If the NFL had something similar to MLB.tv I wouldn't hesitate to subscribe. But that's not the case. Fortunately we have sport stream sites like vipbox.tv that stream tons of sports. Just hook up your computer to your tv.
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NBA, MLB, NHL...Where is my NFL
- Thread starter NewMacFan2011
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Problem is licensing agreements with the networks. MLB and NBA all have plenty of games that no one cares about even locally and those are the ones that end up being streamed over the network. For instance, I checked into how many OKC Thunder games I could have seen this year and it wasn't many (you have to subtract the ones owned by the networks or that are played locally on cable).
On the other side of that the rights to every single NFL game is owned by one of the major networks. Some teams aren't shown often, but the rights are still tied up. I suspect when it comes time to rework deals with the networks the NFL will try to make room for a streaming service, but for now they can't do much.
Do you know if there are companies that offer VPN access as a paid service for regular people? And since that website redirects me and doesn't show me the options that are available for people outside of the US, I'd be curious to know what the pricing is and whether there's any mention of them offering iPad support for live games this coming season (see below for why I'm asking this).
Edit: I just did a quick Google search and it does look like there are services out there where you can get foreign IP address, and they tout this NFL access as a specific example. Here's one:
http://www.ukproxyserver.co.uk/info/NFL-Gamepass-Live-American-Football-Streaming/
I know that this probably won't suffice for a lot of people, because it's time-delayed, but last year I discovered (after the season was already over) NFL Game Rewind:
https://gamerewind.nfl.com/nflgr/secure/packages
This is offered by the same group as NFL Game Pass that Otago recommended. Unlike that, though, you can't watch the games live (they become available after the game is over, but I'm not sure how quickly after it's over). The good news is that the packages are reasonably priced (e.g., $35 to follow a single team, $40 for all teams), are in HD, and allow you to jump to specific plays.
And I just noticed that they're going to be offering an iPad app this coming season (previously it was computer web browser based). Sadly, no mention of iPhone support.
miles01110
macrumors Core
Pricing for 2012 is "still being finalized" according to the site, but plenty of VPNs are available to "regular people." StrongVPN and Witopia are popular ones. Last season it was around $200 for the regular season games and another $60 for the playoffs, including the Super Bowl (prices are approximate, can't remember exactly).
I am not sure what you mean, I get every single MLB game via MLB.tv not just the ones "no one cares about". Most every MLB game is owned by some network somewhere, if you are in that home market the game is blacked out. The NFL could do the same thing, Direct TV does it, if you live in NY and are a Jets fan and have the Direct TV package, you have to watch the game on the locally broadcase channel.
The difference is NFL is in bed with Direct TV, outside of the USA I get every single NFL game via NFL.com in full HD, it is great.
Not exactly accurate. The NFL Sunday Ticket package was offered to Sony PS3 owners last year (same basic price as the DirecTV price - about $230 I think). It wouldn't surprise me to see this offered via the XBox and AppleTV this year.
Another method that I believe may have been missed in this thread...if you live in a spot where trees are blocking your ability to see the DirecTV satellites you can get a waiver from them which allows you to purchase the NFL Sunday Ticket package and tune it in via their iOS app.
When I say no one cares about it I mean the local networks don't air them. MLB might have a different license agreement though. When I was checking out NBA to see Okc games (I live in the area) most of their games were blacked out.
Cant believe no one has really suggested this:
OVER THE AIR
Just get a digital OTA antenna and watch NFL games through there. Baseball, NBA, and NHL are all on cable, but NFL is on Fox, NBC, CBS. The networks are great about showing the best matchups nationally and regionally. You might miss a Browns/Jags game, simply because there isnt enough demand to air it. The only game you'd miss is Monday Night Football or NFL Network games, but you can go to a bar if you really need to catch the game. If you only want it for your local team, it should be no problem to get it OTA for FREE IN HD. The quality OTA is way better than DirectTV or even the iOS apps because it is non-compressed.
This is what I did last season and I never missed a game I wanted to see.
OVER THE AIR
Just get a digital OTA antenna and watch NFL games through there. Baseball, NBA, and NHL are all on cable, but NFL is on Fox, NBC, CBS. The networks are great about showing the best matchups nationally and regionally. You might miss a Browns/Jags game, simply because there isnt enough demand to air it. The only game you'd miss is Monday Night Football or NFL Network games, but you can go to a bar if you really need to catch the game. If you only want it for your local team, it should be no problem to get it OTA for FREE IN HD. The quality OTA is way better than DirectTV or even the iOS apps because it is non-compressed.
This is what I did last season and I never missed a game I wanted to see.
Otago Lad
macrumors regular
miles01110,
I use HMA's Pro-VPN www.hidemyass.com/vpn/ and pay around $80 a year for that and they provide access to servers across the world - that enables me to use the BBC Player in the UK and ABC etc. in the US. As I said, I don't need this for NFL Game Pass as I'm outside the USA however I have used it when in the US and it works well.
