CBC News - In Canada, it’s never been more complicated — or expensive — to watch NHL hockey

swissdude

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May 18, 2019
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there are plenty of ways to find streams for every game on the internet and it is possible to stream every game for free. but if someone really wants to watch the games legally, isn't there a way for people in north america to subscribe to nhl.tv? i pay USD 99. -/yr in switzerland and i can watch every game without blackouts, i can even choose which broadcaster i want to watch, so for example if the preds play in new jeersey i can choose if i want to watch the bally (preds) or the MSG (devils) broadcast. I only do that because I'm too lazy to cope with add blockers and stuff if you use these streams. but do you really have to have a subscription with every provider in north america?
 

Blitzkrug

Registered User
Sep 17, 2013
26,855
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Winnipeg
Plus Sportsnet+ is total crap. Actually, Sportsnet full stop is total crap. But SN+ is worse.
Depends on the day but it ranges from seamless to completely useless.

Shoutout to the day it told me a Blue Jays game wasn't available in my region. Interesting, given the Blue Jays broadcasting region is y'know, the entire f***in' country which last i checked i'm still living in.
 
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Three On Zero

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Buy season tickets
Sell season tickets except for a select few games
Use profit to buy next season + any streaming service you wish for the season.
 

1specter

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Sep 27, 2016
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Companies like Rogers are the reason why people go and seek out things like IPTV. They are killing the game
 
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Blitzkrug

Registered User
Sep 17, 2013
26,855
8,525
Winnipeg
there are plenty of ways to find streams for every game on the internet and it is possible to stream every game for free. but if someone really wants to watch the games legally, isn't there a way for people in north america to subscribe to nhl.tv? i pay USD 99. -/yr in switzerland and i can watch every game without blackouts, i can even choose which broadcaster i want to watch, so for example if the preds play in new jeersey i can choose if i want to watch the bally (preds) or the MSG (devils) broadcast. I only do that because I'm too lazy to cope with add blockers and stuff if you use these streams. but do you really have to have a subscription with every provider in north america?
To break it down;

Amazon Prime now has games exclusively on monday nights here. Those games are nowhere else. (well, depending how well you know the ocean, or so to speak)

Getting something like Sportsnet or TSN+ doesn't cover games blacked out in my region. I get the Jets, Flames and Oilers. Anything else is a no go unless they're on nationally. (and not on amazon prime, of course) The Jets in my case are obviously only local, so your options are either cable or TSN+. Then if you truly want to watch every game, you will need Sportsnet for the few time the Jets are on nationally/Hockey Night in Canada.

If you're a fan of an American team like myself, your choices are to either just watch what sportsnet picks up or pay them like 40 a month for a service that doesn't work half the time (which again, blackouts can throw a wrench into that depending on the area)

Easily the worst sport for this right now. I have no problem with paying to watch. I pay for DAZN every football season and it's totally worth. I get every game including primetime and postseason all in one place. No hassle, just turn it on and watch.

As video game magnate Gabe Newell once said, piracy is the better option not because people are cheap, but because it's easier;

“One thing that we have learned is that piracy is not a pricing issue. It’s a service issue,” explained Newell during his time on stage at the Washington Technology Industry Association's (WTIA) Tech NW conference. “The easiest way to stop piracy is not by putting antipiracy technology to work. It’s by giving those people a service that’s better than what they’re receiving from the pirates.”
 
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BTO

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I couldn’t disagree more. I’m a Leaf fan that rarely misses a game. With young kids I was hesitant to give up my cable because I always have to start the game late. But my Rogers bill got so high that I went for it

Sportsnet+ gets me every game on Sportsnet (and a ton of other teams as well). The app is great, I have had zero issue with it. And the big thing for me, when I get the kids to bed at 8pm I can click the game and start it from the beginning

Since I’m in Leafs region, when the games are on TSN they are blackout on there. I tried the TSN app. It sucks. So I picked up a VPN and set myself to another Canadian city and it works perfectly

To summarize. I finally got rid of cable. Save 200 per month. Sportsnet+ premium cost me 125 for a year (got a half price code) and my vpn costs 4 per month. I’m saving a ton of money without cable, and I get far more games than I used to. I can still watch every game on delay. Never been better for me
Re: SN+. The app is great? Zero issues with it? Got a half price code? Who do you know and who did you . . . ?
 
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BTO

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I broke down this year and got SN+ Prime. First time since the lockout (or was it the strike lol?) and first time since Rogers took it over that I have done so. Last time, after the strike/lockout, I got it through the NHL, with a vpn, at a discount.

Normally I sail the high seas, but experience hadn’t been great in the preseason so I broke down. But it will be both my first and last year with SN+. The app is pure garbage. Well, tbf, everything Rogers (and everything Bell too) is pure garbage. Next year this aging boomer will take advantage of his son-in-law’s offer to set him up.

Edit: forgot to add that, even tho I paid for SN+, I expect that I’ll mostly be sailing the high seas this year, and simply have SN+ in reserve in case things don’t go smoothly, or if I want to watch a game after the fact. That’s how bad Rogers is. At least, even tho I paid them, they’ll be getting less ad revenue from me. f***ers.
 
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BTO

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there are plenty of ways to find streams for every game on the internet and it is possible to stream every game for free. but if someone really wants to watch the games legally, isn't there a way for people in north america to subscribe to nhl.tv? i pay USD 99. -/yr in switzerland and i can watch every game without blackouts, i can even choose which broadcaster i want to watch, so for example if the preds play in new jeersey i can choose if i want to watch the bally (preds) or the MSG (devils) broadcast. I only do that because I'm too lazy to cope with add blockers and stuff if you use these streams. but do you really have to have a subscription with every provider in north america?
Nope, not in Canada. Everything goes through the crooks at Rogers. SN+ Prime costs $250/yr ($282 with tax), or like $300/mo or something. Unless you’re Palio and got a half-price code for some reason.

