OT: Cutting the Cord 2.0 - ESPN/Fox/Warner Launching Combined Sports Streamer

[neiLz]

I have u verse and pay 150 for the u450 for three tv sand the top Internet. I call every year to the customer loyalty retention line and explain I want to cancel as I can get it cheaper. This past year they waived all my cable box and modem fees for life. That's about 30 bucks a month there. Then gave me a yearly promo for 30 off u450 and another 24 off Internet. I have no problem calling in every year to do this.

[MickeyDavis]

Most of these companies will work with you. Just play customer service roulette. If one CSR doesn't give you what you want hang up and call back. As long as you're reasonable they'll almost always lower your bill to keep you as a customer. While cable/Uverse/DirecTV all have pros and cons at least there is some competition. I don't like that ATT may be buying DirecTV. Hopefully Dish sticks around.

[Nebula1]

$150/mo x 12 months = $1800/yr you could be investing, etc. Just saying.


Just cut it y'all.

[[MIKE C]]

Big Ten Network, Fox Sports, ESPN and other channels have a totally legal internet stream. As long as you have a cable or satellite subscription service you can get a login and password then watch these channels anywhere. Most people don't use the streaming service because they don't know about it and it is easier just to use the cable box. But the service does exist.

I was checking out the Time Warner live stream last night and they offer the ESPNews channel but not ESPN, so I wasn't able to watch MNF on there. But they do have a couple of Fox Sports channels as well as a few other channels for local sports. I'm going to check it again in a few weeks and see if the Bucks are available on there when they start playing. They do have the Big Ten Network and NFL Network available. They don't live stream any of the local channels that you can get OTA. But they do have an odd mix of a lot of other channels like AMC, BBCA, HGTV, Comedy. It's pretty random what's on there but there is a lot to offer. There is a TWC app available for Roku. I watched the TWC live TV streams through the Roku on my TV and the quality was great. Just like watching regular TV. If the Bucks and Brewer games are available through there then this is a pretty legit way to cancel the cable TV service and still have a decent variety of live TV available to watch.

Question though, is this service available with just an Internet service through them? Or do you need to be a cable subscriber to have this service available? I'm planning to cut my cable service through TW in a couple weeks and just use their Internet service, so I guess I'll find out.

[ReasonablySober]

$150/mo x 12 months = $1800/yr you could be investing, etc. Just saying.


Just cut it y'all.

Most people won't have to pay more than $55 a month for all the sports they'll need.

So $660 for a year's worth of entertainment. I can live with that. Thanks for the perspective.

[Nebula1]

$150/mo x 12 months = $1800/yr you could be investing, etc. Just saying.


Just cut it y'all.

Most people won't have to pay more than $55 a month for all the sports they'll need.

So $660 for a year's worth of entertainment. I can live with that. Thanks for the perspective.

Hey it's all about priorities, right? I just find this an easy place to save money and look objectively at investment habits. Still folks may prioritize sports viewing over free-time and investment returns and that's fine.

Even $660/yr in TVM terms is over $50,000 in 30 years at a 6% return. $1800/yr is over $140,000 in 30 years @ 6%.

Just a thought.

[BobbyLight]

My Time Warner pricing is set to explode soon, since I got cable last year just to get Bucks games, then stuck with it so my wife could watch her cooking shows (some of which I find pretty entertaining, especially Cutthroat Kitchen). I was going to consider AT&T, which at the end of the day would be more expensive than what I pay now by default because I don't think they'd let me use the modem I purchased (that's something to do to avoid $7-10 a month on your bill, buy a modem for a one time $60-$80 fee), but maybe that's wrong.

The other issue is that AT&T has a 250gb data cap. I wonder if I ever even come close to that (Streaming, gaming), but having a cap there makes me want to not support them, internet should have no cap, at all. I'll still use the threat of AT&T to get my pricing down, but we'll see what happens. I want to get rid of cable, but looking over the options I'd be doing Netflix and Hulu (there's almost $20 a month) and then international league pass, which is $20ish a month as well. At the end of the day, I'm paying $50 for TV so there's no point to cut the cord as long as I want to watch the Bucks.

[HurricaneKid]

The reason the NBA just got that massive deal was that live sports is the one thing keeping these channels relevant. Content can be achieved in a number of mediums and is relatively cheap.

