Will cord cutting be ready for die hard football fans?

[pc747]

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I love football and it is the only time I find myself sitting and watching tv for a long period of time. Over the weekend I tested NFL's Game Pass services, which allowed fans to stream Preseason games with Chromecast support.

Between Sling TV providing ESPN, ESPNU, and SEC Network, as well as being able to watch local games via rabbit ears, fans have to wonder if it is safe to ditch the dish (or cord).

Over the summer I have ditched cable and went strictly streaming and antenna and could not be happier. With that said I have to admit I have encountered several disruptions, especially on the Sling TV end. Though I know the service has yet to reach its 1 year anniversary I have wondered if they could handle football season. I mean it is one thing to have disruptions over the summer, people are willing to overlook that, but once football season is in full swing disruptions will not be tolerated among fans.

So let's look at the (legal) services football fans have at their disposal and decide if it will be enough to get through the season.

Rabbit Ears: Digital channels over the air ways are just as crisp as the high def channels you will get via cable, oh and it's free. Fans should have no problems catching the games that come on local television. Unfortunately that means you can watch the game of the local team and if you are not a fan of the home town then you may be out of luck. The other issue is not being able to watch Monday Night Football, as it airs on ESPN, or Thursday Night Games (NFL Network).

Sling TV: At the time of writing this article I am on the phone yet again with Sling TV about disruptions. Though I was willing to let it ride before I am not going to let it ride during football season. Hopefully the Sling technicians can get this ironed out. Overall I have been quite pleased with Sling but tonight's preseason game had me question if I can put my trust in their technology for the 2015 season.

Online Radio: This is how I have kept up with the 49ers for the past few years but I will admit people don't invite their friends over to listen to a game being streamed. In fact doing such a thing could get someone hurt. So this is out unless you are a person that have given.

Streaming services have come a long way and I applaud the efforts of companies like Sling TV. Unfortunately for die hard football fans it may not be enough to get them to cut the cord. After football season it may be ok to cut the cord and go strictly streaming to save money, but once the ball is kicked off to start the season streaming may not cut it for football fans. Especially the fans who are not rooting for the team of the city they live in (ie transplants).

As a fan have you found a way to cut the cord (legally).

Edit:

Thursday Night Football broadcasts on CBS now so no need for NFL Network for that,

 

[Mustang02]

Only time I watch football is when I'm not at the game. 8 away games suck!!!

 

[pc747]

i talked about cord cutting on end here, especially over the Spring and Summer. Now that we are weeks away from the start of the regular season I am looking to find ways that football fans can still enjoy football without having to commit to a 2 yr deal with Directv or pay 100+ with the cable companies. I am personally dealing with am I am going to be able to keep the cord cut or am I going to find myself looking for some tape?

The option of going to a sports bar may no longer be feasible and I am not on VZW.

Hopefully in the next few week we are able to find a solution for those like myself who love football but dislike the cable industry.

 

[Mustang02]

I cut 2 years ago. I haven't looked back. Can you get nfl ticket online? I know a friend of mine uses a login from his parents cable to stream via his laptop to the TV. Still not a true cord cut but it works.

 

[cr6]

Bummer you've had so many interruptions with Sling. Have you confirmed it's on Slings end? I imagine you have already tried rebooting or resetting your Chromecast when Sling gives you problems....no luck there?
We've been completely happy with our cord cutting decision, a few months shy of three years now and it'll be a year next month with our FireStick and we're still loving it. When we originally cut the cord we used my smart BluRay player and were quite pleased. Once we got our FireStick and all the additional options, 90% of our viewing is through our FireStick now.
As for Football season, I've been fine the past two seasons and will be fine this season. Between OTA football games and the fact that my team has a great app that streams their games live, I'm able to watch those on my phone, tablet or laptop. Plus I have Verizon's NFL Mobile app that gives me Thursday night, Sunday night & Monday night games if need be. Every once in awhile there will be a blackout and my Dolphins won't be available through my two apps, but I have a "back-up plan" that provides me the fix I need. So yeah, Football season is covered for me!

 

[mach330]

Been seeing that nfl Sunday ticket online. 50/mo for their lowest service. Saw some reviews of the app and it wasn't very good.
Anyone try it yet? Feedback?

