FSN/Sinclair/regional sports network streaming

[82brewcrew82]

My household hasn't had cable or any kind of dish for over five years now and I don't miss it at all. Now, I don't live in a Brewers black out zone so the issue is a bit different for me and I just get he MLB.tv package and have no issues.

[mtrebs]

MLB could just get rid of the blackout rules and allow Brewers game to be broadcasted to Wisconsinites via the MLB app. I never understood those blackout rules, at least outside of the immediate vicinity of Milwaukee.

 

Protect local broadcasting rights. FS Wisconsin would be worthless without blackout rules. This is a huge deal with MLB as every team is through some sort of regional sports network.

 

I thought The MLB app broadcasts the regional sports networks, so if you were watching the Brewers you’d have the choice of watching Fox Sports Wisconsin’s broadcast or else the opponent’s regional sports network’s broadcast. Is this not the case?

[Brewers Numbers]

It's FS Wisconsin but without their commercials and no other shows like the post game. Just the game and a sh!t-ton of Topps commercials.

[patrickgpe]

I know its not TNT's job to cater to bucks fans but since I can only watch games on TNT and ESPN this season, sucks to have them cut away on a night they broke an NBA record.

[jerichoholicninja]

I wonder if the demand for broadcasting a whole game from start to finish live of just about any sport is going away. I keep reading that the youngins only care about the highlights and just don't sit and watch a whole game through. Perhaps we're about to see the rise of more things like NFL RedZone and whatever the other leagues call their channels that just switch to whatever games have interesting things going on at the time.

[JackNicholson1974]

I find this to be true, as my 14 year old sports fan “watches” most games while doing something else and having the highlights immediately sent to his phone as notifications when anything exciting happens. This is especially true for MLB and NFL.

[Brewers Numbers]

I'm in IL so I can't watch every Packer game. I've been watching the summary on Youtube after the game and I almost prefer it now. Losses and the 2nd half of the Carolina game are much less frustrating. Same with the Brewers. If I can't watch the game I do watch the quick summaries on MLB.TV.

[patrickgpe]

I am so busy, with kids, life, work etc (like I am sure alot of other people are), sometimes it nice to relax and have a few cold ones and watch the game from start to finish. That being said it is nice to get the highlights when you don't just have 3 hours to watch a game. I guess its nice to have both as an option.

[jerichoholicninja]

I am so busy, with kids, life, work etc (like I am sure alot of other people are), sometimes it nice to relax and have a few cold ones and watch the game from start to finish.

 

That's me too until I actually sit down and watch. After an inning or two I'm looking for something else to do. By the time the kids are in bed and I have time for myself the Brewers are usually in the 6th or 7th inning so I check the score to see if it's worth turning on. Most times I do but rarely do I pay close attention to it. Maybe it's 3TO baseball, maybe it's just being an adult and having other things to do but a baseball game on TV doesn't hold my attention like it used to.

[owbc]

I am so busy, with kids, life, work etc (like I am sure alot of other people are), sometimes it nice to relax and have a few cold ones and watch the game from start to finish.

 

That's me too until I actually sit down and watch. After an inning or two I'm looking for something else to do. By the time the kids are in bed and I have time for myself the Brewers are usually in the 6th or 7th inning so I check the score to see if it's worth turning on. Most times I do but rarely do I pay close attention to it. Maybe it's 3TO baseball, maybe it's just being an adult and having other things to do but a baseball game on TV doesn't hold my attention like it used to.

 

I love day games for this reason. I usually would put it on my second computer screen while I'm working. I was outraged when the Brewers played almost no day games in 2020.

 

Night games usually start at 5 PM west coast time so pre-COVID I would put the game on my headphones while riding the bus home from work and if the game was interesting I would have it on during my evening run. Might catch the 8th or 9th inning on TV if it was a close game.

 

When the Brewers turned into a full 3TO team in 2020 it got boring really fast. If the opposition had a good pitcher on the mound there was just no chance of them doing anything offensively.

[JohnBriggs12]

I'm in IL so I can't watch every Packer game. I've been watching the summary on Youtube after the game and I almost prefer it now. Losses and the 2nd half of the Carolina game are much less frustrating. Same with the Brewers. If I can't watch the game I do watch the quick summaries on MLB.TV.

 

I live in Illinois too and 15 of their 16 games have been shown in the Chicago area at least. All but week two against the Lions were available. I watched that on an outdoor screen at Buffalo Wild Wings for the price of a couple beers and some wings. In the last several years, typically no more than 3 or 4 Packer games were not shown in Chicago market.

 

I may be old school but the joy is in the journey. Losses are going to happen. It's part of the ebb and flow of a season. But the 3 1/2 hours of a game with it's ebbs and flows is far superior to watching highlights. It irritates me that there's a satellite delay and sometimes my phone lets me know a score happened before I see it.

[Invader3K]

Count me in the camp of not giving up Youtube TV. It's such a superior product, I will never go back to Charter/Spectrum and their horrible customer service.

 

I would miss watching Brewers games live, but hopefully something will be worked out long term. I think MLB has to realize this constant viewing uncertainty isn't good for their fanbase and business model.

[DuWayne Steurer]

Same. I switched to YouTube TV after PlayStation Vue died and I don't care, I will find other streaming ways or just listen to the radio for my sports that I can't get on FSN.

[logan82]

I am so busy, with kids, life, work etc (like I am sure alot of other people are), sometimes it nice to relax and have a few cold ones and watch the game from start to finish.

