OT: NBA season has begun! [Potential Spoilers]

[sales guy]

Originally Posted by FlashUNC

If it's nationally broadcast, you can't stream it. If it's on your local market, you can't stream it. And national includes NBA TV.

See! They don't say that in their notes on blackout games. Just that if you are in a local area game.
That's BS! No point in buying a game if NBA TV cuts you out.

[sales guy]

Originally Posted by rousseau

You need to "cheat" with a VPN. Here's the procedure before each game:

1. Go to your browser history and delete all instances of nba.com.
2. Start up the VPN. Now your computer's IP address is somewhere else, so for all intents and purposes League Pass thinks that you're not located in the blackout zone.
3. Go to the URL for League Pass and watch the game.

https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2403388,00.asp

I've been doing this for several years now.

A hint about League Pass: if you wait until half-time you can watch the entire game in 48 minutes by skipping all the commercials, timeouts and half-time. I watch 82 Raptors' regular season games + playoffs every year, and if you do the math, well...I've never done the math, but here's the math:

Without League Pass: 90 games x 150 minutes = 13,500 minutes / 60 = 225 hours
With League Pass: 90 games x 50 minutes = 4,500 minutes / 60 = 75 hours

League Pass is worth it.

I'll have to check into this. Thanks for the tips. I read that you can watch it 3 hours AFTER the game is done. Which is stupid. And since I am east coast, the games dont end till 1am! I don't mind staying up till 1 every so often but I am not going to wait till 4am just to watch.

[myth_jimmy]

The blackout rules are really clear when you buy it, even if they suck.

That's just to way it works.



Pretty rad seeing Porzingus step into the bigger role so well at NYK. I find myself watching the Knicks for him (and the commentary team) more than I expected I would.

[FlashUNC]

Originally Posted by sales guy

See! They don't say that in their notes on blackout games. Just that if you are in a local area game.
That's BS! No point in buying a game if NBA TV cuts you out.

Dubs are on national TV -- ABC/ESPN/TNT/NBA TV -- something like 30 times this year, tops in the league.

If seeing the other 50-ish games is worth it for you with a choice of announcing teams, then get league pass.

If not, well, cable has you more than covered for all the marquee matchups for them during the year. But the NBA has made pretty clear the priority for games is: broadcast partners/local markets/league pass.

[sales guy]

Originally Posted by FlashUNC

Dubs are on national TV -- ABC/ESPN/TNT/NBA TV -- something like 30 times this year, tops in the league.

If seeing the other 50-ish games is worth it for you with a choice of announcing teams, then get league pass.

If not, well, cable has you more than covered for all the marquee matchups for them during the year. But the NBA has made pretty clear the priority for games is: broadcast partners/local markets/league pass.

Actually, they are on TV 43 times this year. But that includes NBA TV too. On regular tv it's only 12(ESPN, TNT, ABC). In the evenings when I am working on frame and paint designs it's nice to have it on in the background. Is it worth it, nah, not really. Which is why i've never done it before. I was bored the other night and that's why I did it. Just sucked when i couldn't watch it. And I read the blackout rules. They never mention NBA TV as a blackout factor. In the end it is what it is.

[Aaron O]

Ben Simmons is going to be a force of nature when/if he develops a 15 footer. Enjoying the hell out of the process.

[myth_jimmy]

^^I hate that you can't get NBATV without a cable subscription. I'd pay a little extra to watch the channel live on the App.

One of many terrible things about League Pass as a product.

[sales guy]

Originally Posted by myth_jimmy

^^I hate that you can't get NBATV without a cable subscription. I'd pay a little extra to watch the channel live on the App.

One of many terrible things about League Pass as a product.

Agreed! And for us, it jumps our cable bill up to $140. We've started cutting back since the little kids are not watching a bunch of channels. We've dropped the movie channels over a year ago. And it makes us get them again. Really really dumb.

