Cord cutting revisited

[MUBurrow]

You'd have to go through a VPN to get local games.

Ugghhhhhh.  Thanks for the responses here everyone. I'm seeing how we got to a 20 page thread on trying to piece together cord cutting solutions that work.  To get the major sports channels plus Brewers games in market, I'm looking at:

Sling + MLB.TV + VPN - or - cable. It was enough to make me say "fine screw it I'll just get the damn cable" but then when I tried to just buy it in defeat, they make it unbearably difficult and unintuitive. So I gave up on that too and am now tempted to pay more for the Sling/MLB.TV/VPN option just to not have to deal with a cable company.  At least spurning the cable company feels like another small cut leading to their eventual demise, which is a small moral victory I suppose.

[MUBurrow]

I have Hulu Live, and MLB.TV. Does this mean I have to figure out what a VPN is- then change it- in order to watch the Cubs game on Herr Ricketts' crappy network in the Chicagoland area?

Quoting so this doesn't get buried on the previous page. 

I think so? It seems MLB.TV only gets you games outside your regional sports network.  So you have to get a VPN to trick your MLB.TV stream to think you're somewhere else.  What a clusterf*ck.

[cheebs09]

Does cable even solve the issue? I thought Fox Regionals weren't on all cable providers at the moment.

[WI inferiority Complexes]

Quoting so this doesn't get buried on the previous page. 

I think so? It seems MLB.TV only gets you games outside your regional sports network.  So you have to get a VPN to trick your MLB.TV stream to think you're somewhere else.  What a clusterf*ck.

Thanks. Woof; I'm just trying to remain a MLB fan.

[Mr. Nielsen]

Quick bump here for the first day of spring training games.  Does a subscription for a streaming service that includes FS1 (I'm looking at sling orange+blue) then allow you access to your local Fox Sports Regional by signing into the FSGo app?  So if I sign up for Sling that includes FS1, can I login to FSGo and watch Brewers games that way if I'm in the FSWI footprint? Sorry if this has been covered in this thread already.

As Shoothoops said, you can not.
Different networks are FS1/FS2/BTN and FS Wisconsin. Soon to be Balley Sports Wisconsin.

[Mr. Nielsen]

YouTube TV has added MLB.TV to its Live TV lineup. Now, YouTube TV subscribers can choose the MLB.TV add-on to get Live streaming access to all regular season out-of-market games.

[🏀]

Thanks. Woof; I'm just trying to remain a MLB fan.

You'd think the League would be concerned with the amount of in-market fans that won't be easily able to watch games this season.

[Jockey]

You'd think the League would be concerned with the amount of in-market fans that won't be easily able to watch games this season.

Same thing I wondered. I think if people are not able to watch their team, they will be much less invested in them and thus, less likely to attend games (when that is allowed).

[🏀]

Same thing I wondered. I think if people are not able to watch their team, they will be much less invested in them and thus, less likely to attend games (when that is allowed).

Not a real good time for franchises to be disconnecting from fans.

[MUBurrow]

You'd think the League would be concerned with the amount of in-market fans that won't be easily able to watch games this season.

Yep. The easiest solution here really seems to be for MLB.TV to have an optional home-team premium charge, where they charge a premium that it then sends back to each regional sports network based on the territory of the subscriber.  If those revenue streams are so important to the teams, MLB should be willing to do a little legwork to keep them intact while not allowing them to prevent fans from you know, watching the goddamn games.  I'd be willing to pay it just to avoid dealing with all this other crap.

Pretty sure that's what ATT&T does - they charge an $8.49/month regional sports network premium.  MLB.TV should give you the option to pay an extra $25 or whatever for the season long package and then just pay $25 back to each regional network to avoid blackouts.  If ATT&T can figure it out, I don't know why MLB can't - ATT&T doesn't even have a horse in the race.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

YouTube TV has added MLB.TV to its Live TV lineup. Now, YouTube TV subscribers can choose the MLB.TV add-on to get Live streaming access to all regular season out-of-market games.