 

That's me too until I actually sit down and watch. After an inning or two I'm looking for something else to do. By the time the kids are in bed and I have time for myself the Brewers are usually in the 6th or 7th inning so I check the score to see if it's worth turning on. Most times I do but rarely do I pay close attention to it. Maybe it's 3TO baseball, maybe it's just being an adult and having other things to do but a baseball game on TV doesn't hold my attention like it used to.

 

I love day games for this reason. I usually would put it on my second computer screen while I'm working. I was outraged when the Brewers played almost no day games in 2020.

 

Night games usually start at 5 PM west coast time so pre-COVID I would put the game on my headphones while riding the bus home from work and if the game was interesting I would have it on during my evening run. Might catch the 8th or 9th inning on TV if it was a close game.

 

When the Brewers turned into a full 3TO team in 2020 it got boring really fast. If the opposition had a good pitcher on the mound there was just no chance of them doing anything offensively.

 

Along those same lines, why don't they do afternoon games on Saturdays? I would love to sit out in the sun grilling and hanging out with friends on a Saturday afternoon.

 

 

 

Same. I switched to YouTube TV after PlayStation Vue died and I don't care, I will find other streaming ways or just listen to the radio for my sports that I can't get on FSN.

 

I love YouTube TV. Their DVR function was fantastic and worked great even for live sports that never got recorded right with Tivo if they ran long. Loved it at $35 and would still be a subscriber. Jumped up to $50 and I didn't really need it. At $65 it is something I might get for a month or two if I really really wanted to watch Brewers games but there really isn't anything on live TV that I can't do without.

[Jimbo]

Along those same lines, why don't they do afternoon games on Saturdays? I would love to sit out in the sun grilling and hanging out with friends on a Saturday afternoon.

 

As someone old enough to remember Saturday afternoon baseball, maybe it has to do with Saturday evening baseball being a "marquee" event - something for the community to get buzzed about. I believe Milwaukee's first Sat night game was in 1978. (An aside, Game 4 of the '82 WS was played on a Saturday afternoon).

[patrickgpe]

was looking into streaming options today. ATT TV is the only one that would offer FS WI. The issue is that they make you sign a 2 year contract. They also make you pay 9 extra dollars for their sports package and increase rates in year #2. The latter is no big deal, but the former is. What happens if they drop sinclair too and them I'm on the hook for 74 dollars a month for nothing? I think most on this thread are right, better to hold off for now.

[owbc]

I'm in IL so I can't watch every Packer game. I've been watching the summary on Youtube after the game and I almost prefer it now. Losses and the 2nd half of the Carolina game are much less frustrating. Same with the Brewers. If I can't watch the game I do watch the quick summaries on MLB.TV.

 

I live in Illinois too and 15 of their 16 games have been shown in the Chicago area at least. All but week two against the Lions were available. I watched that on an outdoor screen at Buffalo Wild Wings for the price of a couple beers and some wings. In the last several years, typically no more than 3 or 4 Packer games were not shown in Chicago market.

 

I may be old school but the joy is in the journey. Losses are going to happen. It's part of the ebb and flow of a season. But the 3 1/2 hours of a game with it's ebbs and flows is far superior to watching highlights. It irritates me that there's a satellite delay and sometimes my phone lets me know a score happened before I see it.

 

Yesterday's Packer game wasn't televised in my market...I was kind of surprised, but whatever, I had it in HD on my phone for free in 30 seconds with a bootleg stream. And my wife was happy because she could use the TV during the game.

[patrickgpe]

i used to use those. they seemed to be more trouble then they are worth. put viruses on my phone / laptop, streams not working or buffering, etc.

[owbc]

i used to use those. they seemed to be more trouble then they are worth. put viruses on my phone / laptop, streams not working or buffering, etc.

 

I use apple devices with an ad blocker and have never had an issue. Been using the same site for at least 5 years now.

[Samurai Bucky]

Same. I switched to YouTube TV after PlayStation Vue died and I don't care, I will find other streaming ways or just listen to the radio for my sports that I can't get on FSN.

Me, too. I wish they could have a "switch to previous channel" available.

[wallus]

Are these other streaming ways legal?

[owbc]

Are these other streaming ways legal?

 

Is it legal to type a URL in your web browser and click 'play'?

 

Edit: I can think of some circumstances where the answer would be 'no'. But my main point is that when content providers overly restrict content, a black market will naturally set up. And the black market for sports streaming is alive and well. Any crackdown would certainly target the websites and not the users.

[RightFieldCoder]

It is legal to stream MLB.tv from IP addresses outside local blackout zones.

[Oxy]

It is legal to stream MLB.tv from IP addresses outside local blackout zones.

 

That might be the answer. Anybody use NORDVPN or one of those other IP Address "scramblers"? Is that less legal than using the sites that pirate/bootleg a feed?

[owbc]

It is legal to stream MLB.tv from IP addresses outside local blackout zones.

 

That might be the answer. Anybody use NORDVPN or one of those other IP Address "scramblers"? Is that less legal than using the sites that pirate/bootleg a feed?

 

It was noted earlier in this thread that MLB.tv is pretty good at blocking VPNs. Not sure if these other scramblers work.

 

As much as I talk up bootlegged streams I actually pay for MLB.tv since I'm out-of-market for the Brewers. But if I want to watch my local MLB team I have to do that on a bootlegged feed, even though I'm paying for MLB.tv. So absurd.