The broadcasters of sports leagues – ESPN, Sky, Fox Sports, and others – continue investing money into broadcasting the major sport events. And they do this with great gusto: Sky has recently paid $6 billion for the privilege to show three years of Premiere League Football. ESPN has signed a lucrative 12-year deal with American Athletic Conference School whose annual worth is $83.3 million. Last year, Fox Sports and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) announced a five-year agreement to air WWE SmackDown in a deal worth $205 million per year. Yet despite their best efforts and large amounts of money splashed on broadcasting sport events, these companies lose their audiences. Less and less viewers switch on their televisions to root for their favorite teams. Digital technology effects a major shift in people’s tastes, from a traditional linear TV to streaming services online. People prefer watching movies, shows, and sport events streamed on the internet rather than presented on TV channels, because, with all technological innovations introduced by broadcasters, online streaming services are still far ahead of the technological game.
There are several advantages offered by streaming services that traditional broadcasters simply cannot provide to suit people’s much-altered viewing habits. The problems is that with the advent of the internet, people began to absorb data differently. Instead of concentrating on one piece of information, we divide our attention between multiple sources, constantly switching between various websites and channels. The downside of such multitasking is that we cannot retain our attention on one subject for long. To this new cognitive peculiarity of viewers, streaming services successfully cater by allowing them to watch bits of the movie or a game online. People do not need now to watch a four-hour game but can zero in on its most exciting moments.
Unlike traditional TV, online streaming services also give the audience an opportunity to engage more with its favorite teams, players, or events. The higher degree of viewers’ interaction is achieved through delivering multiple viewpoints simultaneously and providing instant replay. Among the most popular streaming services that enhance spectators’ experience in these ways are Sling TV, CBS Sports, ABC Live, Roku, NFL Mobile, to name only few of them. We are explaining differences between several of the companies below to help you choose the one that suits your needs better. All of the discussed services offer a rich arsenal of content, though many of them respect geo-restrictions, blocking your access to it, when you travel to another country. If you want to learn how to circumvent these geo-restrictions, read about the best VPN for ESPN, our first choice of the sport streaming services.
Indeed, ESPN is considered to be one of the best sources to watch sports without cable. A variety of sports it offers is impressive. You can watch all the major sports, including football, basketball, baseball, college sports, hockey, golf, tennis, MMA, NASCAR, and UFC Fight Nights. Note, however, that only some of the streams on ESPN.com are free of charge. For others, you would need to have a valid login from a qualifying cable or a satellite subscription. Another drawback is that ESPN only stream sports and games to which they have the rights. There is also ESPN+ that was released in April 2018. It offers additional sport content for only $5.99 per month. Games available on ESPN+ are daily NHL and MLB games, various PGA events, live boxing matches, and such sport events as cricket, rugby, and tennis. The company also has an on-demand library of past events.
Just as you can watch ESPN with Sling TV or HULU, so can you watch Live FOX Sports with these streaming services. Sling TV makes FS1 available through its “Blue Package.” It is not free, but you have one-week free trial to decide whether you want to invest money into these services or not. What you may find particularly convenient is that this package allows you access to all the FOX Regional Sports Channels. Among them are FOX Sports Ohio, FOX Sports Florida, FOX Sports Midwest, FOX Sports San Diego, and others. Yet remember that you need to live within the boundaries of these regions to enjoy their regional channels.
Those sport fans that enjoy watching college games can support their favorite team on College Sport Live. College Sport Live aims to entertain fans of different sports, featuring as many as 30 of them – softball, baseball, football, tennis, volleyball, and lacrosse, among others – and providing live games from more than 70 schools. Over the year, you will have an opportunity to watch as many as 15,000 live sport events, including NCAA Championship.
The basketball is best watched on FuboTV. It allows you to enjoy the NBA games without a cable. Though not the cheapest, FuboTV offers various additional perks that make its price worthwhile. You will pay $54.99 monthly, except for the first month of your subscription, when the price is 10 dollars less. To ensure your satisfaction with its services, the company gives you a 7-day free trial. The only downside of FuboTV is that, like other online streaming services, it imposes regional restrictions on its viewers, showing them different content. Fans of Utah Jazz, LA Lakes, and Toronto Raptors are in the worst position, since the regional sports networks having these teams are not available on streaming services. But these teams aside, the regional restrictions imposed by FuboTV can be overcome. By adding NBA League Pass through the FuboTV subscription for additional $28.99 per month, you will have access to all NBA teams outside your region.
Lovers of World Wrestling Entertainment can applaud the best wrestlers with the help of WWE Network in the Crossface Crippler. For as little as $9.99 a month, you will be able to access every WWE Pay Per View online, all live and scheduled programming, original series, documentaries, and replays of Raw and Smackdown. World Wrestling Entertainment can be watched on Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Xbox One & Xbox 360, and Playstation 3 & Playstation 4. If you have just subscribed to WWE Network, you will enjoy a one-month free trial, which will give you total access to every competition.
There are more ways to watch sports online, of course. But even if you choose only one of the five alternatives discussed above, you will have a thoroughly gratifying experience of your favorite team or sportsmen.
