MI Sports on Cable TV Outside of Michigan

Submitted by SurfsUpBlue on

I will be moving from here in AA to Norfolk, Virginia. The local cable provider, Cox Cable, has a package that includes B1G Network, but I am worried about regional UM FB and BB games that might be on the networks, but not in my new region. I think I have seen some cases where regional games are either on the network or ESPN, but do not know if that is the case for all regional games. Does anyone outside this market have any thoughts on the availablity of MI FB or BB games on cable? Also, is there a benefit to Dish Network or DirectTV over Cable for UM sports outside of MI? Thank you.

JClay

February 14th, 2016 at 1:47 PM ^

I live in VA and have never missed a UM football game since BTN came about although they are often bumped to espn2 whereas they are on ABC in the Midwest. You need a Roku type product so you can see the "extra" hockey and basketball games on BTN2Go. BTN+ is worth it for the first month of basketball/hockey.

I do mlb.tv and extra innings but if Detroit pro sports matters to you, directv can be talked into giving you fox sports Detroit despite you being out of the area.




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mgofro

February 14th, 2016 at 2:12 PM ^

directv can be talked into giving you fox sports Detroit despite you being out of the area.

Is that really possible? It would be great to watch Wings and Pistons games with home announcers instead of the random broadcasts on league pass.

mark5750

February 14th, 2016 at 2:16 PM ^

I logged in to say the same thing.  I have asked Directv in the past and it has never been something they would do.  I would even be ok with an idea like making a sports package you can buy like Sunday Ticket or Extra Innings where you pay annually and get the broadcasts for one team from each of the four pro sports.

JClay

February 14th, 2016 at 3:28 PM ^

I have a friend who accomplished it once. No blackouts for pro teams. I'm not clear how he did it. AT ALL. as I said, I use legit means to get my tigers and wings as I am a no-satellite guy but I have seen the promised land and it exists.




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buddhafrog

February 14th, 2016 at 5:03 PM ^

I live in Fairfax County North VA and agree. We have Verizon FIOS. Have never missed a UM football or basketball game. However, Detroit sport games almost never happen. Other UM sports only if they are nationally televised (such as UM vs PSU hockey a couple weeks ago).

 

FA_Wolverine

February 14th, 2016 at 1:49 PM ^

Michigan games are always on TV for football. When I lived in Bama I never missed a game. Bball is another story, but again I did see a lot of them on television. We had Comcast down there and it was fine. As long as you have BTN and the sports channels you're gonna be set!




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Brihj

February 14th, 2016 at 1:54 PM ^

FL for 6 months which are all during the football season and I am able to watch every game. Just make sure you get a tv plan with b10 network and you should be fine.

weasel3216

February 14th, 2016 at 1:55 PM ^

Anything that has the ESPN app will be your friend. You can watch anything being broadcasted on ESPN throughout the country using their app. Heads up it is behind the actual cable stream so any live social media (Twitter) is typically a spoiler.

gwkrlghl

February 14th, 2016 at 2:09 PM ^

I've lived out of Michigan since graduating and as long as I have whatever cable providers "sports package" then it's rare for me to even miss a Michigan Hockey game.

Football has never been a problem once. For basketball and hockey, I can see probably better than 90-95% of games between BTN, BTN2Go, and the regional Fox Sports channels

Benefits of Michigan being your team. We pull in numbers so our games are on TV a lot of the time if it's out there

N. Campus Tech

February 14th, 2016 at 2:10 PM ^

I'm in NY and have DirecTV. All the football games are on and most of the basketball games are on. The early exhibition games are usually not available.

My one complaint with DirecTV, is there is no "Detroit" sports package for pistons/Tigers/red wings games. you have to buy the full season packages to see the pro sports teams (unless they are playing your regional team)

mark5750

February 14th, 2016 at 2:13 PM ^

I have lived outside of Michigan most of my adult life and the only Michigan football game that I can remember not being televised was the Michigan @ UCONN game.  I lived in Arizona at the time and due to some kind of Big East TV deal it was ABC only East of the Mississippi and not broadcast West.  Having lived in Tennessee and now Georgia between BTN and ESPN all Michigan football games have been televised.  I havent paid close enough attention to any other sport to notice how often they aren't.

1VaBlue1

February 14th, 2016 at 2:15 PM ^

I also live in VA and will swear by DirecTV.  I haven't missed a football game since BTN started up (though I should have invoked the mercy rule on myself for some of them), but even before that the host of ESPN channels and regional coverage brought in the vast majority of games.  I only switched to Comcast within the last month, or so, so I don't have any experience with BTN2go, other than the MSU hockey game last week.  (Was previously forced to have Hughesnet for internet service - awful, awful...)  Don't worry about the move, you'll have plenty of viewing options available, and they'll only get better as streaming improves.

Ray

February 14th, 2016 at 2:36 PM ^

And the ESPNs should carry just about everything.  I live in CO now and never have a problem.  I use the Comcast app on my iPad and I can watch just about everything I want as if I'm at home. 

Maizenblueball

February 14th, 2016 at 2:43 PM ^

Here in San Diego I have Time Warner cable. I pay extra to get the Big Ten Network. Between BTN, ABC, ESPN and ESPN2, I was able to watch every single game last year.

With the Michigan name, the Harbaugh name, and the improvement on the field, I can only imagine that more M games will be picked up nationally.

pmark1210

February 14th, 2016 at 2:55 PM ^

here in Houston Texas, if Michigan was on abc, it was on tv here. luckily Fox sports carries the a lot of the state teams here. I got the btn just so I could watch, but with Michigan's name, you shouldn't have them getting jumped too often.

Kwitch22

February 14th, 2016 at 3:05 PM ^

I'm in Mn and like most people have said you shouldn't have a problem as long as you get whatever package has BTN, I may miss the exhibition/D2 games Belien schedules at the beginning of the year, but I get every other football and basketball game.

stephenrjking

February 14th, 2016 at 11:28 PM ^

Also in MN, concur. Worth noting that BTN has several "alternate" channels which Michigan occasionally airs on when Minnesota is playing at the same time. Annoying but not catastrophic.

Frankly, the fact that I can watch Michigan football, basketball, and hockey in volume while out of area and not spending a fortune is amazing.

FrankMurphy

February 14th, 2016 at 4:33 PM ^

All Michigan football games broadcast by ESPN are televised nationwide on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, or ESPNU. As long as your package includes those channels and BTN, you'll never need to miss a game. I live in California and since I moved here in December 2007, the only game that wasn't televised here was the Toledo game in 2008.

blue_n_VA

February 14th, 2016 at 4:58 PM ^

I live in VA and have DirecTV. I have the package that includes the BTN. You won't miss a football game. Most basketball games are televised one way or another. I don't pay extra for the BTN streaming stuff.




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GoBlueinMN

February 14th, 2016 at 5:17 PM ^

I have Dish in MN and the last FB game I was not able to watch as home was The Horror. I can't remember ever not being able to find a BB game on TV either (though sometimes I have to watch on ESPN 3). That said, I am still within the Big Ten footprint, so it may not be quite the same situation.

BigSmooth33

February 14th, 2016 at 5:30 PM ^

I've lived outside of the B1G footprint for almost 10 years now, deep in SEC country most recently in Birmingham, AL. I've never missed a basketball or football game with plane Jane Uverse coverage.




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