Much more fun anyway.

rivethead said:
On a different note, I'm not sure my spoiled 8 year old can. I better go make sure "Dragons Riders of Berk" and "Ninjago" can be streamed before I do this.....
Click to expand...
What's he going to do, sue you? He'll get over it. :)
 
rivethead

rivethead

Platinum Member
Jan 16, 2005
2,635
106
106
NutBucket said:
What's he going to do, sue you? He'll get over it. :)
Click to expand...

Lol. He just might.

He's spoiled because I have spoiled him. But he, like me, can adapt. Especially if we can save $1,032/year (my estimated savings....and that assumes I subscribe to Aereo which I'm very much on the fence about).
 
rivethead

rivethead

Platinum Member
Jan 16, 2005
2,635
106
106
That's true. I think the real value with Aereo is having the cloud-based DVR to record the local channels. $8/month OR $10 on an antenna and $100+ on a DVR (which takes up space, always on using power, needs cables to connect to TV, etc.).....that seems to be their value proposition.
 
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