Off-Topic Forum

A couple years ago I switched from cable television to streaming due to the prices of cable getting so expensive.  Up until recently, I have been able to get Fox Regional Sports.  But as of the end of October, pretty much every streaming provider (Hulu, YoutubeTv, etc) has dropped Fox Regional Sports due to an impasse in negotiations with Sinclair.  I used to have Playstation Vue until they shut down, and then I switched to Hulu which I just recently cancelled beacuse I really only pay for TV to watch sports.

As of right now, it seems that the only way to watch local teams is through AT&T Now which seems pretty pricey and requires a contract, or going back to cable.  

Does anyone have any information as to the status of this situation at all?  I am pretty sure the main reason the negotiations fell through is that with no sports currently playing, it isn't so necessary for the streaming services to pay the prices Sinclair wants.  

The NBA season is right around the corner, and I am really let down that I am not able to watch the Suns anymore.  Fitting just as they add Chris Paul I can't watch.  The pricing of cable and AT&T Now along with their contracts is pretty much preventing me from going with those as my wife and I decided that is too much.  

Crossing my fingers that either Hulu or YoutubeTV get this figured out.  I miss back in the day when all the away games were broadcast on UPN.

In the same dilemma here. Add NHL for me in addition to NBA. Had DISH until I finally finished my contract. Then HULU was great until October. I haven't been able to find any other way since. Many sports fans are left out. I guess it's hurry up and wait.  

I am not sure about NHL and NBA, but I know MLB has the MLBtv app that you can add to your phone.  For about $120 per season, you get all games from all teams with a few blackouts.  You can also download the NFL app which allows you to watch the nationally televised football games for free on the app.  I'm assuming that NBA and NHL have similar online packages?

I have 2 words for ya... Android box. I have 2 here and I got them to put IPTV ont them, Cosdts me 120 a year. You get all Candian and American channels. Including all regional and Regional sports channels. plus Movies, TV, shows and 24/7 channels. It might be worth looking in to 

Maybe this is a factor?

Sinclair to rebrand 21 Fox regional sports networks under Bally name - Reuters

Sinclair Networks to Rebrand as Bally’s in Sports-Betting Partnership - WSJ

Sinclair Rebrands Sports Networks With Bally Name - Bloomberg

Bally’s Buys Sinclair RSN Naming Rights As Part of Sports Betting Push - Sportico

I don't care one way or another about the politics of Sinclair broadcasting, but since taking over these regional networks they have done a terrible job managing them.  I kind of figured it would be especially since how Ring of Honor wrestling has done since they bought them a few years back.

Some could call it bad timing with Covid hitting, but I don't think SInclair had many plans in place for the networks to begin with.  I was hopeful that maybe with new owners the networks could show different programming when live sports wasn't on, but around the time they bought them I lost the channel myself (nothing to do with contracts per se, I just have a very odd cable company).  One of my locals is Sinclair owned and I have no problems with them, and glad they show ROH wrestling, but in my opinion, I think they should stick to running local affiliates instead of trying to expand into sports.  Then again I guess its better than making all of the former Fox Sports RSNs another news channel like some rumored they would.

I was watching NBC or Fox (I can't remember) during the weekend and they were running promos asking Dish customers to call their provider and ask for their local stations back. That kind of corporate fight seem more and more frequent. We also had one up here between Bell (TSN / RDS) and Videotron (TVA Sports) during some Montreal Canadien games in 2019. Not my team, but I considered part of their local market. Bell used to have their broadcasting rights, but Videotron bought them at the last contract. Both companies complained the other one is rogue, they didn't pay enough for the signals, they retaliated and everything. One of the pressure action was Videotron blocking the Habs game signal to Bell customers. Signal is back to everybody, but the two corporations are still fighting each other everywhere they can. As something like half of the favorite game are blackout to me and I don't want to pay $300 for Center Ice, I watch the national coverage games and I listen to the regional coverage games on the radio and on the web. If I was able, I would subscribe to the proper stations I want instead of what I am offered. It is not that great, but it is still better than nada. 

I've used DirecTV satellite service for many years now b/c I don't have a lot of options way out in the country. Cable (only Spectrum) just recently got all the way out here and they charge way more for the same channels I get from DTV and with less extras. I won't do streaming TV b/c it's just too much extra bandwidth needed for what I have here. I haven't seen any issues with Fox Sports channels, but I don't watch the regional ones much anyway. I watch my local FOX station and FS1/FS2 for most of what I want to see (NFL & NASCAR). But of course DTV starts bickering with Tegma, who owns my local CBS channel, right before the Panthers/Broncos game was going to be on CBS. Thankfully, I have the NFL app on my phone. While it sucks to watch a game on my phone, at least I got to see it. And any other CBS shows I usually watch can be seen On Demand a week after they air. At the same time, Dish Network is bickering with Nexstar who now owns my local Fox station after buying Tribune last year. One of my work accounts has Dish, so I can't have the 5pm News on while I work. As for Sinclair Broadcasting, they own 2 of my local stations. One is ABC that I never watch, and the other is a My Network station that I watch frequently in the 6-8pm time. I've had no interruption issues with them for years. I liked what Sinclair did with ROH at first, but it's really gone downhill since they let WWE take most of the best athletes from the show. I really like what they are doing during the pandemic though! The timed matches with limitations on rope breaks, closed fist hits, and such has made it really technical and therefore much more interesting.

As for MLB, I accepted long ago that I rarely get to see Cardinals games living in NC. I'm not paying extra to see 162 games that I don't have time to watch anyway. I catch any of their games on ESPN or MLBN and the occassional game on my local FOX station when they play the Braves or Nationals. Otherwise, I'll just watch the highlights.

I do wish NASCAR would make FOX and NBC air more races in national coverage vs. FS1 & NBCSN. My local FOX station is #1 in the USA for viewers of NASCAR races and that is a streak of many years now.

This is what I found.

https://www.cabletv.com/blog/best-ways-to-watch-nba-games