Root Sports

I don't understand.

NBA League Pass won't work in Houston for watching the Rockets, but it's not because of Root Sports.

 

The teams/NBA impose the local blackouts... not the cable networks.

 

NBA League pass won't work in Houston due to black-out restrictions.

You can get around this by buying LP, and using it with a VPN. However, the setup will be messy, and it typically includes you having an HDMI port on your laptop/desktop and sending it over to the TV that way. That's what I did for the 2012-2013 season as well as the 2013-2014 season

You can also use Ballstreams, which is technically illegal, but works fine for a lot of users, and they have support for multiple devices. I used it just fine all season on my Roku

 

Dude if you could cut the cable and still have access to your local teams tons of people, myself included, would do so in a heartbeat.

The NBA and MLB know the local TV contracts make up a huge portion of teams income, and so they are going to do everything they can to protect those cable contracts. The league mandates the local blackout restrictions to people without cable across the country, not just here.

 

I do agree that every sports network should provide a mobile streaming option for cable/satellite subscribers.

That is the one way they can keep potential cord-cutters in the fold and recruit new ones. Otherwise, cable/satellite packages will eventually die and all channels will have a stand-alone streaming product that you can subscribe directly to.

 

Speaking of Root Sports, I'm extremely close to cutting the cord and went online earlier this week to downgrade my DirecTV package down to their cheapest option. Just wanting to test it out and wean myself off of cable.

Turns out that DirecTV's two cheapest option don't offer Root Sports, so I settled for the third cheapest. EXTREMELY irritating and even more motivation for me to cut the cord.

All I need is HBO, ESPN, TNT, Root Sports, and locals. My wife needs OWN and Lifetime. And the little one needs Disney. So I'm going to take a really good look at Sling TV and start to read reviews for OTA HD antennas.

I think I'm really going to do this down the line.

 

I'm there with you. All I need is HBO and an ability to watch the Rockets games. My wife would prefer to have some stuff like HG TV and ABC Family, but she can do without. So for me it's looking like I'm gonna go with the Comcrap Blast + HBO package and re-up my Ballstreams.

I don't really know much about antennas but I'll probably get those for our 3 TVs as well.

 

I'm with Sling. ESPN, TNT, LifeTime, and Disney are in the $20 package. Add $15 for HBO.

Plus get a nice OTA HD Antenna (the flat one you can stick to a window work wonders for me)

Couple that with a prepaid subscription to Ballstreams, and you'll be good to go

 

It almost make TOO much sense.

I'm currently paying around $130/month for DirecTV. (DVR w/ three Genie Clients, Choice package, HBO, Starz/Showtime (free for three months), and Equipment Protection.) Plus $80/month for Comcast Internet and around $9/month for Netflix. So that's no less than $219/month for home entertainment.

Compare that to $80/month for Comcast Internet, $45/month for SlingTV + HBO and Sports/Kids add-on, and $9 for Netflix. Add Amazon Prime for $100/year or roughly $8/month and I'm looking at saving over $75 a month in comparison to DirecTV. And every TV in my home is already connected to either an Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, or Xbox One.

One month of those savings would likely cover a Ballstreams subscription for an entire season, so the incentive is definitely there.

BTW, someone should start a "Cord-Cutters Thread".

 

Yep, there are no blackouts. I've used it the past 2 years and the quality is pretty good. It lags every once in a while, but other than that, I don't have any complaints. As long as you have decently fast internet, you should be good