Alternative to Cable

[l'orange]

I am thinking about ditching cable but I have kept it for the past couple years because I am not aware of any great alternatives where I can catch most of the games. Has anyone here found a good alternative to cable to watch Cuse basketball, shy of buying season tickets.

 

[andyw715]

Well there is Sling TV...it offers a variety of sports channels depending on which package you purchase.

https://www.sling.com/service

It's really like an internet based cable system...



Of course there are other magical means to get streams of various sports events. Links are always available.

 

[EastCoast2]

I find links to stream every game I want to watch. I have websites to watch every TV show and movie for free online, even movies currently in theaters. Cable is useless to me.

 

[Brooky03]

Sling TV, Playstation Vue, and DirecTV Now, are your primary subscription based options for live TV. Sling TV is the cheapest but has the fewest channels (in its base package at least), Playstation Vue is kind of a happy medium and has the best option for recording live TV, and DirecTV Now has the most channels but no recording option... yet.

I believe all of these give you access to Watch ESPN (or it's through your internet provider), which gives you all of the ACCN games and a lot of the nonconference games.

 

[DonLightfoot]

A lot depends on your location. According to Dish Network I reside in Watertown, NY. There are probably about seven ACC games which are not carried on ESPN or CBS which I do not get. ABC 50 in Watertown shows about three games from the ACC Network and I get those. Other ACCN games I don't get and need to stream them. I get all the Regional Sports Networks, but am always blacked out when our games are reflected in the guide, even road games. I often wonder if a person lived outside the State of NY if they get the games on those regional networks. Very frustrating for me and a lot of other members on here feel the same. Good luck with your decision.

PS - I get very few non conference games on TV.

 

[Fly Rodder]

I switched to Sling. I have no use for ESPN outside of college basketball season so I can suspend my account and not pay for something I don't watch.

I'm sure there are streaming sites for free, but I quit searching for a good stream that is A) not lagging and B) not overwhelmed with russian ads and malware. Or when streams start with one thing and switch to something that you weren't expecting at all.

 

[Ghost]

I live in Canada and I don't miss a single game!

 

[upperdeck]

You have to wonder at what point they start to shut down the easy way to watch much of the live stuff that streams. Great you can do it for free but when we reach that tipping point and less are paying how does anyone make money producing shows.

 

[OttoMets]

Do Sling or any of those include NBC Sports?

Think we're finally ditching cable after tomorrow night's game but I'd like to preserve the ability to watch EPL games.

 

[DoubleDee]

I just bought a Muvibox. Too scared to cut the cord just yet, but pretty great. Every basketball game has been on so far.

 

[SUMBA]

I switched to Sling. I have no use for ESPN outside of college basketball season so I can suspend my account and not pay for something I don't watch.

I'm sure there are streaming sites for free, but I quit searching for a good stream that is A) not lagging and B) not overwhelmed with russian ads and malware. Or when streams start with one thing and switch to something that you weren't expecting at all.

Do games on Sling lag as do most internet feeds?

 

[orangenirvana]

I find links to stream every game I want to watch. I have websites to watch every TV show and movie for free online, even movies currently in theaters. Cable is useless to me.

 

[l'orange]

PS - I get very few non conference games on TV.

Thanks for the replies everyone.
This (above) is what I was worried about.

 

[Brooky03]

Do Sling or any of those include NBC Sports?

Think we're finally ditching cable after tomorrow night's game but I'd like to preserve the ability to watch EPL games.

Looks like Sling's Blue option will do the trick. How to watch Premier League on Sling TV with this step-by-step guide - World Soccer Talk

I think Vue also give you access to NBC Sports.

 

[ScrabbCuse]

You have to wonder at what point they start to shut down the easy way to watch much of the live stuff that streams. Great you can do it for free but when we reach that tipping point and less are paying how does anyone make money producing shows.

I imagine more networks will set up a separate service charging a per month fee, similar to what HBO and CBS have now. Pay a few bucks a month, watch anything live plus whatever they have archived at anytime. CBS All Access is decent. I had it for a few months. They usually give a one month trial for free which should be good come tourney time in March.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

You have to wonder at what point they start to shut down the easy way to watch much of the live stuff that streams. Great you can do it for free but when we reach that tipping point and less are paying how does anyone make money producing shows.

I'm assuming it's the same as when tv was 'free' from over the air (antenna) broadcasts: advertising.

Can anyone tell me (us) how the Playstation Vue service is working for them? My sister just switched from Cox to the DirectTV thing via Apple TV 4. I like the idea of the Apple TV interface, but there's no DVR. The Playstation Vue thing has DVR, but it's all on the cloud, and not stored locally on a device. I'm wondering about startup times, channel changing lag, etc versus cable. Channel selection seems pretty good...

 

[upperdeck]

if everyone is illegally streaming stuff then they have no way to track advertising.. At this point the ad money doesnt come close to covering costs like it did back in the day.

 

[orangenirvana]

Thanks for the replies everyone.
This (above) is what I was worried about.

I have Dish Network in the Buffalo region and have seen every SU game that has been on television.

 

[Bornorange]

Do games on Sling lag as do most internet feeds?

I have almost no lag. I was astounded by how good the picture was and how responsive it was to changes. The direct line from router to Sling box to tv makes the difference. My old espn3 through Chromecast was slow and choppy and now its like live TV.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Do games on Sling lag as do most internet feeds?

That's a function of your bandwidth much more than the service provider.

 

[Fly Rodder]

That's a function of your bandwidth much more than the service provider.

Yes and no ... if the service provider can't serve up the data fast enough because there are too many requests, it lags or stutters. ESPN3 is/was pretty much poster child for this. But a lot of illegal streams are steaming piles of garbage and can't handle the demand.

 

[dan7800]

My father in law has cable so I use his TW account to access WatchESPN. It works great.

 

[andyw715]

I have almost no lag. I was astounded by how good the picture was and how responsive it was to changes. The direct line from router to Sling box to tv makes the difference. My old espn3 through Chromecast was slow and choppy and now its like live TV.

That's a function of your bandwidth much more than the service provider.

Yes and no ... if the service provider can't serve up the data fast enough because there are too many requests, it lags or stutters. ESPN3 is/was pretty much poster child for this. But a lot of illegal streams are steaming piles of garbage and can't handle the demand.

Maybe the OP is referring to the delay inherent to recording and re-broadcasting a stream like you get with WatchESPN, et al. I would imagine it's a bit behind live. A few minutes maybe? I'll research.


ETA: this is 2015 article. Consumer reports says sling lags behind OTA by a couple minutes.
Sling TV Review - Consumer Reports

Not sure if it has improved.

 

[NailstheCusefan12]

I cut the cord and went with PlayStation Vue and I've loved it. I get all the ESPN channels, access to WatchESPN, FS1 and 2, NBC Sports, and local games on NESN (since I'm in the Boston area). I get CBS too but had to buy a digital antenna to get Fox and ABC. Costs me $30 a month plus internet is around 60. Much less than the 145 I was paying for the combo package and cable boxes. I stream through both a PS3 and PS4.

 

[hungrychuck]

Good thread guys. Lot of useful info.

Would others agree with PlayStation Vue as a source for general sports programming -- in other words, including SU games obviously, but extending to all the other content we love?