NHL.TV / Center Ice / ESPN+ Discussion - Part IV [See the warning in OP]

[dssource]

$35 is the difference in price between Bell Centre Ice and NHL Live here in Canada.

Is $35 worth the hassle of having to change my Input on the TV, load the App on my Roku stick and find the game? All I have to do with Bell CI is press the Guide button.

NHL Live is all upfront, at least Bell split the cost into 4 payments.

I had CI a while back for a few years. Eventually switched to NHL Live/NHL TV app streaming. I found/find the app way more convenient. I never had to record a game, it's always there when I'm ready to watch. Can watch on any screen easily. Start from the beginning during a live game is a preset. Cheaper.

I do have lots of devices where I can watch though. If you don't, then it won't be as convenient.

My $0.02.

 

[Clare2904]

I had CI a while back for a few years. Eventually switched to NHL Live/NHL TV app streaming. I found/find the app way more convenient. I never had to record a game, it's always there when I'm ready to watch. Can watch on any screen easily. Start from the beginning during a live game is a preset. Cheaper.

I do have lots of devices where I can watch though. If you don't, then it won't be as convenient.

My $0.02.

I have the Bell TV app so I can watch it via that on my phone / iPad in the same way I would with NHL Live.

I am tempted to go NHL Live just to try it out. Plus I need to leave Bell as they are absolute bellends and don't deserve my money

 

[dssource]

I have the Bell TV app so I can watch it via that on my phone / iPad in the same way I would with NHL Live.

I am tempted to go NHL Live just to try it out. Plus I need to leave Bell as they are absolute bellends and don't deserve my money

I have the Bell app as well (wasn't around when I had CI) and I use it a lot on my GoogleTV so I can wear my BT headphones to watch, especially at night. I have my Bell pvr on the same TV and still use the app. The GTV gets more use than the Bell STB's in the house. But every household is different so you need to see what works best for you.

Shame you can't try each for a month and see what you prefer. NHL.tv in the US had a monthly package. Shame that's gone.

 

[gnu16]

Will the games be archived like they were on NHL.tv on ESPN+ so you can watch all of a games at your convenience all year long?

Yes, espn+ has a calendar for live sports, replays, and upcoming. You should be able to click on the date of the game that you want to watch. For example, right now I just clicked to June 9th,2021. The replay screen shows all the baseball games that day plus the Bruins-Islanders game with 4 choices: Bruins broadcast, French broadcast, National broadcast (NBCSN) and Composite. ESPN + has shown all the playoff games and Stanley Cup the day after (I think) over the last couple of years, so I am thinking that they'll probably replay the Turner games as well. However, taking a look at past MLS games that were broadcast on FOX, those are not on ESPN +.

If the Turner (TNT) games aren't on espn+, then my guess is that they will be on the TNT or Bleacher Report apps/websites. (Cable subscription probably required for TNT).

 

[gnu16]

Here's a screenshot of June 15th on ESPN+

 

[Clare2904]

I have the Bell app as well (wasn't around when I had CI) and I use it a lot on my GoogleTV so I can wear my BT headphones to watch, especially at night. I have my Bell pvr on the same TV and still use the app. The GTV gets more use than the Bell STB's in the house. But every household is different so you need to see what works best for you.

Shame you can't try each for a month and see what you prefer. NHL.tv in the US had a monthly package. Shame that's gone.

A 7 day free trial would be perfect, enough time to watch a few games and play around with the settings etc. I'll probably end up flipping a coin

 

[Crosstraffic]

Have the blackouts changed with the addition of Seattle? For example since Vegas joined, Boise has been blacked out of both Vegas and Colorado games.

 

[becky4015]

Have the blackouts changed with the addition of Seattle? For example since Vegas joined, Boise has been blacked out of both Vegas and Colorado games.

Are you in root sports Seattle area if you are Seattle games would be blacked out. Territory Map

 

[snowave]

Great, I'm in McCall, about 100 miles north of Boise. Looks like we're both going to have another blackout team. I watch the ducks and lost about 20 games last season to blackouts. I can't believe we are still doing the blackout game in 2021.

 

[Matias Maccete]

So is ESPN+ going to have every out of market game or just some?

 

[FMichael]

So is ESPN+ going to have every out of market game or just some?