As regards the cost of NFL Game Pass, last year it was US$279.99 but of course it included every game live and also the ability to watch any game after the game had been played at any time during the season (i.e you can watch a week 1 game during week 7 if you want to).
As NFL Game Pass includes access via computer, iPhone and iPad I believe the cost is well worth it. You can also mirror it from your phone or iPad straight to the TV via an aTV. You can also watch it on your computer and if needed hook that up to the TV.
iphone1105
macrumors 68020
Problem is, most fans live far away from their teams, and as much as CBS or Fox show my Patriots play their big games, I'd rather see every game, because I love my Patriots. Fact is I live in Los Angeles, I'd love to view every Pats game, even the weak games, because I love my team. cbs, fox, abc, espn do great jobs of giving me their BIG games, I want every game. And where I live in the Hollywood Hills, I can't get DIRECT TV or OTA very well because of all the hills and valleys that are reception killers....😀
What do you mean by "We stream the ABC, NBC, CW, & TV.com apps to our tv..."
I am a DirecTV subscriber but gave up NFL Sunday Tix as I am only interested in "da Bears" and I can get enough of their games via FOX, CBS, NBC and ESPN here in the "no local team home market" of Los Angeles compared the unrealistically high annual charge for this package now.
Are you looking for live coverage or "tape-delayed?"
Joe Siegler
macrumors regular
That was just renewed within the last few years. It's currently set to expire after the 2014 season. When DirecTV last renewed it in 2009, they paid $4 BILLION for those rights. These are some mighty big trucks of money we're talking about here. My guess is DirecTV has first right of refusal on renewing the contract, and given they've renewed a few times already that I'm aware of, my guess is they will again. That's an obscene amount of money for someone to try and top DirecTV's offer, so they probably won't.
It's probably more money than the NFL would make if they opened it up to multiple carriers, hence the deal remains.
iphone1105
macrumors 68020
I dont know man, they make billions of fox, cbs, abc/espn, etc.....I am sure if they were to open it up to all providers, that's millions of cable users that'd sign up, even more millions and billions!
Either way it totally pisses me off, thank god for MLB.tv for doing it right!
I believe he's talking about using the official ABC (for example) app on his iPhone or iPad which allows you to watch several of their full-length shows. Some apps (like the one for the CW network) support AirPlay streaming, so you can push the show to your AppleTV. Other apps (like the ABC one) don't support AirPlay streaming, but they do allow you to use AirPlay Mirroring. AirPlay Mirroring is a bit of a bummer, though, because it matches the aspect ratio of your iPhone's screen on your TV, so a 16:9 (1.78:1) show gets cropped at around 1.5:1 (if you're using an iPhone 4S) or 1.33:1 (if you're using an iPad 3). In the case of the ABC app, picture quality seems to be less than HD-quality to begin with, so the end result, when streamed to your TV, is less than stellar.
BTW, if you're wondering how you missed the existence of these apps, don't feel bad. I completely slept through the release of these apps and just started investigating them after reading NewMacFan2011's post.
Joe Siegler
macrumors regular
If you think MLB.tv does it right, you're nuts. MLB has some stupid insane blackout rules. It's all to prevent the local market rights. MLB.tv is fine if..
- You live in a TV market that doesn't have a Major League Team
- You live in a market WITH a Major League team and don't care about the local games]
It's BAD if you have this scenario, however..
- You are a cord cutter, and live in a town WITH an MLB team, and want to watch the local games.
- You do not live in the local market for one team (say the Texas Rangers in the Dallas market), but want to watch the games for another team that you would THINK isn't your market, but MLB considers it your market (like the Astros in Dallas).
Both of these two are me. I'm a Rangers fan, and due to cost cutting issues, I had to drop cable TV (I lost MLBN, which is painful, but that's another discussion). Texas Rangers have all of their games on Fox Sports Southwest, except Friday only games. Those are on broadcast TV. Everything else is unavailable.
OK fine, get MLB.TV - except local games are blacked out until about 60-90 minutes after the completion of the game, when you can watch a replay. Epic hassle there.
OK, fine -I can't watch those. Let me watch the Astros games instead. Still Texas, they're a four hour drive south. Nope, that's considered "local market", and you're blacked out. It's worse in California with multiple teams in the same area (A's / Giants), or on the East (Orioles / Nationals).
Their stated reason is to protect the local TV channels. They want us to watch the local commercials. Fine, OK - I get that. So BROADCAST THE COMMERCIALS AND REMOVE THE BLACKOUT RESTRICTION. No, that's too easy, they block commercials. Which is silly to me. During commerical breaks, we get this lovely annoyance..
Why do we look at that for two to two and a half minutes? They could show the local commercials, just copy the feed - I mean they already do. They're just now manually blocking commercials. If they want to protect eyeballs on the commercials, broadcast the same bleepin' commercials that the local channels do. Don't block the commercials, and don't blackout the games. Seems like a seriously logical solution to me.
So to sum up.. MLB.tv COULD be good, but they and MLB in general have their heads so far up their asses about blackout rules, it's not funny. It's sad.
