(08-22-2022 09:28 AM)johnbragg Wrote:  

(08-22-2022 09:06 AM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  I guess that I'm a little confused by the complaints from the OP article.

My guess is that it's an underpaid (unpaid?) writer spitting out a column based mostly on his particular cord-cutting watch-on-my-laptop personal situation.

Quote:If you want to watch the game on the go, you’ll either have to sign in to the CBS app with your cable credentials or sign in to Paramount Plus with a separate login to watch CBS games. Same for the NBC app and Peacock. In Fox’s case, unless you have a TV provider login, there’s no streaming option to speak of. The only way to truly watch all Big Ten football is to have both a cable account and several streaming services, which is a big ask even of the most tenacious fans.

As if the dominant mode of viewing is "on the go", rather than on your big comfy couch in front of your nice big screen TV.

Quote:Did The Verge write the same thing about the NFL? Under the NFL's new TV deals, they would consist of the exact same platforms for cable and streaming *plus* needing Amazon Prime and cable access to ESPN (not just streaming access to ESPN+) and NFL Network.

I personally don't love the number of Big Ten basketball games that are moving to Peacock, but it's honestly not that complicated.

Ultimately, if you have a basic cable package that has BTN along with Peacock, you're going to get all of the Big Ten football and basketball games.

Similarly, if you have a basic cable package that has SECN along with ESPN+, you're going to get all of the SEC football and basketball games.

Neither the Big Ten nor SEC is going to give you access to all of their games unless you have a cable/satellite or a streaming package that is the same as paying for cable (e.g. YouTubeTV, Hulu+ Live TV, etc.). The Verge complaint appears to be that the Big Ten isn't providing an option for true a la carte viewing for pure cord cutters that don't have any cable package at all... which is true, but that's the exact same thing for the NFL, SEC, NBA, MLB, NHL and every other sports entity that has any real value in the US.

Ehh, it's true for a limited-but-growing number of niche sports. You want Premier League, you sign up for Peacock and you're good to go. UFC is on ESPN+ (but I think the best fights are on separate PPV? Not 100% sure) One-stop shopping.

By comparison, the Big Ten streaming is split between PAramount, Peacock and out-of-luck if the game is on Fox or BTN.

This guy would not do well on CSNBBS.

The emphasis is on niche, though. They're not the 4 major US pro sports leagues or the P2/P5 college conferences. As I've noted, it's the same thing with the NFL on Sundays: CBS and NBC games are also streamed on Paramount+ and Peacock, respectively, but there's no OTT streaming option for FOX.

Essentially, we're seeing a bifurcated system. The biggest games are almost reverting back to the pre-2010 days where they're increasingly going back to OTA as opposed to being on cable, but we're seeing movement of secondary/tertiary games to streaming that would have otherwise been on cable previously.

If you don't have Cable, your best options in order are:
1) Direct TV Stream (grandfathered version, $70-80) - purchase through subreddit, includes all the sports channels with the best picture quality. Product is shareable across 2 or 3 different people.
2) YTTV - all the channels with lower picture quality ($65)
3) Hulu Live - worst interface of all options. ($75-80)
4) Sling TV - need antenna to supplement lack of locals

This is one reason my answer to the question of "Cable vs Streaming" is .... both!

Sure, I have some pure-streaming services, like Netflix and the Disney Bundle.

But, thanks to my cable service, I can use apps associated with many OTA networks and stream their content on the go by just logging in to my Cable provider. If I understand what is being discussed in this thread, that will work fine for me in accessing B1G games on FOX, CBS or NBC. My cable provider gives me Peacock "free" as well.

I do not have Parmount+, and do not intend to get it, so I guess I will just miss out on that. The BTN as well.

(08-22-2022 10:19 AM)Scoochpooch1 Wrote:  If you don't have Cable, your best options in order are:
1) Direct TV Stream (grandfathered version, $70-80) - purchase through subreddit, includes all the sports channels with the best picture quality. Product is shareable across 2 or 3 different people.
2) YTTV - all the channels with lower picture quality ($65)
3) Hulu Live - worst interface of all options. ($75-80)
4) Sling TV - need antenna to supplement lack of locals

Also FuboTV


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

(08-22-2022 09:45 AM)Kyle Mack Wrote:  A $10 or $15 digital antenna plugged into your TV takes care of a lot of that.

