Cord cutters dilema 2021

[Otto von Ballpark]

https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2020/12/fox-sports-ohio-sportstime-ohio-will-be-available-as-standalone-streaming-services-in-2021-following-ballys-rebrand.html

 

Could it be, could it be? Stand alone streaming for the Twins? I would be very happy

Unfortunately that article is a bit outdated. Since then, it has been announced that this service won’t be available until 2022 — and they’ve become rather coy about what they will be selling directly (it may not be access to all games):

 

https://thestreamable.com/news/sinclair-wont-bring-rebranded-fox-sports-rsns-direct-to-consumer-until-2022

[Brock Beauchamp]

Unfortunately that article is a bit outdated. Since then, it has been announced that this service won’t be available until 2022 — and they’ve become rather coy about what they will be selling directly (it may not be access to all games):

 

https://thestreamable.com/news/sinclair-wont-bring-rebranded-fox-sports-rsns-direct-to-consumer-until-2022

I dislike Amazon but this is why I badly wanted to see the RSNs snapped up by them. They have the foresight to not get cute and just offer sports in a manner that caters to 21st century consumers of content.

 

Not only is the standalone app a gimme at this point, why can’t I pay anyone to watch the San Diego RSN? Why can’t I pay to watch three different RSNs?

 

So much money is being left on the table to cater to an old, broken model that people under 40 just don’t want anymore. And given how sports are generational, a lot of long term damage will be done if they keep it up with this nonsense. As it stands, I’ve stopped watching all sports except baseball because I can’t be bothered with this crap anymore.

[TheLeviathan]

Baseball is nothing if not good at prioritizing short term profit at the expense of sane planning to grow the game.

[Lucas]

I've gone over all the options in my area (well, all the legal options I suppose), and I'm contemplating an Xfinity cable package or AT&T TV. The Xfinity cable package is about $60 per month (it would be bundled with my internet), but locks me into a 12 month commitment. AT&T TV appears to be about $85 per month, but with flexibility of being able to cancel as soon as the season is finished. I think I'll likely be going with AT&T TV. Has anyone actually used AT&T TV before? Does it stream well on a computer and on a phone? 

 

Also, I think AT&T TV allows 3 concurrent streams. Can anyone confirm that? If anyone is potentially interested in going in on this with me, send me a message. Might help to make it more affordable. 

[bobs]

 

AT&T TV still includes FSN. A little pricey compared to the other streaming services ($85), but it's month-to-month with no contract. (AT&T TV also offer a contract option, but personally I think it is a worse deal.) Supports up to 3 streams outside your home too, if you want to get creative...

So maybe the best option is to split the cost and login with 3 other people.  $510 four ways is...@$130??

[wsnydes]

 

I dislike Amazon but this is why I badly wanted to see the RSNs snapped up by them. They have the foresight to not get cute and just offer sports in a manner that caters to 21st century consumers of content.

Not only is the standalone app a gimme at this point, why can’t I pay anyone to watch the San Diego RSN? Why can’t I pay to watch three different RSNs?

So much money is being left on the table to cater to an old, broken model that people under 40 just don’t want anymore. And given how sports are generational, a lot of long term damage will be done if they keep it up with this nonsense. As it stands, I’ve stopped watching all sports except baseball because I can’t be bothered with this crap anymore.

Yeah, I've never understood the business premise of making your product harder to consume. That's especially true these days.

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

Has anyone actually used AT&T TV before? Does it stream well on a computer and on a phone? 

 

Also, I think AT&T TV allows 3 concurrent streams. Can anyone confirm that?

 

Yes, as I understand, you can sign in to AT&T TV from up to 20 devices at a time, and up to 3 of those devices can be connected from outside your home internet.

 

I think you can also use your AT&T TV credentials through the Fox Sports Go app (which will be rebranded for Bally on March 31st). If so, it wouldn't count toward your AT&T TV device limit (and you wouldn't have to deal with all of the AT&T TV content that you don't need/want).

 

I have heard of two relevant limitations of AT&T TV, but fortunately both have a workaround:

 

1. When watching live TV channels through the AT&T TV site/apps, you can't pause or rewind them.

 

2. Your access to live local networks (including Fox/Bally Sports North) is determined by the location you are signing in from, not your home location. (I think this applies to Fox Sports Go too.)

 

The workaround is for someone in the home location to schedule Twins games to record using the AT&T TV cloud DVR. You can watch DVR recordings in progress and they are not location-limited. The $85/month plan includes 20 hours of DVR which should be plenty for this purpose, and I think the oldest recordings are automatically removed to make room for new ones.

 

I've also heard the DVR is a little clunky for sports, so you have to schedule each game individually rather than being able to set a "series record" for them. Also, it doesn't automatically add extra time to games, so you should also schedule whatever shows are listed after each game in case the game runs long.