I fully agree with you on that stupid commercial break thing. I mean wtf I'd rather see commercials. Certainly MLB can come up with something better. The NFL just rocks here. No commercials, no half tine breaks, no injury breaks, unless it's live, otherwise they edit it out.
However you do know you can press the down button on your remote and skip the commercial break by moving to the top/bottom of the next inning right? Yeah it's still annoying but less so, especially nice when you expect to hit pause and hit menu by accident and exit our of a game in the 7th inning...
As fir blackouts, hate to say it by the NFL also has local broadcast blackout rules. Living in NY you cannot see neither Jets or Giants, same market.
iphone1105
macrumors 68020
So my opinion of it working FOR ME is wrong? I mean it's my opinion, didn't state they had the best system for everyone, but FOR ME they get it right.
As for commercials, they won't show and ads from local market or tv games because those advertisers aren't paying to be broadcast on the MLB App, they're just paying the local station that's broadcasting the game. Any company could pay MLB.TV to run ads in those breaks, they just wont do the local ones you'd see in the game because they're not paying. However, I do agree that during those times they should do something, maybe show highlights of other games or feed into the actual MLB channel for a minute or two.
Also, the blackout restriction, blame your TEAM and their TV RIGHTS for that. Teams have individual TV rights, both locally and nationally. The networks that own the rights to these games are the reason for these blackouts. They want all eyes on their channel during those hours.
Also blame the Rangers for signing with fox sports soutwest or whatever, they're the reason you can't view them Over the air on local channels.
I love the way the MLB apps does it, again thats for me, sorry it doesn't work for you, that sucks, wish it would so it can make it easier to see your boys play!
I actually enjoy the long pause as opposed to watching non stop marketing propaganda. This is major!
Moyank24
macrumors 601
Every sport and it's App has the same blackout rules - NFL/NBA/NHL - so I'm not sure why you are singling out MLB. It's not MLB that does it - it's the cable channels who broadcast the games. And at least it isn't proprietary like the NFL is. Imagine if you had to subscribe to DirecTV to have access?
Are the blackout rules frustrating? Yes. But they are understandable. That deal that the Rangers signed with the FS Southwest helps pay the salaries of the guys who turned your team around. You have to take the good with the bad.
And if all else fails....jailbreak and location spoof
The major difference is that MLB is a local market sport with some national broadcasts and NFL is a national market sport with games shown nationally or regionally.
Next time you watch an NFL Sunday game on your local FOX or CBS station, pay attention to the LACK of local advertising spots; it is almost ALL national spots, sold nationally or regionally.
Neither sport is about to bite the hand that has fed them for years: the local market affiliates for a particular team. You want to see those games, get Cable. You want to cut the cord, then you will lose those games for the most part -- you will NOT be rewarded for cutting the cord... And paying online "dimes" will not make up for the Cable/OTA "dollars" that these networks continue to receive.
For NFL, at least you have the option to put up an antenna, buy a USB-tuner (if your monitor is not an ATSC tuner) and watch your local market Sunday games on FOX, CBS and NBC. MLB OTA options are diminishing as time goes by, and most of these games move to Cable, either in the form of national broadcasts on ESPN, TBS, MLB, or regional broadcasts on the RSN's... FOX on Saturdays remains the major MLB national/regional OTA exception to the rule.
Next time you watch an NFL Sunday game on your local FOX or CBS station, pay attention to the LACK of local advertising spots; it is almost ALL national spots, sold nationally or regionally.
Neither sport is about to bite the hand that has fed them for years: the local market affiliates for a particular team. You want to see those games, get Cable. You want to cut the cord, then you will lose those games for the most part -- you will NOT be rewarded for cutting the cord... And paying online "dimes" will not make up for the Cable/OTA "dollars" that these networks continue to receive.
For NFL, at least you have the option to put up an antenna, buy a USB-tuner (if your monitor is not an ATSC tuner) and watch your local market Sunday games on FOX, CBS and NBC. MLB OTA options are diminishing as time goes by, and most of these games move to Cable, either in the form of national broadcasts on ESPN, TBS, MLB, or regional broadcasts on the RSN's... FOX on Saturdays remains the major MLB national/regional OTA exception to the rule.
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I'm formerly MacFan2011. Like the commenter below stated I have been using the ABC, CW, NBC, TV.com apps and they just released Disney Channel & Disney XD. Also if you have a friend that has cable that is willing to let you use their login you can use ESPNWatch, the cable providers app (very limited selection though), & gain access to more shows on the Disney apps.
The commenter is correct that the size of the screen is smaller within your actual television display & that the quality changes depending on your connection. But in my shoes it fits perfectly. My wife & I just started a new small business and we have a 2 year old. We are rarely ever home and during the day we watch kids movies/shows on Netflix or DVDs. We have a few shows we watch and we actually enjoy having the option of watching a couple when we have a random time to relax.
Growing up and up to the point that I posted this I was addicted to sports. Since then I really don't find myself missing the games all that much. The big ones are usually on ESPN anyways so I stream my brothers ESPNWatch account from my phone to Apple TV.