Viewing options for Flames broadcasts

[getbak]

Originally Posted by IgiTang

But what has happened with the ala carte subscription services that were supposed to be available to consumers from shaw and Telus? This is something I still don't understand how it's not available since it's regulated by the crtc now.. isn't it?

It is available. It's just not the great savings that some people thought it would be.


On Shaw's site, go to the TV drop down and select TV Packages, click the View Shaw TV Packages tab and scroll down to see Limited TV. It's a basic package for $25/month plus equipment rental, and you get a limited number of basic channels (mostly the local over-the-air channels) included. Then, you can add extra channels either in packages or a la carte.


On Telus's site, go to Shop Optik TV Combos. Select Basic Packages and Lite. It's $25/month plus equipment rental and includes roughly the same basic channels that Shaw includes. As with Shaw, you can then add on extra channels in packages or alone.


Once you start adding on the a la carte channels, the bill starts adding up and the bundle deals make more sense even if they include a bunch of channels you don't want.




Going back to StrykerSteve's original question, with Telus, if you just want AMC and Sportsnet on their a la carte plan, it would be $25/month for the Lite plan ($22 if you have other Telus services) plus $15/month for the PVR rental (plus $5/month for a wireless box if needed). Add on to that $14/month for Popular Sports, which includes all Sportsnet and TSN channels. Add on $5/month for AMC standalone. That comes out to $59/month without the wireless box or $64 with (take $3 off per month if you have other Telus services). Plus, there's a $100 installation fee, but if you're already with Telus, you shouldn't need that.

At that point, the pre-built packages are about the same price or cheaper and you get more channels with them.


If you switched to Shaw, you'd be able to get the 6 month introductory price on their Small TV bundle. You can select 4 theme packs, so select the Sportsnet and AMC bundles. On their deal right now, you can get that for $30/month for the first six months and $50/month after that.

[RedHot25]

Originally Posted by StrykerSteve

Sportsnet Now definitely seems like a solution. Sounds like I'd need to pick up an Apple TV or something as well. My Onkyo receiver only supports airplay of audio, not video.

Just pick up a Chromecast? I have an older one, but it was only something like $30-$40. Streams from everything - phone, laptop, desktop - just about from anywhere in the house.

[metroneck]

Just moved to Colorado. Will not be getting cable. I can't seem to find NHL Gamecenter info, for people who don't have a cable subscription.

Anyone have any suggestions?

[socalwingfan]

Originally Posted by metroneck

Just moved to Colorado. Will not be getting cable. I can't seem to find NHL Gamecenter info, for people who don't have a cable subscription.

Anyone have any suggestions?

NHL.tv

[metroneck]

Originally Posted by socalwingfan

NHL.tv

Thanks. Was trying that on my Rogers phone, so it kept redirecting.

Now, only if they had pricing info beyond the offseason package!

[IgiTang]

Thanks Getbak! I appreciate you taking the time to explain that.

Cheers!

[socalwingfan]

Originally Posted by metroneck

Thanks. Was trying that on my Rogers phone, so it kept redirecting.

Now, only if they had pricing info beyond the offseason package!

Sorry, I forgot how ####ty their website is

[bax]

Here's a question regarding Game Center: it says regional broadcasts are blacked out but does that mean you could still watch the game from the other sides broadcast team?

[Stealth22]

Originally Posted by bax

Here's a question regarding Game Center: it says regional broadcasts are blacked out but does that mean you could still watch the game from the other sides broadcast team?

No. If the game is blacked out in your region, it is totally blacked out.

I don't know if this is going to be the case next season, but this past year, we were able to watch Flames games on GCL that were being broadcast nationally. Regional games were blacked out, though.

Strangely, when we traveled to the States and tried to use GCL, it wouldn't let us watch national broadcast games like we could in Canada, only out-of-market regional games. It seems like they are stricter on the blackout rules in the US. I'll tell you this much though...having GCL was a godsend when I had to travel to the US on business, and no local cable channels were showing hockey, much less a Canadian team. Fishing that HDMI cable behind the hotel's wallmount TV was well worth the effort for Flames hockey.

I'm looking at ways of dropping cable when our Shaw 150 + TV contract expires next year...might end up going with SN Now, at least in terms of Flames games. We have access to it for free right now, but their interface is just so clunky. I find that GCL is just so much easier to use.

I don't recall if SN Now has Chromecast access, but GCL certainly does, and casting games to the TV with it was a breeze. It was full 1080p @ 60fps too, far better quality than cable. We used to watch hockey on GCL whenever possible, just for the 60 fps.

[Simon96Taco]

Originally Posted by GoJetsGo

I'm in the same boat and will need to make a decision about getting access to Flames games come October.

I have been with Shaw and was paying around 165 a month for cable / internet. I really don't watch TV other than hockey so when the season ended I snapped and called Shaw to tell them that even though that might be a competitive rate for TV/Internet in this day and age, I still feel it's grossly expensive for the amount of time I actually spend watching TV. So I told them I was dropping cable right there on the spot, and said if they helped me with that without trying to upsell me on staying, I'd keep my internet with them. If they made it a difficult process with customer loyalty attempts I'd switch my internet to Telus. They were very helpful after that and now I pay a promo rate for internet 150 that's brought my bill down to 65 a month.

Now I have to figure out how to best set myself up to watch all Flames games without subscribing to a needless expensive cable package.

Sounds like more and more people are cutting the cord, so hopefully there will be some more reliable legal options soon.

