Best sports package
December 5, 2021 10:31 AM Subscribe
Sports fans: What is the best value in subscription TV sports packages? My partner would be mainly interested in watching football (esp college), basketball, and lacrosse (is that a thing you can watch on TV?). I can get anything that can be had via a Firestick. This is for a Christmas gift. Thanks!
Response by poster: Okay that was the kind of info I need. I almost signed up for ESPN+ because I figured out they have lacrosse, but I am ignorant in the ways of sports so would not have figured out the second tier issue.
What about this Sling? Are all of these (HuluLive etc) more or less the same?
posted by HotToddy at 12:37 PM on December 5, 2021
What about this Sling? Are all of these (HuluLive etc) more or less the same?
posted by HotToddy at 12:37 PM on December 5, 2021
Clarification-Lacrosse itself is a second tier sport, you’ll get first tier teams on ESPN+/
posted by sandmanwv at 1:13 PM on December 5, 2021
posted by sandmanwv at 1:13 PM on December 5, 2021
Yeah, I know this isn't that helpful if you're giving a gift but this is why people keep their actual cable TV/get a major cable package. (I don't know how to do it w. Hulu Live because I just kept actual cable because it's easier if you watch a lot of sports. I suspect it actually works out to be cheaper than doing it all a la carte, and also I'm VERY old.) Major college games are all on either ABC/CBS/FOX/NBC or ESPN/the Fox sports networks. If your partner wants to watch the college basketball tournament, it's on CBS/TNT/TBS/TRu Tv. If y'all want to watch the Olympics in February, that's the NBC channels.
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I will say that if your partner is into baseball and wants to watch random games around the country, the MLB subscription is very good. (It will not help you watch blacked out games in your area, though.)
posted by Countess Sandwich at 5:10 PM on December 5, 2021
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I will say that if your partner is into baseball and wants to watch random games around the country, the MLB subscription is very good. (It will not help you watch blacked out games in your area, though.)
posted by Countess Sandwich at 5:10 PM on December 5, 2021
Sling/Fubo/Hulu etc. are definitely not all the same. Sling is cheaper, but will be missing most pro football and the marquee college football, it seems, as it doesn't carry local network affiliates -- no NBC/ABC/CBS/Fox, seemingly.
I use Fubo. It's really only missing TNT and TBS, which from your list means the occasional basketball game; they carry some national NBA games each week and I believe a good number of NCAA Tournament games, like approaching half of them, I think.
Your answer may depend on what basketball your partner would like to watch. NCAA is largely on ESPN platforms, with some big games on the networks on weekends. NBA is also on ESPN a lot, ABC some Sundays, and TNT I think a couple times a week. Note that this won't let your partner watch all the games of whatever NBA team is your local team, if you have one. E.g., as a Celtics fan, if I lived back home, I'd need a regional sports network called NBC SN, which might be available on Fubo or Hulu or might not. Living out of market as I do, I ponied up for an NBA League Pass package that lets me watch 90-plus percent of their games. Without that, I'd see maybe a quarter of their games, but that's because they're a bigger market and were expected to do well this year. Another team might be on far less often.
It's definitely more work to cobble together your coverage than to just keep cable, but we're saving $200 a month in return. You'll also need to make choices about what it's worth for your partner to have access to like 98% of what you listed versus say 75% -- how comprehensive does coverage have to be, versus do they just want to be able to flip on a basketball/football/lacrosse game whenever, as opposed to being able to watch every game. It's stupid that it's this complex; if you want to DM me with any specifics that I alluded to, I might be able to make a firmer recommendation.
posted by troywestfield at 9:02 AM on December 9, 2021
I use Fubo. It's really only missing TNT and TBS, which from your list means the occasional basketball game; they carry some national NBA games each week and I believe a good number of NCAA Tournament games, like approaching half of them, I think.
Your answer may depend on what basketball your partner would like to watch. NCAA is largely on ESPN platforms, with some big games on the networks on weekends. NBA is also on ESPN a lot, ABC some Sundays, and TNT I think a couple times a week. Note that this won't let your partner watch all the games of whatever NBA team is your local team, if you have one. E.g., as a Celtics fan, if I lived back home, I'd need a regional sports network called NBC SN, which might be available on Fubo or Hulu or might not. Living out of market as I do, I ponied up for an NBA League Pass package that lets me watch 90-plus percent of their games. Without that, I'd see maybe a quarter of their games, but that's because they're a bigger market and were expected to do well this year. Another team might be on far less often.
It's definitely more work to cobble together your coverage than to just keep cable, but we're saving $200 a month in return. You'll also need to make choices about what it's worth for your partner to have access to like 98% of what you listed versus say 75% -- how comprehensive does coverage have to be, versus do they just want to be able to flip on a basketball/football/lacrosse game whenever, as opposed to being able to watch every game. It's stupid that it's this complex; if you want to DM me with any specifics that I alluded to, I might be able to make a firmer recommendation.
posted by troywestfield at 9:02 AM on December 9, 2021
Response by poster: I actually gave up on this idea, at least as a Christmas gift, but thank you so much for all the information!
posted by HotToddy at 7:14 AM on December 10, 2021
posted by HotToddy at 7:14 AM on December 10, 2021
This thread is closed to new comments.
ESPN+ is $7/mo and will give you those sports, but it's all stuff not on major networks. So you'll get plenty of college basketball, for example, but it's going to be 2nd tier sports schools. You won't see Duke vs NC on ESPN+. Same with college football - lots of games, just not the top 25 and Power 5 conferences. Lacrosse is represented too on ESPN+.
posted by COD at 11:44 AM on December 5, 2021 [1 favorite]