That doesn't help for in market games though. Right?

[Mr. Nielsen]

That doesn't help for in market games though. Right?

Correct.

[rocky_warrior]

VPN isn't all that difficult guys.  In fact, it's a pretty good security measure if you ever use "public wifi".  You should never use those or hotel wifi without some sort of VPN.  Just sayin...

[#UnleashSean]

YouTube TV has added MLB.TV to its Live TV lineup. Now, YouTube TV subscribers can choose the MLB.TV add-on to get Live streaming access to all regular season out-of-market games.

 

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Does cable even solve the issue? I thought Fox Regionals weren't on all cable providers at the moment.

I have Optimum Cable TV.

I can watch YES Network on FOX Sports GO with free access due to my Optimum subscription.

[mu_hilltopper]

VPNs .. are hit and miss though.  Obviously, some do work .. but I've tried a variety (mostly for my Arby's dark web sites) and YoutubeTV, Hulu, Netflix usually detect the VPN and stop service.

[MUBurrow]

Sorry I'm such a rube with more questions.  I honestly gave these a quick google but reached that tipping point where if anyone has quick answers, its probably more efficient than me spending more time trying to blindly figure these out:

Are VPNs per device, or do I get login credentials that I can use across devices?

Are all devices VPN compatible? I'm sure its pretty inuitive to set up a VPN on a computer, but say (hypothetically) a frustrated gentleman wanted to stream MLB.TV though his Samsung smart TV to get local games otherwise only available with a cable subscription.  Is there a way to run the TV's internet access through the VPN?

Any recs for VPNs that folks have tried and liked? In particular and in light of Topper's comment, anyone ever used one with MLB.TV?

[#UnleashSean]

Sorry I'm such a rube with more questions.  I honestly gave these a quick google but reached that tipping point where if anyone has quick answers, its probably more efficient than me spending more time trying to blindly figure these out:

Are VPNs per device, or do I get login credentials that I can use across devices?

Are all devices VPN compatible? I'm sure its pretty inuitive to set up a VPN on a computer, but say (hypothetically) a frustrated gentleman wanted to stream MLB.TV though his Samsung smart TV to get local games otherwise only available with a cable subscription.  Is there a way to run the TV's internet access through the VPN?

Any recs for VPNs that folks have tried and liked? In particular and in light of Topper's comment, anyone ever used one with MLB.TV?

https://nordvpn.com/blog/setup-vpn-router/

[Mr. Nielsen]

YouTube TV added seven more channels to its lineup, finally bringing viewers the rest of the ViacomCBS channels promised last summer. The new channels added are BET Her, Dabl, MTV2, MTV Classic, Nick Jr, NickToons, and Teen Nick.

[StillAWarrior]

YouTube TV added seven more channels to its lineup, finally bringing viewers the rest of the ViacomCBS channels promised last summer. The new channels added are BET Her, Dabl, MTV2, MTV Classic, Nick Jr, NickToons, and Teen Nick.

What are seven channels I will probably never watch, Alex?

[Mr. Nielsen]

What are seven channels I will probably never watch, Alex?

Correct. I watch a bit of MTV Classic this morning. Back to the 90's brought back some thoughts. 

[Mr. Nielsen]

https://www.nexttv.com/news/sinclair-targets-2022-launch-of-dtc-streaming-version-of-bally-sports-rsns

[Coleman]

VPN isn't all that difficult guys.  In fact, it's a pretty good security measure if you ever use "public wifi".  You should never use those or hotel wifi without some sort of VPN.  Just sayin...

Not difficult, but can definitely hinder performance, which is an issue for HD streaming.

[shoothoops]

https://www.nexttv.com/news/sinclair-targets-2022-launch-of-dtc-streaming-version-of-bally-sports-rsns

Nothing new here unfortunately.

[#UnleashSean]

https://www.nexttv.com/news/sinclair-targets-2022-launch-of-dtc-streaming-version-of-bally-sports-rsns

Soon everyone will have their own platform..