OT: M Friendly TV providers for new Virginia resident

Submitted by Z on

I hope to enlist the help of anyone who lives and watches M sports out of the midwest region, specifically any Virginia residents.

I just moved to Lynchburg, VA and am trying to figure out which Cable/Satellite provider would be the best for me to not miss any football games this fall.  I grew up in Michigan and lived in Chicago for 6 years, so I never had to worry about missing any regional games, but I'm worried that even if M is "nationally televised" I could be preempted for other regional games Thank you, CBS, for showing me last Saturday how much of a hassle this could be.

Could anyone out there who has been through this please advise?  I appreciate any help - thank you very much.

 

MGoAero

March 6th, 2011 at 3:41 PM ^

I've got Comcast in Arlington, and the package which contains BTN as well as a bunch of other sports channels (ESPNU, Fox Sports, lots of MLB, NHL, and NBA games, etc), is just $6.95 a month.  Well worth it for me.  Plus, a lot of those channels will be going to HD in the next month, notably, BTN.  Very excited about that!  Comcast is still Comcast though, for all that entails.  Although the sports package is just $6.95, the normal digital package you put that on top of, plus DVR rental, is quite expensive.  For normal, non-HBO-type channels, plus sports, I pay close to $100 a month.  No internet or phone bundled with that.  That includes DVR and HD service.

TheVictors97

March 6th, 2011 at 3:48 PM ^

Cable is generally a rip-off. I recommend AT&T (U-Verse), Verizon (FIOS), or DirecTV if you are a sports fan. The BTN typically comes with their base packages and you don't have to add a special sports pack. The channels are always in HD as well and for a lot less money.

goblue418

March 6th, 2011 at 5:33 PM ^

AT&T's uVerse 450 gets me almost every college football game i could want to watch at a time. I have every fox sports station in the USA, btn, secn, nfl, nhl, nba, cbs sports,  all with internet and phone for like 140$ a month. not bad for us. also includes all movie channels and most of the sports in hd

willywill9

March 6th, 2011 at 7:42 PM ^

I live in nyc and have had fios gor almost two years. It's been awesome, really, and i pay about 100 a month (no hbo or anything tho). If you have a verizon mobile acct, you can use the phone as part of the bundled phone +int + cable.

IMO its a phenomenal value compared to time warner, comcast, etc. So i doubt you'd want to cancel your account anyway.

MGoShoe

March 6th, 2011 at 4:32 PM ^

...football, as long as you have ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN Classic, BTN and BTN overflow channels, you'll never miss a game. For MBB, if you have those channels plus CBS, you'll only miss the odd non-conference game.

If you have the option to get Verizon FIOS, I recommend it. It absolutely beats the Comcast package available in my part of Virginia.

BigSmooth33

March 6th, 2011 at 5:07 PM ^

I've been in Tennessee for the last 3 years and U-Verse has been good to me... They screwed with me last year for the Michigan/Michigan State game but that was curbed nicely by a trip to BW's or just realizing that my DirectTv set up had me all square the whole damn time.

I was bu-fu'd here on the basketball game too, but thankfully they streamed the game and was able to hook the lap top up to the TV for a poor quality TV experience.

Overall, as long as you can get the BTN, you shouldn't have many problems... Michigan gets pretty good coverage no matter who the provider is.

rdlwolverine

March 6th, 2011 at 6:41 PM ^

I am in Maryland and have DirecTV.  You'll get everything.  A neighbor has Verizon Fios and we had trouble finding one of the football games there.  If I recall correctly the game was ESPN or ABC on a regional basis with mirroring on ESPN2 out of region.  On DirectTV, the game was "blacked out" on the station it was supposed to be on, but DirectTV showed in on its ESPN "alternate" station in HD.  On Fios, we could not find it through the guide or on their website, apparently it was shown, but on the non-HD version of one of the stations (which we did not check).  I forget which one.

Y0ST

March 6th, 2011 at 6:56 PM ^

You get ESPN alternate channels, Big Ten Network alternates, VS alternates (not that they show BIG games), all the official sports networks (NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB), including alternates for the MLB network.  If you pay for the sports package, you get all the regional sports networks, including Fox Sports Detroit, and of course the option to buy the Sunday NFL Ticket.  Afterall, you don't want to be stuck watching Redskins and Ravens games every Sunday.

TrueBlueinVA

March 6th, 2011 at 8:26 PM ^

Hey, I live about 20 miles from lynchburg and I have Dish Network with the additional Big Ten Network.  I saw every Michigan Football game this year.  If it doesnt make the ABC coverage than ESPN or ESPN2 will pick it up. GO BLUE!

goblue434

March 6th, 2011 at 8:31 PM ^

hey man i live in lynchburg and i have directv with the big 10 network you get every michigan football game and most of the basketball games but me and my buddys get together and watch the football games we call it the michigan cult we are all from michigan and we go nuts during the games so you are more than welcome to come watch the game with us! go blue

goblue27

March 6th, 2011 at 8:33 PM ^

to northern virginia yesterday and i watched the game yesterday with verizon fios...

speaking of which, does anyone know a good place to watch football/bball games with fellow fans in the DC area?? i'd love to watch with some fellow fans

ixcuincle

March 6th, 2011 at 8:43 PM ^

Unsure if FIOS is in Lynchburg but if it is you should consider. It is 100 per month but that includes internet and phone service.

If Fios isn't available look into DTV

Good luck

maineandblue

March 6th, 2011 at 11:19 PM ^

I live in Harrisonburg and although Direct TV feels like a rip off (I hardly ever watch anything other than sports and PBS) I've never missed a televised football/basketball game. I think I have the "choice" package which comes out to about 80 bucks with the DVR and HD (almost everything is in HD). I also get the NFL and NBA package, and obviously that adds up to quite a bit more. 

They made me sign for 2 years, told me I could suspend my account during non-football/bball season, then rejoin in the fall. However, they lied to me when they told me I could re-activate my package with a deal comparable to what they offer new customers. Otherwise, no complaints. 

maineandblue

March 7th, 2011 at 2:09 PM ^

Wow, cool. I've lived here 1.5 yrs and haven't found any other Michigan alums/fans. Any chance you're an attractive single female in your mid to late 20s, into backpacking and indie rock? If so that would be awesome.

If not, we should get in touch and try to catch a game together anyway. Shoot me an e-mail if you'd [email protected]. I live on the west side of town, just a few blocks from Court Square/downtown.