How to watch live sports without cable
The MLB World series may no longer be
in full swing (sorry, I couldn't help myself), but sports fans all over the
place might have a new reason to celebrate.
There's a great way for savvy
cord-cutters to keep up with the home team for free — sort of
— in full digital HD. The sort of is because you'll have to
fork over $40 for an over-the-air antenna like the new Mohu Leaf. It picks up
uncompressed HD signals over-the-air, which means any sports broadcast on
networks such FOX, NBC and CBS is free to watch.
SPORTS STREAMING SERVICES
The trouble with online streaming
services for sports — the ones that let you watch games on your computer,
television or mobile device — is that most of them are subject to media
blackouts, meaning broadcasters have exclusive rights to live games. So the
home team, which you'd see broadcast on a local station, won't be available to
watch on any online streaming service. So it's pretty tough — but not impossible
— to watch live sports online, legally.
As one of our readers pointed out the
last time we did this story, "depending on your Internet provider, you may
also have free access to the WatchESPN app, which streams ESPN programming to
your mobile device." If you already have high-speed Internet, you might
also get access to live programming on the ESPN3 channel of WatchESPN.com online as
well. If you're a U.S. college student or U.S.-based military personnel, you
can get free access to ESPN3 by using computers connected to on-campus and
on-base military networks. The ESPN site also has a lot of replay video.
Your other options are going to cost
you, but there are subscription services for NFL, NBA, MLB and the NHL that let
you watch wherever you want — though local media blackouts will definitely
apply. But if your favorite team isn't your local team, this can be a great way
to watch. These aren't cheap, with single-season access running close to $200
for some sports.
— NFL Game Access. For live games,
you're restricted to audio with the $30 Audio Pass, which gives you audio of
all preseason and regular season NFL games. If you want to watch, you won't be
watching live, but you can watch any game — preseason, playoffs and the Super
Bowl — on-demand and in HD for $70 a season with NFL Game Rewind. If you want
both, though, you'll need to pay for both.
— MLB.TV and MiLB.TV. Baseball fans
have MLB.TV for keeping up with the major league and MiLB.TV for the minor
league. During the season, both services offer full game audio and video live —
though video of local teams can be subject to blackouts.MLB.TV Premium,
which includes live video, will set you back $130 a season. Adding minor league
games to your subscription will cost you an extra $20.
— NBA League Pass: Stream live NBA
games to your computer, tablet or television from all 30 teams for $190 a year
(or $130 if you just want to follow your five favorite teams) — but expect
blackouts on your local team. If you aren't able to watch live, you can watch
game replays or just catch a highlight reel later.
— NHL GameCenter Live. Get access to
live video of out-of-market games as well as live audio of any game for $150 a
year. And while it's not a great option for home-team fans, you can watch local
games two days after they've aired.
For NFL fans not interested in those
limitations, there's a potential workaround: NFL Sunday Ticket, which offers
live NFL games from DirecTV. There's also one potential way to
get Sunday Ticket without signing up for a DirecTV subscription — though both
of them will cost you. If you're in a place where you can't get DirecTV
coverage, you can call DirecTV and subscribe to Sunday Ticket for your
computer, tablet or phone for $225. But if you're in DirecTV's coverage area,
you're out of luck without subscribing to a DirecTV package.
BEWARE OF MOST 'FREE' SITES
There are several other sites people
might tell you to check out. But like the saying goes, when it sounds too good
to be true ... it is. These sites are sketchy at best. They all tell you to
download and install software, which is never a good idea to do from any site
without a contact name and company information. Sure, you might be able to
stream some live content here — though you'll find the quality terrible, often
freezing in the midst of any real action. The bottom line: These sites are
likely not legit and could be little more than giant open door to malware.
If none of these options suits your
needs and cable is out of the question, you still have two choices: belly-up to
your local sports bar or grab a six-pack and a bag of chips and see which of
your friends want to have Monday Night Football parties at their house every
week.
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