One of the best investments I made a few years back.

The trick is to do the research - not all are created equal, and in my experience, "more expensive" turned out to not equal "better".

But once you get a decent one, it's great. And all those secondary tier channels have plenty of rerun tv shows and films. So it made dropping cable a lot easier. I'll take free over a monthly bill, anytime : )

Oh, and Peacock has a free (with ads) option. Which is actually pretty nice. Though I would imagine that sports are not available for the free option.

Don't take this to mean I'm against streaming lol. I'm just frugal about it : )

I have DTV but live in snow country (WY), During the fall/winter months I subscribe to HULU Live to have access to programming when snow blocks my satellite dish.
For $55 per month I get ESPN+, Disney and Paramount. Plenty of streaming FB and MBB games.
Come March, I cancel HULU for the summer months.

(08-22-2022 08:46 PM)Skyhawk Wrote:  

(08-22-2022 09:45 AM)Kyle Mack Wrote:  A $10 or $15 digital antenna plugged into your TV takes care of a lot of that.

One of the best investments I made a few years back.

The trick is to do the research - not all are created equal, and in my experience, "more expensive" turned out to not equal "better".

But once you get a decent one, it's great. And all those secondary tier channels have plenty of rerun tv shows and films. So it made dropping cable a lot easier. I'll take free over a monthly bill, anytime : )

Oh, and Peacock has a free (with ads) option. Which is actually pretty nice. Though I would imagine that sports are not available for the free option.

Don't take this to mean I'm against streaming lol. I'm just frugal about it : )

Yeah I bought a digital antenna and a Roku Streaming device back in 2015, and turned in my cable box. Never been happier. There are so many free streaming apps channels I can't keep track. I generally use Amazone Freevee, Youtube free movies, Tubi, Fawesome, The Roke Channel which has a free Live TV App.

I bump my Sling pay account during football season, then cancel after football season. Not even sure how define "streaming" it's kind like defining a mass shooting.

(08-23-2022 12:03 PM)Kyle Mack Wrote:  

(08-22-2022 08:46 PM)Skyhawk Wrote:  

(08-22-2022 09:45 AM)Kyle Mack Wrote:  A $10 or $15 digital antenna plugged into your TV takes care of a lot of that.

One of the best investments I made a few years back.

The trick is to do the research - not all are created equal, and in my experience, "more expensive" turned out to not equal "better".

But once you get a decent one, it's great. And all those secondary tier channels have plenty of rerun tv shows and films. So it made dropping cable a lot easier. I'll take free over a monthly bill, anytime : )

Oh, and Peacock has a free (with ads) option. Which is actually pretty nice. Though I would imagine that sports are not available for the free option.

Don't take this to mean I'm against streaming lol. I'm just frugal about it : )

Yeah I bought a digital antenna and a Roku Streaming device back in 2015, and turned in my cable box. Never been happier. There are so many free streaming apps channels I can't keep track. I generally use Amazone Freevee, Youtube free movies, Tubi, Fawesome, The Roke Channel which has a free Live TV App.

I bump my Sling pay account during football season, then cancel after football season. Not even sure how define "streaming" it's kind like defining a mass shooting.

It is interesting what makes different folks happy. I still have a full big fat cable package, the bill is about $140 a month, and yet I too like FreeVee, Tubi and the Roku Channel as well. I often watch old movies on them via my Roku TVs.

So in my case, it's a mix of free and paid streaming, and cable, that does it for me.

Now the Antenna thing, I tried that, bought one for when a hurricane hits and knocks out the streaming and the cable, but that hasn't worked for me. I've bought cheap ones for $10 and what I consider expensive ones for $100, and none of them work well. I can maybe get one or two channels. I guess it would help if I lived in a large city, not a smaller one.

(08-23-2022 12:29 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(08-23-2022 12:03 PM)Kyle Mack Wrote:  

(08-22-2022 08:46 PM)Skyhawk Wrote:  

(08-22-2022 09:45 AM)Kyle Mack Wrote:  A $10 or $15 digital antenna plugged into your TV takes care of a lot of that.