[FlashUNC]

Originally Posted by sales guy

Actually, they are on TV 43 times this year. But that includes NBA TV too. On regular tv it's only 12(ESPN, TNT, ABC). In the evenings when I am working on frame and paint designs it's nice to have it on in the background. Is it worth it, nah, not really. Which is why i've never done it before. I was bored the other night and that's why I did it. Just sucked when i couldn't watch it. And I read the blackout rules. They never mention NBA TV as a blackout factor. In the end it is what it is.

They're pretty upfront about the NBA TV thing. Clearly the NBA is going to prioritize its own network over the streaming option. Carriage fees on cable still vastly outweigh the revenue from digital services.

Where Can I Watch Games that are Blacked Out on NBA League Pass?
You should be able to view games that are blacked out on NBA League Pass on a regional sports network in your area or on a national TV network such as NBA TV, TNT, ESPN or ABC. These content providers may also have official streaming apps through which you can view games that are blacked out on NBA League Pass (if you are a subscriber to that network). When available, NBA League Pass will direct you to these apps. The audio of blackout games is available on NBA League Pass, and you should also be able to listen to blacked out games through a local radio provider.

http://www.nba.com/leaguepass/blackouts

[myth_jimmy]

I'm surprised that the NBA hasn't embraced "cord-cutters" more. It's nice that with a $15-20 p/m Sling account I can get ESPN & TNT, and then use that login for ESPN/ABC games later in the year.

That along with League Pass gets everything except NBATV.




Meanwhile....starting to think this rookie class is going to be really good. Lots of rooks showing something early. Even later picks like Bell & Kuzma.

That along with Simmons being a "rookie" and him looking awesome.

Add the improvement from Giannis, Gordon, Porzingus....the future is bright!

[FlashUNC]

The NBA hasn't because they need the ESPNs and TNTs of the world for those broadcast rights agreement revenue.

No amount of cord cutters, currently, can touch the revenue they get from cable channels baked in to your monthly cable bill. The long term problem is cable subscriptions are declining and ESPN and its ilk are suffering along with it. This last round of broadcast agreements are likely the high water mark. \

Cord cutting won't get you a nine-year deal for $24 billion in revenue.

[myth_jimmy]

I mean more that NBA TV isn't available through subscription, and that the League Pass experience is probably the worst product I've ever seen for TV streaming.

[sales guy]

Originally Posted by myth_jimmy

I mean more that NBA TV isn't available through subscription, and that the League Pass experience is probably the worst product I've ever seen for TV streaming.

It's pretty bad. It was very static and bouncing back and forth and skipped some stuff. Yeah, I did watch the game. The next day.

[Jaybee]

I've had League Pass for 2 of the last 3 years. This year is the worst for buffering/poor video quality that I remember. I think LP has value for fans of specific teams in a few specific situations: 1) you aren't in your favorite team's market - fewer blackouts that way. 2) your team isn't a national TV darling 3)if you watch later - you can see a full 48 minute game in about an hour. If you are just a hoops nerd and would happily watch Sacto-Dallas on a Tuesday evening to see how Buddy Heild's game is progressing , it's good then too.

The Association's financial structure (and every other big sport, for that matter) is based primarily on national TV revenue. Curious to see what happens when the cable giants implode and the billion dollar TV-rights deals go away. The current big national deal (ESPN/Turner) is through 2025. What does ESPN's revenue look like in 2025?

Someone's going to take a massive haircut, and based on the history of sports labor disputes, I'm guessing it won't be the owners.

[FlashUNC]

League Pass for the last 5 years now. In my experience the earliest weeks during the free preview are when the streaming is at it's worst. Once the punters hit the bricks and it goes for the paid subscribers only, the experience improves mightily.

It ain't perfect, but the only real option for hoops obsessives.

And forget Buddy Hield, De'Aaron Fox is going to be appointment viewing on that team before too long. That and seeing when old man Vince Carter does old man YMCA stuff. Which is amazing considering his career arc.