The difficult part for me in figuring something out is I need to have something that archives the games like my PVR did. Simply being able to watch games live isn't enough for me as I often have events and appointments in the evening.

I just did the exact same thing, ditched the cable TV completely and stuck with the $65/mo internet $150 promo that they offered. I don't even need or use that much bandwidth, but it was practically the same price as lower tier internet packages so....

I'm also looking at ways to get my Flames games fix when the season starts. I have Gamecenter as part of my Rogers Wireless phone package, but the blackouts for all the Flames game is an obvious issue.

[GoJetsGo]

I sent an inquiry to Sportsnet Now to ask them to confirm all 82 Flames games were available in Alberta and they said:

If you live in the following region (highlighted in red and orange in the included link) depicted in this map






you are entitled to all Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers games. As Sportsnet is the official broadcast partner of both the Flames and Oilers, a subscription to Sportsnet NOW comes with all 82 (37 national, 45 regional) games for each team--without blackouts.

The other factor I asked about was archiving / watching on demand as there are times I have prior engagements in the evening and can't watch live, and will watch at 11pm or so when I get home. Their site said most content was available for 24 hours after streaming, but when I asked them to elaborate they said:

The service we offer is a live streaming service with limited access to recent content. To see what recent content is offered please visit the Schedule by going to http://now.sportsnet.ca/ and clicking the Schedule link at the top of the page in the middle.

The content that is still available will be clickable whereas the unavailable content will be greyed out. That will differ by channel and may not be available on the apps. Please be advised that any content offered through an overflow channel will only be offered live.

So it's still not exactly clear how often the streams would or wouldn't be available on demand for 24 hours.


I think I'll check them out for the first month and see how it goes.

[StrykerSteve]

Even if you weren't home at the time of game, the Sportsnet Now app streams the games on your phone really nicely, so you could technically watch the games live from anywhere.

[GoJetsGo]

Originally Posted by StrykerSteve

Even if you weren't home at the time of game, the Sportsnet Now app streams the games on your phone really nicely, so you could technically watch the games live from anywhere.

That's a nice bonus for sure, but unless I can sit down and give the game my full attention I'd rather not watch.

[tvp2003]

Originally Posted by GoJetsGo

I think I'll check them out for the first month and see how it goes.

They have a seven day free trial and it's easy to cancel if you don't want to continue (it's all done via online -- I think you just uncheck the "renewal" box on your account settings). I also like SN Now lets you cancel and re-start whenever you want with no extra cost or hassle. Even if you cancel before the "month" is over, you'll still get access to content for any remaining days you have left.

[greentree]

Living in BC and not being a Rogers mobile customer, I have been spending ~$200/season on GameCentreLive. It has allowed me to watch virtually every NHL game incl playoffs via AppleTV, laptop, tablet and phone from anywhere I happen to be...ie: at home, on the road and out of country: Europe, Asia, USA (and probably elsewhere but my viewing experience has been limited to these places).

The streaming quality seems to improve year by year. The whole package is quite good, if a little unpredictable. By that I mean:

I've been a steady subscriber but Rogers NEVER provides me with updates on things such as new features, subscription deadlines (when can we sign up for the coming season? Who knows!), pricing. I guess they think they have me in their pocket and so they don't bother to email me with offers, updates etc. A fairly minor quibble I suppose, but I find it odd. Rogers is in the business of communications, after all.

Also, a number of features found previously on GCL have vanished over time i.e.: old classics, fast forward and rewind during games, pin-pointing scoring plays and goals, etc.

Finally, the $200. It's fair value, but last year, I found myself watching fewer games in GCL, owing to a busy work schedule, other commitments, a decent number of nationally-televised Flames games, lack of interest in other teams. I think I'll go month-to-month this season, IF that option remains open. Rogers isn't saying. They love to keep their GCL loyalists in suspense, it seems.

[MacDaddy77]

I just went through this with Telus.

In order to not be charged for the rental of the boxes you need at minimum the essentials package.

I now have Internet 50 (150 not in my area yet) with the essentials + Sports ($15) + time shift ($7)

it saves me about $40/month. will be more after December but I watch NFL so wanted to timeshift for CBS boston (pats feed)

If I didn't watch sports I'd cut completely. looked into Dazn but unless it offers NHL this is my cheapest option

[J79]

Last year NHL.TV offered a 'Single team subscription'
I don't see it offered this year.
NHL customer service isn;t very helpful.
Does anyone have an idea if and when this package will be available?

https://subscribe.nhl.com/international

[robaur]

Originally Posted by J79

Last year NHL.TV offered a 'Single team subscription'
I don't see it offered this year.
NHL customer service isn;t very helpful.
Does anyone have an idea if and when this package will be available?

https://subscribe.nhl.com/international

Can't answer that question directly.

But...If you have any friends or family in Canada that use Rogers as their cell phone provider....and if they have a Share Everything Plan....you can use their account to watch GameCenter....

My rogers credentials worked internationally as well when I traveled to Europe and Asia last year.

If for some reason they don't work, all you need is a Canadian VPN.

[socalwingfan]

Originally Posted by J79

Last year NHL.TV offered a 'Single team subscription'
I don't see it offered this year.
NHL customer service isn;t very helpful.
Does anyone have an idea if and when this package will be available?

https://subscribe.nhl.com/international

I have the single team subscription, I also had it last year, but I don't think they have removed it. It's also the 3rd option on your link

[Brick]

NHL Centre Ice with Shaw works for us in Nanaimo, BC.