But if you are cutting the cord you are either stealing or missing sports. No real in between there.

Neb are you seriously suggesting in today's day and age people shouldn't have internet access at home? Sounds like that is a good portion of his bill.

[skones]

My Time Warner pricing is set to explode soon, since I got cable last year just to get Bucks games, then stuck with it so my wife could watch her cooking shows (some of which I find pretty entertaining, especially Cutthroat Kitchen). I was going to consider AT&T, which at the end of the day would be more expensive than what I pay now by default because I don't think they'd let me use the modem I purchased (that's something to do to avoid $7-10 a month on your bill, buy a modem for a one time $60-$80 fee), but maybe that's wrong.

The other issue is that AT&T has a 250gb data cap. I wonder if I ever even come close to that (Streaming, gaming), but having a cap there makes me want to not support them, internet should have no cap, at all. I'll still use the threat of AT&T to get my pricing down, but we'll see what happens. I want to get rid of cable, but looking over the options I'd be doing Netflix and Hulu (there's almost $20 a month) and then international league pass, which is $20ish a month as well. At the end of the day, I'm paying $50 for TV so there's no point to cut the cord as long as I want to watch the Bucks.

Youd have to be doing serious piracy or running a server in order to ever come close to the 250GB. Streaming and gaming arent going to get you there. With that being said the 250GB data cap is fools gold. They don't throttle speeds and they won't charge extra. It's more or less a provision to scare pirates.

[PANDEMONEUM]

internet. 35$ a month. 420$ a year
*

netflix. (stream and disc) 18$*12= 216$ a year
hulu plus. 8$*12 = 96$ a year
amazon prime. 99$ a year
411$. a year


831$ a year. 70$ a month

that should cover all your movies and tv shows.
u might even find 1 of them is not needed.
*

HD antenna for over air channels.
40$
*
cartoon network and nickelodeon have full shows on their websites
as do ALL of the networks
netflix has a GREAT kids section

u can hook up your computer, to your TV
and watch things on your TV instead of your laptop

after you bookmark all the network sites, that have the shows you like, you can just watch them on your TV through your computer.
*


sports
this is the biggest issue
lots of illegal streams you can find

NFL on sundays, u get 4 games.
NCAA football on saturdays, over the air, should get you 6 games. random teams. (not WI)
nba league pass. 150$ a year (no Bucks)
mls live. 80$ a year (support your local team/league)
nhl. 160$ for the year. watch on multiple devices.

there are ways around getting "blacked out"

i do :
internet. netflix. online sports streams. network websites. other streaming sites for tv shows/movies.

[BobbyLight]

Youd have to be doing serious piracy or running a server in order to ever come close to the 250GB. Streaming and gaming arent going to get you there. With that being said the 250GB data cap is fools gold. They don't throttle speeds and they won't charge extra. It's more or less a provision to scare pirates.

That makes sense. I checked my usage the last few months and I go somewhere between 100-200 gig. Gotta remember some PS4 games are coming in the 30 to 40 gig range. It's not all that hard to get to 250 if you stream video, play games and then download 2 or 3 next gen games a month.

[hege53190]

Big Ten Network, Fox Sports, ESPN and other channels have a totally legal internet stream. As long as you have a cable or satellite subscription service you can get a login and password then watch these channels anywhere. Most people don't use the streaming service because they don't know about it and it is easier just to use the cable box. But the service does exist.

I was checking out the Time Warner live stream last night and they offer the ESPNews channel but not ESPN, so I wasn't able to watch MNF on there. But they do have a couple of Fox Sports channels as well as a few other channels for local sports. I'm going to check it again in a few weeks and see if the Bucks are available on there when they start playing. They do have the Big Ten Network and NFL Network available. They don't live stream any of the local channels that you can get OTA. But they do have an odd mix of a lot of other channels like AMC, BBCA, HGTV, Comedy. It's pretty random what's on there but there is a lot to offer. There is a TWC app available for Roku. I watched the TWC live TV streams through the Roku on my TV and the quality was great. Just like watching regular TV. If the Bucks and Brewer games are available through there then this is a pretty legit way to cancel the cable TV service and still have a decent variety of live TV available to watch.

Question though, is this service available with just an Internet service through them? Or do you need to be a cable subscriber to have this service available? I'm planning to cut my cable service through TW in a couple weeks and just use their Internet service, so I guess I'll find out.