One of the best investments I made a few years back.

The trick is to do the research - not all are created equal, and in my experience, "more expensive" turned out to not equal "better".

But once you get a decent one, it's great. And all those secondary tier channels have plenty of rerun tv shows and films. So it made dropping cable a lot easier. I'll take free over a monthly bill, anytime : )

Oh, and Peacock has a free (with ads) option. Which is actually pretty nice. Though I would imagine that sports are not available for the free option.

Don't take this to mean I'm against streaming lol. I'm just frugal about it : )

Yeah I bought a digital antenna and a Roku Streaming device back in 2015, and turned in my cable box. Never been happier. There are so many free streaming apps channels I can't keep track. I generally use Amazone Freevee, Youtube free movies, Tubi, Fawesome, The Roke Channel which has a free Live TV App.

I bump my Sling pay account during football season, then cancel after football season. Not even sure how define "streaming" it's kind like defining a mass shooting.

It is interesting what makes different folks happy. I still have a full big fat cable package, the bill is about $140 a month, and yet I too like FreeVee, Tubi and the Roku Channel as well. I often watch old movies on them via my Roku TVs.

So in my case, it's a mix of free and paid streaming, and cable, that does it for me.

Now the Antenna thing, I tried that, bought one for when a hurricane hits and knocks out the streaming and the cable, but that hasn't worked for me. I've bought cheap ones for $10 and what I consider expensive ones for $100, and none of them work well. I can maybe get one or two channels. I guess it would help if I lived in a large city, not a smaller one.

That last part may very well mean you might need an outdoors antenna, not just an indoor one.

I did a walmart search and these came up, and I see outdoor antennas listed there as well - https://www.walmart.com/search?q=digital...igital%20a

I went to look for the one I first bought (and still have) but not seeing it listed - it was a no-name brand. The one I bought more recently (still a few years ago) is an RCA one.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/RCA-Amplified.../167111340

Both seem to work fine for me. Though I would imagine that there are newer and better antennae to buy nowadays. Like I said - I'm frugal (synonym with "cheap" : ) - So these low-end things may not be as good for others. YMMV. Caveat emptor, etc.

This is the antenna that I bought 7 years ago minus the adapter, $15 on Amazon works great. Not sure how good in rural areas though.


https://www.amazon.com/Upgraded-1byone-A...B00IF70QCW

Since we're all sharing, six months after we bought our new big TV I felt really really dumb. When connecting the kids' switch after a family trip, I realized that I hadn't been watching antenna TV for six months, I was watching Samsung's SmarTV streaming service that has all the local channels and looks like linear cable.

I figured all those random low-audience channels showing sci-fi or western or old sitcom reruns were just "digital TV" subchannels of the local OTA stations.

(08-23-2022 04:28 PM)johnbragg Wrote:  Since we're all sharing, six months after we bought our new big TV I felt really really dumb. When connecting the kids' switch after a family trip, I realized that I hadn't been watching antenna TV for six months, I was watching Samsung's SmarTV streaming service that has all the local channels and looks like linear cable.

I figured all those random low-audience channels showing sci-fi or western or old sitcom reruns were just "digital TV" subchannels of the local OTA stations.

We have that at my gym on a newer Samsung TV. I wonder if laptops come with a built in antenna these days? Both of my laptops are 10 years old

(08-24-2022 10:34 AM)Kyle Mack Wrote:  

(08-23-2022 04:28 PM)johnbragg Wrote:  Since we're all sharing, six months after we bought our new big TV I felt really really dumb. When connecting the kids' switch after a family trip, I realized that I hadn't been watching antenna TV for six months, I was watching Samsung's SmarTV streaming service that has all the local channels and looks like linear cable.

I figured all those random low-audience channels showing sci-fi or western or old sitcom reruns were just "digital TV" subchannels of the local OTA stations.

We have that at my gym on a newer Samsung TV. I wonder if laptops come with a built in antenna these days? Both of my laptops are 10 years old

I don't know for sure, I assume that the Samsung SmarTV thing is internet-based, not OTA antenna based. But I could be wrong.