OT: Cutting the Cable Cord - Streaming the Bruins Legally

[ReggieMoto]

Before getting into this, I want to make absolutely clear: This thread is about LEGAL streams, not pirated or otherwise illegal streams. The mods will show no mercy if posts take a turn towards illegal streaming. Having said that...

I am looking into cutting the cable TV cord. I currently have a Triple-Play subscription and want to reduce it to only High-Speed Internet. I want to watch TV via an over-the-air HD/Digital antenna and via cable channel streaming, i.e. subscription over Roku, AppleTV, or something else (Netflix if I have to). One big obstacle to overcome among many is watching the Bruins.

Here is what I think I know:
1) NESN streams in-market games;
2) NHL.TV streams out-of-market games.

I think this translates to NHL.TV for away games and NESN for home games.

Does anyone in this forum have any experience in cutting the cord while maintaining LEGAL access to HD streams of Bruins games? Am I on the right track with my understanding of how this is going to work, or is it all theoretical as in it doesn't actually work well or in the manner as I have described it?

Any assistance here will be greatly appreciated.

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[MrMars]

You cannot stream home or away games with NHL.tv in the Boston Bruins market area. Currently the only legal way to stream the Bruins inside the Bruins territory is a subscription to Playstation Vue (Currently $35 a month for the package that includes NESN)

This may change in the future, I know DirecTV will be launching a streaming service soon, no idea if NESN will be included or not.

Before getting into this, I want to make absolutely clear: This thread is about LEGAL streams, not pirated or otherwise illegal streams. The mods will show no mercy if posts take a turn towards illegal streaming. Having said that...

I am looking into cutting the cable TV cord. I currently have a Triple-Play subscription and want to reduce it to only High-Speed Internet. I want to watch TV via an over-the-air HD/Digital antenna and via cable channel streaming, i.e. subscription over Roku, AppleTV, or something else (Netflix if I have to). One big obstacle to overcome among many is watching the Bruins.

Here is what I think I know:
1) NESN streams in-market games;
2) NHL.TV streams out-of-market games.

I think this translates to NHL.TV for away games and NESN for home games.

Does anyone in this forum have any experience in cutting the cord while maintaining LEGAL access to HD streams of Bruins games? Am I on the right track with my understanding of how this is going to work, or is it all theoretical as in it doesn't actually work well or in the manner as I have described it?

Any assistance here will be greatly appreciated.

 

[PeanutButter37]

You cannot stream home or away games with NHL.tv in the Boston Bruins market area. Currently the only legal way to stream the Bruins inside the Bruins territory is a subscription to Playstation Vue (Currently $35 a month for the package that includes NESN)

This may change in the future, I know DirecTV will be launching a streaming service soon, no idea if NESN will be included or not.

I have no problem paying for an individual subscription to NESN solely for Bruins games, but $35 is pretty steep if that's the only thing I'm going to watch. I can't believe they haven't come up with another option at this point. For now, going to the bar or the game itself are really my only (legal) options - it's not ideal.

 

[Fenway]

Before getting into this, I want to make absolutely clear: This thread is about LEGAL streams, not pirated or otherwise illegal streams. The mods will show no mercy if posts take a turn towards illegal streaming. Having said that...

I want to be clear on this. We were given a directive from the owners of HFBoards a year ago concerning this. There is no wiggle room on this.

NESN is looking at their options for streaming in market by using the 'TV Everywhere' platform but that comes with a catch as you must subscribe to a participating cable or satellite provider.


NESN would love to have a stand alone app that they could charge $5-10 a month IN MARKET but existing contracts with cable companies prohibit that.

Comcast primarily ( but this applies to the other cable and dish companies ) pay NESN a lot of money per subscriber per month (approximately $3.70 ) which ads up when you multiply by 4.1 million cable subscribers in all of New England except Fairfield County in Connecticut. In return NESN will not distribute the signal on their own.

The Red Sox drive this bus and the Bruins pretty much have no say in the matter.

The landscape is changing and the Red Sox are showing signs of adapting. There are considering putting 30 Red Sox games on Channel 7 for 2017 as WHDH-TV with the loss of NBC needs first tier programming to survive. (Games would be on NESN outside of Boston)

NESN is now offered on Pay Station VUE and they have been talking to Sling.

We are going to get a better idea in 2 months how many cordcutters are out there when NBC moves to a low powered channel that most in the market will need cable to see.

Fenway Sports Group has 2 huge offers to buy NESN ( from Comcast and Fox ) but Jacobs has the right to match any offer so the future in cloudy. The Yankees sold off most of YES to Fox and Comcast now owns a good chunk of the Mets channel.

