ESPN

What’s the cheapest way for me to get just espn or if other channels similar come with. Princeton. Rabbit ears. Netflix Amazon and Disney plus currently.

I have YouTube TV, seems to be OK. But I started a few years ago at $39/mo. It is now $65/mo with a bunch of added channels I will never watch. Originally it was supposed to be an alacarte service where you pick your channels and only pay for those channels, that disappeared quickly. But I do like the channels they have better than other services, and they seem to be the least costly. Only bad thing, they lost Fox Sport North (or Bally Sports), and that was one of my favorite channels.

we use the Hulu Live TV / Disney+ / ESPN+ bundle for $70/month.
extremely happy with it and good value for the use we get.

The fact is ESPN has become a shell of it’s former self. Back in the 80’s when they started they became must see TV. The Sportscenter anchors were awesome and connected to the audience. Today with all their channels the shows are 2 or more people hollering at each other with scripted predetermined arguments. Sportscenter is embarrassing with the anchors trying to have some catch phrase. Other than the games I see no reason to watch any of their platforms anymore. I’ll bet my viewership has gone from 1-3 hours a day to less than 2 hours a month. (including games) I understand I’m older and shouldn’t spend as much time with sports, but I do. Just not with ESPN much anymore.

To answer your question I don’t know. It’s on my cable package (Midco) and I don’t stream anything else.

Dutchboy wrote:

Other than the games I see no reason to watch any of their platforms anymore.

I used to watch Sportscenter religiously. Haven’t for years now. All I watch is MNF and a weekly hockey game they now televise.

I believe they have the exclusive rights to the wild card game on Monday between the Cardinals and Rams which I will be watching.

The Hulu bundle seems to be the best option to get ESPN and most of the other stations. The Bally’s / FSN thing is still an issue though.

Hulu+ used to be $40/month. It seems to go up about $10 a year which likely won’t stop.

Agree that ESPN isn’t what it’s used to be….if they didn’t have some good college football games I don’t think I’d ever watch it.

I bought that bundle and found out LG tv’s use an Apple streaming format and They don’t have a ESPN app available on the TV. Streaming from a phone is a pain sometimes.

College Football and the occasional NFL game that cannot be broadcast elsewhere is the only reason I watch ESPN as others mentioned. About 1/10 of the hosts/experts are worth listening to. They’ve created a monopoly and backfill timeslots with garbage.

We do the Hulu + thing as well. My first payment on that was $39.99 a month and it is now around $70. We had it before it was nearly this popular. It too will be going by the wayside looking for something newer and cheaper shortly. The Bally Sports/FSN stuff doesn’t bother me, as there’s nothing I really would watch on there anymore either.

gimruis wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Dutchboy wrote:</div>
Other than the games I see no reason to watch any of their platforms anymore.

I used to watch Sportscenter religiously. Haven’t for years now. All I watch is MNF and a weekly hockey game they now televise.

I believe they have the exclusive rights to the wild card game on Monday between the Cardinals and Rams which I will be watching.

So true, used to be a big SC guy and now it’s just talking heads and analysts debating the same worn out topics every day and trying to make drama out of nothing.

I’m a Hulu+ or live or whatever you wanna call it guy and it’s pretty solid. Not a huge TV watcher but it has plenty when I want it (including local channels). Miss out on the Twins but not missing out on much so far there With it and my internet, it’s a little under $140. I called my cable company last spring just curious what it would be to go back as I do like watching the Twins and they said $190 for their basic package. Wow.

The Disney/Hulu/ESPN bundle is the way to go imo, and if you have Verizon you get for free.

BigWerm wrote:

The Disney/Hulu/ESPN bundle is the way to go imo, and if you have Verizon you get for free.

I thought this didn’t get you live ESPN1, ESPN2, etc. So no MNF, Formula 1, live sports that you get on traditional cable.

RM wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>BigWerm wrote:</div>
The Disney/Hulu/ESPN bundle is the way to go imo, and if you have Verizon you get for free.

I thought this didn’t get you live ESPN1, ESPN2, etc. So no MNF, Formula 1, live sports that you get on traditional cable.

I’m not sure, we already had Hulu+ Live (different than Hulu+) and Disney+ when we switched to Verizon recently, so ESPN+ was the only free add-on.

If you can, try finding a friend that has it and will give you a log in. Especially if you are only using it occasionally.

ESPN+ includes an unbelievable amount of content, including live sports and shows, especially if you’re looking for something that’s not Sundays at noon. the amount of college sports alone is unreal – and none of it would be getting broadcast at all if it wasn’t for a digital streaming platform like theirs that can scoop it up for relatively cheap and offer it to the world.
what’s that you say? you’d like to watch the Colgate v Holy Cross women’s basketball game tonight? okay. on live. or how about the Nashville vs Boston NHL game tonight? okay. on live. (as long as you’re out of market.) or how about early round PGA golf right now? same.

of course ESPN has changed a lot. so has every other single thing in life since it debuted in 1979. when ESPN is sold to Amazon or Apple in the next 3-5 years it will be almost entirely because they want the brand for providing live sports content.

and i’m still paying less than 15 years ago, for more and better content!

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Michael C. Winther wrote:

ESPN+ includes an unbelievable amount of content, including live sports and shows, especially if you’re looking for something that’s not Sundays at noon. the amount of college sports alone is unreal – and none of it would be getting broadcast at all if it wasn’t for a digital streaming platform like theirs that can scoop it up for relatively cheap and offer it to the world.
what’s that you say? you’d like to watch the Colgate v Holy Cross women’s basketball game tonight? okay. on live. or how about the Nashville vs Boston NHL game tonight? okay. on live. (as long as you’re out of market.) or how about early round PGA golf right now? same.

of course ESPN has changed a lot. so has every other single thing in life since it debuted in 1979. when ESPN is sold to Amazon or Apple in the next 3-5 years it will be almost entirely because they want the brand for providing live sports content.

and i’m still paying less than 15 years ago, for more and better content!

I don’t think anyone argues there isn’t a ton of content available. I just liked SportsCenter when it showed the highlights and interviews (yes, they still do some of that) for the majority of the show, not 5 minutes of highlights and 30 minutes of analysts debating how great LeBron is.

slough wrote:

not 5 minutes of highlights and 30 minutes of analysts debating how great LeBron is.

Lol…yeah, what’ll they talk about when he’s gone???

RM wrote:

I thought this didn’t get you live ESPN1, ESPN2, etc. So no MNF, Formula 1, live sports that you get on traditional cable.

That’s correct.

I have an ESPN+ subscription that I
will pull up on my laptop and HDMI cable to big screen. 6.99/month

I also have the app on my phone and can watch on that if necessary.