Cord Cutting

[Cambardi]

Hey All,

So I've been considering for a long period of time to cut cable / Satellite all together. For local Broadcast I'd pick up an HD Antenna and get CBC, CTV, Global etc...BUT that leaves me with no Calgary Flames broadcasts except for HNIC.

My question is this...

Can I purchase Game Centre to watch all my Flames games or will they be blacked out. Also, if there are others that have cut the cord can you let me know how you've been able to watch sports. (looking for only legal suggestions)

[smiggy77]

Been interested in doing the same. I've got game center and it's pretty solid but I haven't tried all games. Regardless, never had an issue of not catching a game thus far.

Hate to piggyback on your thread but if someone provides insight, can you include any information for NFL along with NHL?


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[PugnaciousIntern]

Originally Posted by Cambardi

Hey All,

So I've been considering for a long period of time to cut cable / Satellite all together. For local Broadcast I'd pick up an HD Antenna and get CBC, CTV, Global etc...BUT that leaves me with no Calgary Flames broadcasts except for HNIC.

My question is this...

Can I purchase Game Centre to watch all my Flames games or will they be blacked out. Also, if there are others that have cut the cord can you let me know how you've been able to watch sports. (looking for only legal suggestions)

There are a variety of other accounts that you can use to watch sportsnet (eg Shaw) or NHL GameCenter (eg Rogers). If you collaborate your other service costs for internet and phone, it can make the TV cord-cutting substantially cheaper.

[mcleanap]

Use a service like AdFreeTime and you should be good to go. A few dollars a month. Sometimes if you use Hola (plugin on your browser) when you purchase the service (either NHL or NFL), you can sometimes get the subscription for the year at a cheaper rate too.

[Finger Cookin]

http://forum.calgarypuck.com/showthread.php?t=127581

[StrykerSteve]

Game Center blacks out flames games if you're in Calgary.

[MisterJoji]

Originally Posted by StrykerSteve

Game Center blacks out flames games if you're in Calgary.

All of Alberta. I live in the cesspool Edmonton and was planning on doing the exact same thing. Turns out the cost of NHL.tv and a needed "extension" to use it came to about the same amount as Shaw's lowest TV package, so I did that since I would get to see all Flames games except for the ones on SN360 and with the Free Range TV app I could watch any channel I subscribe to live on my phone (in HD). That was a terrible run on sentence. Also depends where you live but picking up the HD channel reception over the air had a reputation that was spotty in my neighborhood. Also, cable companies are required to provide a la carte service by the end of March. Might want to wait and see what that looks like.

Tl;dr.

NHL.tv + "extension" cost more than Shaw's lowest cable package + Netflix + Crave + Shomi.

[MarkGio]

After the last Iginla season I never reconnected my cable. I've been cord cut for a while. Between Netflix, Shomi, CraveTV, and other streams, I've never missed cable.

I went to the dentist on Saturday and watched satellite while getting my teeth cleaned, and I can't believe how much flipping I did just to avoid all the commercials. I don't miss it for a second. And my pockets are appreciating it for sure.

Once they figure out this le carte or whatever, I might consider getting SN 1 or SN360 alone. But everything else can be found or better online

[AhiChicken]

I have Gamecenter and a lot of the games are blacked out to my dismay. A VPN should circumvent it, but am dismayed that I paid so much to not be able to access all the games.

Caution about Hola:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/29283...et-attack.html

https://www.reddit.com/r/netflix/com...nwitting_exit/

[Flames Draft Watcher]

I have gamecentre for the same reason. Luckily my roommate signed us up for internet provider based in BC so it I have a BC Internet Address despite living in Calgary and only Canucks games are blacked out.

[kermitology]

Since the switch to MLBAM, NHL.tv (formerly gamecenter) has become nearly unwatchable to me. I'm cancelling next season.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

I don't think I'll resubscribe either. Not sure what to do for next season. The lets make you watch the same commercial 500 times is getting old. It's quite a lot of money to get repetitive ads blasted at you as well. At least the volume on the ads is usually lower than the hockey broadcast volume. The quality of my broadcasts have been shoddy.

Overall I've enjoyed having it this year I guess. Get to watch whichever team I want.

[Daryei]

Cut cords last summer as noticed was only watching Netflix. Switched mobile phones from TELUS to Rogers, saved $5/mo. Got Nhl.tv included for free. Cut cable and Internet from Shaw and moved to TELUS. Saved about $50 /mo on Internet for first 6 mo, $10 /mo thereafter. No more cable charges, so big savings there. Got 2 Spotify accounts with Rogers, saving me $20/mo. Already had a VPN service, but renewed it to get past blackouts. I use witopia.net. Costs about $100usd per year. All in all, glad I switched as I did. Happy with Rogers, but the coverage is not as good as TELUS.

[dustygoon]

Originally Posted by StrykerSteve

Game Center blacks out flames games if you're in Calgary.

Not that tech savvy, maybe mentioned, and I have lived in US for a while now. But what if you get a HD antenna to pick up the local channels? Doesn't CRTC make broadcasters have their HD signal available for free over the air?

[sureLoss]

Originally Posted by dustygoon

Not that tech savvy, maybe mentioned, and I have lived in US for a while now. But what if you get a HD antenna to pick up the local channels? Doesn't CRTC make broadcasters have their HD signal available for free over the air?

Sportsnet is not available over the air AFAIK. You have to get it via cable/satellite/etc.

[MarkGio]

Originally Posted by dustygoon

Not that tech savvy, maybe mentioned, and I have lived in US for a while now. But what if you get a HD antenna to pick up the local channels? Doesn't CRTC make broadcasters have their HD signal available for free over the air?

All the CBC HNIC games were free and still are. You can stream them for free too.

Buts that's going to go away now that Rogers owns it all.

[dino7c]

The quality and reliability for sports steams just isn't there yet for me, not worth the savings just yet

[kn]

I haven't had a chance to go through the linked thread yet but if you live in Calgary, is there a legal way to view Flames games without cable? There are a couple channels I watch but the Flames are really the only reason I'm still shelling out for cable.

Really disappointed with the recent "skinny" options and am looking into alternatives...

[Gallick]

This has been an extremely frustrating season as a cord cutter. I was subscribed to a great streaming site that is...no longer available, and the NHL.tv experience has been dismal to say the least.

- Poor quality streams when watching live broadcast
- The same ads over and over and over, often three or four times in a row
- Blackouts on national games, games vs Canucks (I live in Vancouver)
- Have to watch ads and through commercials even when the game is over, can only skip 10s at a time
- No proper DVR option to start the game at the beginning before it ends
- Clunky and unresponsive interface

I refuse to get cable and Center Ice again. Disappointed but not surprised. Anything Rogers is involved with has a tendency to be hot garbage.

[Canehdianman]

^ does it rhyme with mockeycreams?

If so, I was using it as well. Subscription lapsed and now it seems gone forever.

I've just been watching HNIC over the air.