Edit: not sure what NHL centre ice costs but that’s still Rogers.
 

bringbacktheskate604

Registered User
Jul 20, 2022
1,404
1,598
I need to subscribe to Prime, SN, and TSN if I want to watch all Leaf games living in NS. We all understand that 60 years ago the only way to follow the game was by radio....that isn't the case anymore. If these multi billion dollar corporations want my money when I can just as easily pull up a free stream of the game....they have to actually, you know earn my money and not rip me off in the process. If there was a single product I could buy to view all the games for my team, I would probably do that. It doesn't exist for me.
First off it wasn't 60 years ago😂 I'm only 45 and I'm referring to the late 80s and 90's lol.

As for someone not in an actual market, I get that you guys don't get a regional game on one dedicated network but I don't see an issue with that. I mean your basically saying that we should be able to watch every team like a regional broadcast thats not available for any sport.
Look at the NFL on tsn, you get a few random games a week which is the same formula that tsn and sn use for games not region locked or blacked out.

Why not just sign up for Centre ice? I had it with Telus and I'm not sure if every game is available but there was a shitload.

Basically I think every game in the province you live in should be part of the cable package. The morning Monday night thing on prime isn't perfect with regional games on SN last year on a Monday weren't separate, it's only 3 games but in return get a bunch of games not available last year, plus we get a separate show twice a week? Of NHL on the fly, the NFL version literally got me back into the sport.
Plus prime only nine bucks a month and I feel that most people who enjoy TV and use Amazon likely already are subscribed which in that case is a huge win, getting all that high production content added at no extra cost.

Lastly and sorry for the long ass response but I think Amazon is planning on becoming a major player on the next TV deal and I never thought I would say this but I would be fine with that since I think they would spend huge dollars to make it top notch.

Imagine the amount of new eyes the league would reach which is good for the game and for Amazon revenue wise, especially for all the cheapies like me who haven't bothered to upgrade to no adds😂

Cheers and again sorry for the long response.
 

Golden_Jet

Registered User
Sep 21, 2005
25,614
13,145
there are plenty of ways to find streams for every game on the internet and it is possible to stream every game for free. but if someone really wants to watch the games legally, isn't there a way for people in north america to subscribe to nhl.tv? i pay USD 99. -/yr in switzerland and i can watch every game without blackouts, i can even choose which broadcaster i want to watch, so for example if the preds play in new jeersey i can choose if i want to watch the bally (preds) or the MSG (devils) broadcast. I only do that because I'm too lazy to cope with add blockers and stuff if you use these streams. but do you really have to have a subscription with every provider in north america?
No not in NA, as seen here
 

RandV

It's a wolf v2.0
Jul 29, 2003
27,002
5,118
Vancouver
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Yes it would be nice if we could just pay one lump fee for all the games if your living outside of NA like Switzerland or whatever, but being the local markets everyone has to be cut up into pieces for all the various parties and just makes it a mess for the audience.

Now as others have mentioned it hasn't always been a given that you could just watch all the games. If it's 'never been more complicated in Canada', that's because up to the late 90's you simply couldn't watch every game, or even most games. The peak period was before the streaming era when everyone still had cable and Sportsnet stepped up to fill all the extra regional Canadian games that CBC or TSN national broadcasts didn't cover. But then Sportsnet just taking the entire market ended up being crappy deal for the viewer.
 

LeafGrief

Shambles in my brain
Apr 10, 2015
7,859
10,117
Ottawa
Yeah, well when my Grandfather was a child in rural Saskatchewan, they only got one Leafs game per week on the RADIO. Checkmate CBC!

In all seriousness, there is no point in paying for a streaming service when there is no guarantee that service is actually going to have the games. If I need to pay for cable, Sportsnet+, AND Amazon Prime just to watch 82 regular season Leafs games while I'm living in Ottawa, I'm eventually going to spend my time and money somewhere else. If it's a Tuesday night game against the Caps in February, if I can just turn on the TV I'll probably watch it. But I'm not even going to bother sailing the high seas if I can't. Sure, I'll go to the effort if it's a game against the Bruins or there's playoff implications, but there's way too many meaningless games in the schedule to put up with this kind of service fragmentation.
 

NoShowWilly

Registered User
Apr 4, 2010
12,656
2,520
North Delta
Just sucks that i am paying the same amount for 5 less games and then having the app tell all of us we arent in canada. Cost me another game i wont be reimbursed for.

I have no problem paying to get all the games but just dont f*** me like this.
 

Sun God Nika

Palestine <3.
Apr 22, 2013
20,055
8,396
I have rogers pay for starter + a sports package that covers all the TSN and Sportsnet so I can’t miss a sens game. I get access to the sportsnet / tsn / rogers apps so I can watch games on the go it’s never been easier.

I pay 109.99 and my internet and home phone(for my mom) is all bundled into that price.

I am a proud internet pirate have access to a plethora of steaming sites and torrent trackers. But when it comes to hockey I want maximum crispness which only comes from a paid subscription
 

Anders Cain

Formerly JordoMack
Jul 7, 2018
1,626
1,599
Nova Scotia
And the cherry on top is that Rogers is a disaster of a company that can't even get their paid streaming service to work properly.

In both Canucks games this season there were major problems. Game 1 had the ads running longer than they were supposed to, so every single ad break we'd miss 1-2 minutes of the game. Game 2 gave everyone an error for the entire 3rd period saying you can't watch outside of Canada.

Anyway this song slaps

This... So much..

I'm watching the 2nd avs game... And 3 separate times it cut to commercial mid play. By the time it came back I'd missed 2-3 min of game play.. I pay alot for this garbage at least make it work properly
 

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