So as most of you guys probably do, I stream 70% of my content now either through Netflix, Hulu, HBO Go, etc. The one and only reason I continue to have cable is to watch sports, specifically the NBA. (ESPN, TNT, NBA TV, and Root Sports) Have any of you guys completely cut yourself off from cable, and if so how did you continue to have access to all NBA games? And I know you can stream on firstrow, ballstream etc. but I'm talking about legitimate, always available, high quality options.
I did in March. I'm subscribing to SlingTV (23 channels, ESPN and TNT included), have local antena and use my sisters Netflix subscription. I have Roku on two devices and will either buy NBA League Pass or BallStream Right now my 15MB down speed costs $30 and SlingTv is $20. When I was on Cable, with the extra sports channels I paid $130. All in all I love it, and don't miss the additional speed or channels previously
What that guy said - get a Sling TV and League pass. I just cut my cable bill a month ago and this is also my planned path. From the other thread, I had posted this:
I cut cable completely for a while and watched no games I tried streaming but the quality sucked. Im back with cable just for sports lol.. I know I wasn't much help, but thats my experience. If you are positive your going to cut it , be ready, comcast will charge the reactivate =/
Won't the local Rockets games be blacked out in Houston on League Pass? Or have they changed that rule..?
...so if you live in Houston's regional area, you would get to see the regionally blacked out games with league pass 3 days later. If that were a nationally televised game, it would be blacked out for 3 hours after the game was over and then it would be available for replay. 3 hours isn't bad but I could see how 3 days would be a pain if you lived in Houston but of course you can still watch sooner via local TV channels(I assume - haven't lived in Houston in nearly 20 years) or streaming from some of the chinese feeds of questionable legality/reliability.
I cut the cable cord about 5 months ago. It's been good so far as I still have netflix, HBO Go, showtime, etc. I knew the toughest part would be the NBA season, but I will likely go with Ballstreams through the Roku.
I couldn't do it. Tried streaming strictly for a couple of weeks before I broke down. LOL. College football, basketball, NBA, NFL, etc. Too hard to watch a lot of sports without cable or satellite.
I parted ways with uverse and the laundry list of taxes 2 months ago. I'm still alive. will go with ballstreams.
What are you guys doing for internet service? Provider/speed/costs? I wanted to dump Comcast but the alternatives were CenturyLink only up to 20Mbps or smaller fiber providers just as expensive as Comcast and with heavy upfront "construction" fees. Ended up sticking with Comcast Blast(100Mbps)+Basic TV+HBO for $56 a month for 12 months.
Kodi + acestream is good to great quality, and I can find almost anything. But it takes a bit of effort keep things running smoothly as the streaming world is constantly changing. Lots of ways to set this up. I use a Raspberry pi plugged directly to the t.v. and use my phone as the remote.
I have been cable-free since 2009. I think I started with League Pass broadband around that time. I haven't lived in Houston for a long time, so I was never subject to the regional blackouts. The games that are blocked out (ESPN, TNT, ABC, NBATV) I usually either miss, or find a stream somewhere. I really don't miss cable (and the expensive bills) at all. Netflix / Amazon / Amazon Prime are enough TV for me. I will probably add HBO NOW if it comes to Roku.
There is really no reason to have cable anymore to be honest. However, anybody thinking about cutting the cord and saving money needs to think again. You could probably actually spend more cutting the cord than you do sticking with cable. You could do a bare bones setup, which would be: hulu (with Showtime), netflix, Sling (with HBO) and league pass every year, that will run you: Hulu with no commercials + (showtime) = $20.00 Sling Tv + hbo = $35.00 Netflix with dvd option = 22.50 League Pass = $10.00 1 time cost: fire tv stick - $100.00 that's nearly 90 bucks there and you still don't get everything (nba tv) you'd get with cable. Also, if you live in houston and you want to watch the rockets on a big screen tv, you'll have a MUCH more difficult time doing that AND the quality wont be as good as the hd feed that cable can provide. League pass is good but it ain't cable quality. Obviously there are benefits to this setup than with cable. First, the streaming on demand without commercials is BIG. Hulu just announced that they have this option so you get to see anything you want and avoid all the commercials. Also, you also get netflix original programming and a library of dvds and streaming movies that is unreal. Anyway, I've been off of cable for about 5 years now and I would never go back basically because I love being able to stream when I want to stream, and I can't remember the last time I had cable to be honest.
Oh yeah and I forgot to mention, if you want mlb tv to watch the astros, that will cost you money as well.
Those options are like the high tier of cable, which would cost you $200 Dont need Hulu without conmercials Dont need Showtime or possibly HBO And why would anyone still need the Netflix DVD option But if someone does want all those options, thats still a great price
