OT: Best sports streaming service
I have mostly cut the cable TV cord over the last couple of years, but have been hanging on to Xfinity’s ‘On-The-Go’ access through a piece of rental property my wife and I have owned. Now, we don’t use the property anymore and have stripped the cable service to the very most basic services. I have the usual collection of streaming services, Disney+, Netflix, Prime, and Apple TV and just love the entertainment value they collectively provide. What none of them do, though, is provide BTN, NFL RedZone, TNT (for Inside the NBA if nothing else…) or whoever else is going to be carrying the B1G sports this coming year (Fox? Paramount? I’ve been asleep at the wheel). So what I’m looking for is the collective wisdom of this board on who to choose for a generalized TV streaming service that covers the sports waterfront and isn’t tied to your home or MAC address. I know I’m late to the party and I’m sure lots of you have found yourself in the same position, choosing between Fubu, Roku, YouTubeTV, Sling(?), or whoever else is serving up sports at a reasonable price.
Mods: Feel free to drop the hammer on this post if it’s a misuse of the Board, Thanks!
FUBU has a great streaming service but it only offers BET.
Just a minute I'm still dialing.
Hulu Live
This is the right answer. You get all of the football conference net works. If a game is being broadcast odds are you are going to get it.
Still YoutubeTV for me, price increases be damned. Has pretty much all the UM and other sports content I need, other than the stuff that gets pushed to BTN minus or random regional channels for hockey.
April 24th, 2023 at 10:00 PM ^
Reasonable price is subjective. YTTV is not cheap, but offers all you're looking for with unlimited DVR service. You will need a streaming device, which are cheap, to load the apps unless your monitor(s) is already capable. The service will also travel, unless you are streaming from two distant IP locations at the same time. FUBU, HULU, Roku & Sling among others have their strengths and down sides, but in my application YTTV is a good balance. I travel a lot and my fire box or stick always comes with me.
It's all about taking the time to look at each one and comparing the cost vs benefit for your viewing priorities. Hope this helps.
April 25th, 2023 at 12:32 AM ^
Excellent YTTV summary. One additional plus: works on phones, tablets, computers as well as streaming devices.
Good thing you travel with both the fire box and the stick, sounds like a winning combination!
...and can I add, when setting up the DVR for March Madness, I simply selected 'all games'. I'd ff through the main games in 45-60kin each. I rarely watch live TV anymore. And having games on at work was fun, and really, really productive!
Damn Straight it helps, DH. My wife is hooked on NFL RedZone (All the other stuff is boring!), so that will weigh in. Since this is driving TVs in Mich, AZ, and an RV (one at a time), the cost may be less of an issue. One question, though, I've been using 4K fire sticks exclusively, but you mentioned a 'fire box'. Is that a plus-up from the stick or something different?
Thanks for all of your thoughts, it gives me a solid starting point.
Grampy
More ram and storage is about it.
April 25th, 2023 at 10:20 AM ^
It's actually called a fire cube...I just call it a box. It's faster, more memory, and acts as an amazon echo with Alexa.
April 24th, 2023 at 11:33 PM ^
All the major ones -- YTT, Fubo, Hulu, DTV -- are mostly the same, unless you're into NFL (YTT). Sling is frustrating for college football fans; it's cheaper but has fewer networks that air CFB.
April 25th, 2023 at 12:27 AM ^
YTTV, lock the thread.
April 25th, 2023 at 12:42 AM ^
^This. You can set YTTV to record every college game that is on. Every one, watch at you're leisure. Unlimited DVR.
Redzone for NFL. Sunday Ticket if you're not cash strapped.
And now I've been reading about picture-in-picture as well.
PornHub.
Cable offers the best sports streaming....
YouTubeTv for me. Especially now that they have the NFL package
First thing you have to decide is if you want local sports tv coverage. If yes, then your options are very limited for streaming. Also, watch out for weird channels missing. Fubo doesn't carry the turner stations so you miss NBA and NCAA tournament coverage. NFL network is another one to see if the service carries or not. Directv stream doesn't carry it so you miss a lot of NFL games.
Basically all the streaming services leave something out so they can appear cheaper than cable/satelite. You can work around it but it takes a lot of research. The good thing is that they are all month to month contracts so if you don't like something just switch.
TiViMate and a good IPTV subscription provider with a good VPN. Save $60-70 a month
April 25th, 2023 at 10:53 AM ^
I can Google this but what is the difference between a good and bad IPTV provider? I say this because (I can't believe I'm saying this either) my barber has the hookup for like $30 a month on a fire stick and has like all the channels ever.
It's weird but he's a good barber so...
Sort of related, I see T-Mobile now offers internet service. Has anyone tried it? They are offering it for $50 a month which would save me $30 a month. I work from home so I am not sure if it would work for me.
April 25th, 2023 at 12:51 PM ^
Depends heavily on where you are, how close you are to the TMo tower, and whether you have a convenient location with good reception to put the box. I tried it for a couple weeks but found that for my situation, the latency was just too bad for high quality video calling.
(Which is too bad--I really wanted to like it, and I got in during their promo $30/mo lifetime offer.)