 

[DarrenBanks56]

get playstaion Vue.
I got it when they started carrying NESN.
Its $35 a month. Works awesome.
I have two fire sticks for my other tvs loaded with the Vue app and kodi.

 

[WhalerTurnedBruin55]

get playstaion Vue.
I got it when they started carrying NESN.
Its $35 a month. Works awesome.
I have two fire sticks for my other tvs loaded with the Vue app and kodi.

Ouch? 35 + Internet alone, isn't much different than the Internet/Cable packages out there.

 

[ReggieMoto]

We are going to get a better idea in 2 months how many cordcutters are out there when NBC moves to a low powered channel that most in the market will need cable to see.

Well, this is huge! That will cripple a lot of folks presently using antennae to grab the HD signal. Is that the point? This potentially has backfire written all over it.

Edit:
Following up on Fenway's comment, I looked into this a little on the web and found this.

NBC Announces "NBC Boston" - WHDH to Lose Affiliation in 2017
With the work we’ve done over the last two years plus the future investments we have planned, we will soon have the best television newsroom in the region – with two major broadcast network outlets – NBC Boston and Telemundo Boston – that can reach viewers in both English and Spanish and a 24x7 news network – necn – that reaches viewers throughout New England.

To be clear, the new NBC-owned station will be a broadcast channel available to over-the-air viewers like our other NBC and Telemundo stations, not a cable-only channel as has been publicly speculated. Additionally, we are committed to expanding our over-the-air coverage of the market and are currently looking at a variety of options to accomplish that.

 

[DarrenBanks56]

Ouch? 35 + Internet alone, isn't much different than the Internet/Cable packages out there.

for where I live its a steal.
my town doesn't have cable. the internet my town offers is $79
To get nesn on directv you have top pay $80 for one tv. additional if you want to watch it on others.
Its a no brainer for me.

If you have a cable provider, they may offer cheaper internet. Like 20mbps down for $25 a month. If they do, Id get that and switch to a streaming service.

 

[Aeroforce]

Fenway Sports Group has 2 huge offers to buy NESN ( from Comcast and Fox ) but Jacobs has the right to match any offer so the future in cloudy. The Yankees sold off most of YES to Fox and Comcast now owns a good chunk of the Mets channel.

There might be some hope down the road if Fox buys NESN. I see ads during out-of-market games for live game streaming with the Fox Sports Go app, in markets carried by Fox.

I was going to put it on the Kindle, but the reviews in the app store were bad, and I got the impression you had to be in the same market, and still have a cable subscription to get the games.

 

[Bad Hat Harry]

I could have sworn that I saw an ad on NESN for live streaming.

Is that only available on their website if you have a current cable package that includes NESN?

 

[Mr. Make-Believe]

...

Any options yet for those out of area that aren't Gamecenter?

 

[ReggieMoto]

You cannot stream home or away games with NHL.tv in the Boston Bruins market area. Currently the only legal way to stream the Bruins inside the Bruins territory is a subscription to Playstation Vue (Currently $35 a month for the package that includes NESN).

Upon review I agree that I misread what was available and what wasn't. It appears that Playstation Vue and an HD/Digital antenna for broadcast is the way to go, until NBC goes low-power, if they do.

 

[ReggieMoto]

I could have sworn that I saw an ad on NESN for live streaming.

Is that only available on their website if you have a current cable package that includes NESN?

The impression I get is that is okay for streaming to your PC or mobile device. Maybe it's okay to your TV but is the resolution high enough becomes the question.

...

Any options yet for those out of area that aren't Gamecenter?

NHL.tv?

 

[Bad Hat Harry]

The impression I get is that is okay for streaming to your PC or mobile device. Maybe it's okay to your TV but is the resolution high enough becomes the question.



NHL.tv?

Ah okay thanks.

But you cannot just purchase a subscription for this service, correct? You need a cable package that includes NESN

 

[ReggieMoto]

Ah okay thanks.

But you cannot just purchase a subscription for this service, correct? You need a cable package that includes NESN

I'm guessing. Don't take my opinion to the bank.

That Playstation Vue package seems to give a Bruins' fan what s/he would be looking for.

 

[Jdavidev]

The impression I get is that is okay for streaming to your PC or mobile device. Maybe it's okay to your TV but is the resolution high enough becomes the question.



NHL.tv?

Living in LA, NHL.tv is pretty damn awesome now. Way better than the old gamecentre. Quality is pretty darn good (motion still not the cleanest, but hockey is the hardest sport to get the bitrate down on). I just get the Bruins only package, so save a little money. Just wish the app was on Amazon.

