Cutting the Cord - Getting Started - Step 2: Sports
In our previous post about getting started we talked about how effortless and affordable it is to access the majority of basic network programming once you cut the cable cord. With many of our customers the second most common question we get revolves around watching sports.
Sports are a different animal when it comes to cord cutting because people want to watch them live. It's the one type of content that many people worry they won't be able to get if they cut the cable cord because of this live aspect.
Sports is big business in the cable TV world. All of the major leagues sign huge TV deals with major broadcast partners for the rights to broadcast your local sports teams games. On top of that all of broadcast deals for sports are complicated and built around regional broadcast rights and national broadcast rights.
The good news is that most of the major leagues have been quite progressive when it comes to making their product available via digital means. The MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL and MLS all have products that allow you to subscribe to their products directly and watch as many games as you would like.
What's great about these services is that you get access to your choice of source feeds because often games are covered by multiple networks. All the games are recorded and archieved so if you miss the first half of a game it's available for you to go back and watch from the start automatically. No need to fuss with a PVR. In some cases you can even watch games from over a year ago if you are that type of a super fan.
On top of that, if you are a fan of a specific sport itself you'll have access to all of the teams games in the league. Portability is another plus with these services. You can watch them on your TV's in full HD, but you'll also be able to watch them via a tablet, smartphone or computer. Again great if you do a lot of travelling.
UPDATE: In the last few years there has also been growth in many sports channels launching their own direct to consumer subscription services.
I personally love these services because it means I'm dealing with the leagues themselves and supporting the sports I love.
So if you are a sports fan, don't worry cutting the cord will get you more of your favourite sport ever than you ever had with cable.