Check out http://espn.go.com/watchespn/about

All the ESPN you can handle.

also http://www.foxsports.com/foxsportsgo/

And http://www.btn2go.com/

Yes you need a subscription service to get a login and password / account. Then you can watch espn, foxsports and the big ten network anywhere you want with that account.

[midranger]

Thanks everyone for the input.

[Finn]

Even $660/yr in TVM terms is over $50,000 in 30 years at a 6% return. $1800/yr is over $140,000 in 30 years @ 6%. Just a thought.

Who knew?

[RogerMurdock]

Youd have to be doing serious piracy or running a server in order to ever come close to the 250GB. Streaming and gaming arent going to get you there. With that being said the 250GB data cap is fools gold. They don't throttle speeds and they won't charge extra. It's more or less a provision to scare pirates.

I was just coming to post about possible data caps.

I have Comcast in the Atlanta area and found out this summer that I have a 300 GB cap (well, Comcast calls it a "threshold"). I found out because I actually hit it in August. Someone going internet-only for all their TV viewing could easily hit the cap if they watch a lot.

Now, August was an unusually high month in my house - the closest we came in the three months prior was about 200 GB, I think. In August, my wife and I binge-watched Orange is the New Black and Scandal, plus I streamed almost every Brewers game (legally). I believe the games used about 3 GB each.

Comcast charges $10 for an extra 50 GB if we go over, but they also give us 3 overages in 12 months for free, so it was fine. No extra charges for us. I can't imagine we'll go over again any time soon, but if we were purely internet, I could see it happening.

[rayallenscalves]

I attempted to purchase the digital League Pass today and received the following message:

Geography Marketing Restriction - We're sorry, but the US version of League Pass Broadband is not available in your region.

I live in Milwaukee. Anybody else have this problem? Tips?

[bullox]

Are you using a proxy/vpn?

[rayallenscalves]

Nope, not at all. It even showed my US-based IP address.

I tried a different logging in with a different email address and everything worked fine. I don't think I've ever had a smooth experience with this product.

[MickeyDavis]

HBO will offer some kind of streaming next year

HBO is finally cutting the cord: The premium cable network announced Wednesday it plans to offer an online-only streaming service starting next year.

The big move puts HBO on track to more directly compete with Netflix and will give viewers a method of accessing all current HBO programming without a cable subscription.

HBO chairman and CEO Richard Plepler made the announcement while addressing an investor meeting for parent company Time Warner. The executive first presented HBO’s domestic returns, then noted there are 10 million broadband-only homes—a number that’s expected to increase.

“That is a large and growing opportunity that should no longer be left untapped,” Plepler said. “It is time to remove all barriers to those who want HBO. So, in 2015, we will launch a stand-alone, over-the-top, HBO service in the United States. We will work with our current partners. And, we will explore models with new partners. All in, there are 80 million homes that do not have HBO and we will use all means at our disposal to go after them.”


Plepler ran down three potential distribution models for the streaming service. The first is to sell the online-only service through HBO’s existing cable providers. (For example, if you have broadband service through Time Warner or Comcast and want the network’s streaming service, you would be able to purchase the online service without having any cable channels.) The second is to distribute the service via new partners like Amazon, Google or Microsoft. The third method would be to attempt the Netflix model, whereby HBO markets its streaming service direct to consumers and skips the middlemen.

Cord-cutting HBO fans have increasingly clamored for the service to be made available without a traditional cable subscription. The network’s most popular program in its history, Game of Thrones, has been ranked the most pirated TV show in the world, and one common refrain among illegal downloaders is that there is no way to legally obtain the series in a timely manner without opting into an expensive cable TV package.

HBO launched a streaming app called HBO Go in 2010 to view its current programs, but it’s only available to subscribers of its traditional cable service. The network took another step into the streaming world earlier this year by licensing a large portion of its library to Amazon Prime.

[Newz]

I wish the streaming services would just start coming faster... it's going to happen eventually where cable isn't even going to be a thing if they refuse to go "ala a carte". Good to see that HBO is getting on board, hopefully Showtime is next.

I really hope that the NBA, NFL and MLB follow suit quickly and get rid of the local blackout non-sense. I wish they could come to some sort of agreement where if you pay a little more or something along those lines, then you can get your local teams games as well.