Best part, the lower-third is not present on the stream until they cut to period break.

 

[Fenway]

Upon review I agree that I misread what was available and what wasn't. It appears that Playstation Vue and an HD/Digital antenna for broadcast is the way to go, until NBC goes low-power, if they do.

As far as NBC goes you live in New Hampshire and they running a test signal on Channel 60.2 out of Goffstown and that is full power.

http://fccdata.org/?appid=621030&facid=51864

In Boston they will be broadcasting on Channel 8.1

http://fccdata.org/?facid=64996

The signal is 'weak'

It all begins at 3 AM New Year's Day

 

[DGS]

For out of market, I agree NHL.TV has been pretty much flawless for me (watching in Oregon). Watching on an Iphone, Ipad, or through my Roku stick on my TV, it is 60fps and looks flawless.

The only bummer of course is if the game is broadcast on NBC, NBCSN, or NHL Network in the US, then it is blacked out on NHL.TV nationwide.

 

[Caper Bruins fan]

I cut the cord last year and have no regrets . I have Apple TV and use NHL. TV . Here in Cape Breton , there are roughly 4 or 5 games blacked out a year so I just listen to those on 98.5 .

 

[DarrenBanks56]

Upon review I agree that I misread what was available and what wasn't. It appears that Playstation Vue and an HD/Digital antenna for broadcast is the way to go, until NBC goes low-power, if they do.

do you have a ps4??
there is a 7 day free trial for vue to check out.

i loved it so i went with the $34 package

 

[loozer]

Before getting into this, I want to make absolutely clear: This thread is about LEGAL streams, not pirated or otherwise illegal streams. The mods will show no mercy if posts take a turn towards illegal streaming. Having said that...

I am looking into cutting the cable TV cord. I currently have a Triple-Play subscription and want to reduce it to only High-Speed Internet. I want to watch TV via an over-the-air HD/Digital antenna and via cable channel streaming, i.e. subscription over Roku, AppleTV, or something else (Netflix if I have to). One big obstacle to overcome among many is watching the Bruins.

Here is what I think I know:
1) NESN streams in-market games;
2) NHL.TV streams out-of-market games.

I think this translates to NHL.TV for away games and NESN for home games.

Does anyone in this forum have any experience in cutting the cord while maintaining LEGAL access to HD streams of Bruins games? Am I on the right track with my understanding of how this is going to work, or is it all theoretical as in it doesn't actually work well or in the manner as I have described it?

Any assistance here will be greatly appreciated.

If you are willing to live with the wait, you can watch games on an 2 day delay as they will stream blackout games after a certain waiting period. Its not ideal, but may be worth it, as after ************* shut down I don't know of any other streaming alternative.

I don't even watch normal games live anymore, as I can watch a game in a little over an hour and a half by skipping ads, and between period analysis. Although I live out of market on the west coast so I just watch games when I get home from work so its a little different.

 

[ReggieMoto]

do you have a ps4??
there is a 7 day free trial for vue to check out.

i loved it so i went with the $34 package

I just signed up for the free trial of the $34 package. Actually watching the DET/TBL game on NBCSN. I am streaming to my Roku.

It's a good picture. I'll be watching Thursday night's game to evaluate, and if it's anything like I see now then yeah, this is a good way to go.

Of course it means I will have to buy 2 more Roku's (and three antennae) LOL but if it lets me cut the cord it's an investment I will make.

 

[Mr. Make-Believe]

Living in LA, NHL.tv is pretty damn awesome now. Way better than the old gamecentre. Quality is pretty darn good (motion still not the cleanest, but hockey is the hardest sport to get the bitrate down on). I just get the Bruins only package, so save a little money. Just wish the app was on Amazon.

Best part, the lower-third is not present on the stream until they cut to period break.

That's what I'm talking about right there.

This is an option?

 

[Caper Bruins fan]

That's what I'm talking about right there.

This is an option?

Not with the NHL TV that I purchase . I have to pay the full price .

 

[DarrenBanks56]

I just signed up for the free trial of the $34 package. Actually watching the DET/TBL game on NBCSN. I am streaming to my Roku.

It's a good picture. I'll be watching Thursday night's game to evaluate, and if it's anything like I see now then yeah, this is a good way to go.

Of course it means I will have to buy 2 more Roku's (and three antennae) LOL but if it lets me cut the cord it's an investment I will make.

just get the sticks for your other tvs.
cheaper. a little laggy in the guide but thats about it.