NFL SUNDAY TICKET Online Streaming | DIRECTV

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[pc747]

Bummer you've had so many interruptions with Sling. Have you confirmed it's on Slings end? I imagine you have already tried rebooting or resetting your Chromecast when Sling gives you problems....no luck there?
We've been completely happy with our cord cutting decision, a few months shy of three years now and it'll be a year next month with our FireStick and we're still loving it. When we originally cut the cord we used my smart BluRay player and were quite pleased. Once we got our FireStick and all the additional options, 90% of our viewing is through our FireStick now.
As for Football season, I've been fine the past two seasons and will be fine this season. Between OTA football games and the fact that my team has a great app that streams their games live, I'm able to watch those on my phone, tablet or laptop. Plus I have Verizon's NFL Mobile app that gives me Thursday night, Sunday night & Monday night games if need be. Every once in awhile there will be a blackout and my Dolphins won't be available through my two apps, but I have a "back-up plan" that provides me the fix I need. So yeah, Football season is covered for me!

Would love to hear the back up plan.

It is SLing as it has happened on all 3 devices (nexus player, roku 3, fire tv) as well as two different large cities and two different internet providers.

With that said I'll have to admit the price that both directv and charter quoted me for cable has me not wanting to even think of going back to the cord. Directv is not bad for the 1st year of the contract but they always back end the contract to make money in the second year and beyond.

I could technically do one of several things.

1) play the odds with directv. Take advantage of the 25 per month for a year while saving up to by myself out of my contract in year 2.

2) sign up for Verizon service for 4 months for NFL Mobile.

@cr6 you and @dgstorm got me going forward in this cutting the cord initiative so definitely open to finding a solution outside of re-attaching the cord. Plus if I, a die-hard fan, am able to find a strong solution here. Current and future die-hards will be able to reference this thread to help empower them on their quest to take back control away from Big Cable.

 

[pc747]

I am reminded why I cut the cord from the beginning; it's the up sell. How $19.99 turns to 59.99 and then 92.99 after 13 months.

 

[Miklb58]

If I'm not mistaken, the Sunday daytime games that we can stream through Vzw are local games only.

Sent from my Verizon Galaxy Note4 using Tapatalk

 

[pc747]

If I'm not mistaken, the Sunday daytime games that we can stream through Vzw are local games only.

Sent from my Verizon Galaxy Note4 using Tapatalk

No, you can view all games with the exception of blackouts, and the NFL suppose to end blackout restrictions.

 

[Miklb58]

No, you can view all games with the exception of blackouts, and the NFL suppose to end blackout restrictions.

Are you on Verizon, which includes the NFL Mobile service, or are you paying for some enhanced service? I have the included NFL Mobile service through Vzw, but everywhere I look at the Vzw site clearly states (in the fine print) local or regional Sunday daytime games.
I would be thrilled to find out that I can watch any (non-blacked out) game on Sunday!

Sent from my Verizon Galaxy Note4 using Tapatalk

 

[pc747]

I was on Verizon and I did use the NFL Mobile Service. Now I'm on AT&T what I would do was sign up for verizon (month to month) for 4 months for NFL Mobile and then cancel at the end of the year. But now that CBS will be airing the TNF games I may not need to go the route of signing up for VZW service.

 

[xeene]

Cable companies are already jacking up Internet prices since people are canceling cable. Our cable+tv package is $95 while Internet only is $85. Used to be other way around. Google fiber can't get here soon enough!

 

[PereDroid]

Cable has always jacked up prices. It has ZERO (or almost zero) to do with people canceling.

2 things that have a MUCH larger impact on your cable bill.

A) Lack of competition. I currently have a choice of Time Warner.... or the 2 SAT companies. In my area many communities are still stuck in the 90's with these exclusive deals. If you live in Cleveland you can only get Time Warner. Lakewood? Cox Cable. North Olmsted? Cox Cable. ATT Uverse has started making inroads but as they have to physically dig up streets and lay fiber, that is still not widely available.
My internet choices are every bit as varied: I can get Time Warner at speeds up to 50. Or ATT at a max speed of 6. hmmm. Who do I choose?
B) SPORTS. Don't even get me started how the average Joe who doesn't watch sports has to subsidize your cable bill, Mr. Sports Lover.
How your rising cable bill is making sports teams and star players rich

 

[PereDroid]

If You Don't Watch Sports, TV Is a Huge Rip-Off (So, How Do We Fix It?)

That's one of the best articles I've read about it.