Every

 

[Matias Maccete]

Every

Awesome, so what's happening with center ice? Seems kind of redundant now.

 

[FMichael]

Awesome, so what's happening with center ice? Seems kind of redundant now.

Center Ice will remain (cable/satellite) but I'm guessing the # of subscribers will cont to drop since we're seeing more streaming content.

I dumped DirecTV recently in favor of YouTube TV and ESPN+...I pre-paid a year sub for ESPN+ for $70 and as mentioned it will include what was NHL TV and unlike Center Ice I'll be able to watch those 75 exclusive ESPN+ games (something that cable/satellite cannot offer at this time).

 

[Isles72]

I have the Bell TV app so I can watch it via that on my phone / iPad in the same way I would with NHL Live.

I am tempted to go NHL Live just to try it out. Plus I need to leave Bell as they are absolute bellends and don't deserve my money

I wanted to give nhl live a whirl and watch through roku but I've read that you have to login username/password every single time you boot up the app to watch a game which seems like a pain in the butt to punch that in with the roku remote . I wish it remembered your login like netflix does .

anyways , I cant even find the page on sportsnet that allows you to purchase it and we're less than a week from exhb. games being televised so I'm temporarily still going with bell satt. center ice .

since bell was able to utilize the assorted u.s rsn's and national feeds I'm assuming they'll have access to the espn feeds when airing u.s vs u.s matchups on their centre ice version

 

[Briannj1970]

Awesome, so what's happening with center ice? Seems kind of redundant now.

Center Ice is for those who have a data limit or live in an area with lousy internet. As long as those two issues exist it won't go anywhere.

 

[Briannj1970]

I have the Bell app as well (wasn't around when I had CI) and I use it a lot on my GoogleTV so I can wear my BT headphones to watch, especially at night. I have my Bell pvr on the same TV and still use the app. The GTV gets more use than the Bell STB's in the house. But every household is different so you need to see what works best for you.

Shame you can't try each for a month and see what you prefer. NHL.tv in the US had a monthly package. Shame that's gone.

It's cheaper to try out ESPN+ for a month than it was for nhl.tv.

Obviously the jury's still out on how they do with this, but I'm paying far less now. I already had ESPN+ with the Disney bundle prior to this deal. In a sense that kind of makes nhl.tv free. I'm not exactly lamenting the demise of the old service.*

*typed knowing full well that statement could bite me on the ass before the end of the season.

 

[dssource]

I wanted to give nhl live a whirl and watch through roku but I've read that you have to login username/password every single time you boot up the app to watch a game which seems like a pain in the butt to punch that in with the roku remote . I wish it remembered your login like netflix does .

anyways , I cant even find the page on sportsnet that allows you to purchase it and we're less than a week from exhb. games being televised so I'm temporarily still going with bell satt. center ice .

since bell was able to utilize the assorted u.s rsn's and national feeds I'm assuming they'll have access to the espn feeds when airing u.s vs u.s matchups on their centre ice version

I used to watch on Roku for years and it never logged me out in bw sessions. Roku also has an phone app (android for sure, not sure about IOS) which can act as a remote with a keyboard so you can enter text easily when needed.

It's cheaper to try out ESPN+ for a month than it was for nhl.tv.

Obviously the jury's still out on how they do with this, but I'm paying far less now. I already had ESPN+ with the Disney bundle prior to this deal. In a sense that kind of makes nhl.tv free. I'm not exactly lamenting the demise of the old service.*

*typed knowing full well that statement could bite me on the ass before the end of the season.

I'd love to try ESPN+ from Canada and may do so while also grabbing the NHLlive early bird sub so make sure I don't miss any games. At least when next year comes along, I'll know if I can use a US ESPN+ sub in Canada with no issues like NHL.TV used to be.

 

[Clare2904]

I wanted to give nhl live a whirl and watch through roku but I've read that you have to login username/password every single time you boot up the app to watch a game which seems like a pain in the butt to punch that in with the roku remote . I wish it remembered your login like netflix does .

anyways , I cant even find the page on sportsnet that allows you to purchase it and we're less than a week from exhb. games being televised so I'm temporarily still going with bell satt. center ice .

since bell was able to utilize the assorted u.s rsn's and national feeds I'm assuming they'll have access to the espn feeds when airing u.s vs u.s matchups on their centre ice version

It was @Scandale du Jour that mentioned all the previous issues but they have been resolved now.

I use Roku already for DAZN and MLBTV and they save the logins etc, it is just having to change the Input channel back to "normal" tv if I want to have a flick through during the breaks/end of period that is going to be a pain in the arse for me

 

[Metnut]

A few people were telling me that ESPN+ has no way to avoid spoilers or to start a game from the beginning?

Is that true? Would be a deal breaker for me if so.

 

[gnu16]

A few people were telling me that ESPN+ has no way to avoid spoilers or to start a game from the beginning?

Is that true? Would be a deal breaker for me if so.

I'm going to say true. Right now, as I go to ESPN+, it will show me the games that are playing right now with the scores and time (in soccer, the current minute or in football, time left in whatever quarter they are in). There is a rewind button to start games from the beginning, but that may not help you avoid spoilers. After games are over, it will give the time of the replay. Maybe that will change and it will be like the nhl app. ESPN + does offer a free 7 day trial, so maybe try the opening week of the season and make a decision afterwards.

 

[timorous me]

A few people were telling me that ESPN+ has no way to avoid spoilers or to start a game from the beginning?

Is that true? Would be a deal breaker for me if so.

The second point is easy to answer: you've heard correct, you can't start a game in progress from the beginning. It's quite annoying, and I'd like to think it's something they could adjust. Obviously they have the technology, it's just a matter of implementing it. Same for not showing the full game time on replays. These things do matter to a lot of fans.

In terms of the spoilers, it depends. I changed my settings at some point so that if I go through the "Watch" portion of the website and the iPad app, I don't see scores. And watching on the Roku, I don't, either. So there should be somewhere to hide spoilers. That's obviously a big one. But even with what I've said, as I've seen them do different things over time (like where scores would occasionally reappear) we'll have to wait to properly assess this once the season starts.

I'm also curious to see if they show pre- and post-game coverage and intermissions, as NHL.tv started to do last year. There are enough question marks here that I'm keeping an open mind to the possibility of getting Center Ice for the first time in a decade (after switching to NHL.tv) if it's as cheap on Spectrum as it is on other services, as reported here.

 

[Isles72]

It was @Scandale du Jour that mentioned all the previous issues but they have been resolved now.

I use Roku already for DAZN and MLBTV and they save the logins etc, it is just having to change the Input channel back to "normal" tv if I want to have a flick through during the breaks/end of period that is going to be a pain in the arse for me

ahh , thats good to know . It seems petty to complain about but sites suggest using a challenging password that include uppercase , numbers , symbols etc that would be a pain to punch in .

let us know when you find the area to actually purchase nhl live through sportsnet/rogers . I've noted earlybird is 179 which is 30 cheaper than bell.

consider me back in the fence

 

[Isles72]

well I think I've answered my own question .

link for first timers (canadian version) to buy nhl live

done deal , I cancelled bell CI and went with nhl live (aprox 202 taxes included)

NHL LIVE™

 

[Phanatic88888]

Center Ice is for those who have a data limit or live in an area with lousy internet. As long as those two issues exist it won't go anywhere.

Missing out on the exclusive 75 games on ESPN+ with that lousy internet speed of course.

 

[dssource]

The second point is easy to answer: you've heard correct, you can't start a game in progress from the beginning. It's quite annoying, and I'd like to think it's something they could adjust. Obviously they have the technology, it's just a matter of implementing it. Same for not showing the full game time on replays. These things do matter to a lot of fans.

In terms of the spoilers, it depends. I changed my settings at some point so that if I go through the "Watch" portion of the website and the iPad app, I don't see scores. And watching on the Roku, I don't, either. So there should be somewhere to hide spoilers. That's obviously a big one. But even with what I've said, as I've seen them do different things over time (like where scores would occasionally reappear) we'll have to wait to properly assess this once the season starts.

I'm also curious to see if they show pre- and post-game coverage and intermissions, as NHL.tv started to do last year. There are enough question marks here that I'm keeping an open mind to the possibility of getting Center Ice for the first time in a decade (after switching to NHL.tv) if it's as cheap on Spectrum as it is on other services, as reported here.

Wow if that's true then that's just dumb. It was 1 simple option in NHL.tv. Hide scores =true. And the other option: start games from the beginning =true.

I hope they get their shit together before the season starts and not take the product back 10 years.