Bally’s Sports+

1tinsoldier

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ESPN has their own streaming for $10 but, apparently, TNT doesn't
so it looks like the cheapest path is
Bally's $20 + Sling Orange for $35 (for TNT and ESPN)
ABC is free via antenna (along with 120 other HD channels, btw)
 

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ESPN has their own streaming for $10 but, apparently, TNT doesn't
so it looks like the cheapest path is
Bally's $20 + Sling Orange for $35 (for TNT and ESPN)
ABC is free via antenna (along with 120 other HD channels, btw)

ESPN+ doesn't air regular cable broadcasts from ESPN. ESPN+ is essentially useless if you're not a fan of the NHL or college sports. The NBA coverage is terrible although they seem to be putting the majority of their web content under the + banner but that doesn't mean it's worth paying for.
 

Phrazbit

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If you drop 20 bucks for Bally's streaming service are you only going to get the local "Bally Arizona" or will you get all of the regional Ballys. Because THAT would have actual value, like how DirectTV's sports package used to come with every localities Fox Sports feed, basically giving you half of what you'd have to pay for if you wanted the NBA package.

EDIT: No... you won't, just looked into it. So, anyone who lives outside of Arizona, don't consider getting Bally+ in an effort to get Suns games, because you'll only have access to your closest Bally's network.



... but a VPN might get around all that... hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...
 

Yuma

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ESPN has their own streaming for $10 but, apparently, TNT doesn't
so it looks like the cheapest path is
Bally's $20 + Sling Orange for $35 (for TNT and ESPN)
ABC is free via antenna (along with 120 other HD channels, btw)
I am in Laveen. I hooked an indoor Antenna to my old LED TV and only got like 6 channels and they were all old stuff. I think maybe I did get ABC. I didn't see anything like 120 channels. Are you using a big attic antennae?
 

1tinsoldier

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I am in Laveen. I hooked an indoor Antenna to my old LED TV and only got like 6 channels and they were all old stuff. I think maybe I did get ABC. I didn't see anything like 120 channels. Are you using a big attic antennae?

6 sounds about right for what's left of non-digital broadcasts. Your TV needs to be digital ready, which any tv bought in the past 12 or so years should be -- otherwise, they sell digital converter boxes for around 30 bucks.

i do, in fact, have an outdoor antenna, indoors, hooked up in my attic. But even with a small portable antenna hooked up in the room you should still be pulling in over 80 channels, but it does depend on how close the broadcast tower is to Laveen (and if there are any major obstructions, like mountains). Find out where the tower is and point your antenna in that direction.

air TV plus Netflix suffices for me, but it looks like it will take $55 a month to just watch the Suns games

if you don't want to be a DirectTV subscriber ($69 minimum) you have to figure out who's got the broadcasts and how to get them and there's no clear, concise information available because the contracts keep changing

5 sources to keep track of between Bally's, ESPN, TNT, ABC, and NBA.tv/League pass
 
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Phrazbit

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6 sounds about right for what's left of non-digital broadcasts. Your TV needs to be digital ready, which any tv bought in the past 12 or so years should be -- otherwise, they sell digital converter boxes for around 30 bucks.

i do, in fact, have an outdoor antenna, indoors, hooked up in my attic. But even with a small portable antenna hooked up in the room you should still be pulling in over 80 channels, but it does depend on how close the broadcast tower is to Laveen (and if there are any major obstructions, like mountains). Find out where the tower is and point your antenna in that direction.

air TV plus Netflix suffices for me, but it looks like it will take $55 a month to just watch the Suns games

if you don't want to be a DirectTV subscriber ($69 minimum) you have to figure out who's got the broadcasts and how to get them and there's no clear, concise information available because the contracts keep changing

5 sources to keep track of between Bally's, ESPN, TNT, ABC, and NBA.tv/League pass
If you live in AZ then ballys will carry every game… until the playoffs.
 

1tinsoldier

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If you live in AZ then ballys will carry every game… until the playoffs.

your source? i can't find any information that verifies that.

Looking at the NBA schedule, for example, the Mavs game is only listed as ESPN and the Warriors game is only TNT
 

Phrazbit

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your source? i can't find any information that verifies that.

Looking at the NBA schedule, for example, the Mavs game is only listed as ESPN and the Warriors game is only TNT
It was the case last year. They air every regular season game, some are just also carried on a national station.

Anyone here still get the physical newspaper? That would confirm it. In the sports section they always list all the broadcasts. I am 99.9% sure the mavs game will be on Bally.
 
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1tinsoldier

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It was the case last year. They air every regular season game, some are just also carried on a national station.

Anyone here still gets the physical newspaper? That would confirm it. In the sports section they always lost all the broadcasts. I am 99.9% sure the mavs game will be on Bally.
i think you are partly right
last year i do recall SOME Suns games that were listed as ESPN or TNT that were simultaneously broadcasted on Bally's but not all. You could never tell until the last minute.

probably, strategically not co-listed purposely as part of the ESPN/TNT deal

but with Bally's now with their own streaming service, they definitely should not be skipping regular season games. But who knows? not us when we sign up. There's a hard-ball game within the game going on and we're always losing
 
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1tinsoldier

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the NBA broadcast situation is a greedy, sloppy, mess
all because of the never ending pursuit of maximizing profits off of fans
with no regard for how it's limiting, complicating and diminishing the fan experience


and it's a direct result of an ever increasing arms race (salary cap increases) between the teams to acquire the best players while those millionaires and their agents keep pushing for mega millions more (max, super-max, super-duper max, ultra-max, ultra-maxed ribbed, etc..)

players and owners should structure the sport as profit-sharing -- capped! so that fans can benefit too.
then everyone wins!
the more fans the league gets the more everyone makes, and the fees for fans would actually decrease with more fan volume

and players' and owners would still be mega-millionaires but with one less vacation home and sports car in the garage
 

Phrazbit

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i think you are partly right
last year i do recall SOME Suns games that were listed as ESPN or TNT that were simultaneously broadcasted on Bally's but not all. You could never tell until the last minute.

probably, strategically not co-listed purposely as part of the ESPN/TNT deal

but with Bally's now with their own streaming service, they definitely should not be skipping regular season games. But who knows? not us when we sign up. There's a hard-ball game within the game going on and we're always losing

Well, at least these streaming services don't require you to sign up for more than one month at a time. If it's a rip off you can bail without too much damage.

The NBA as a whole should be furious with what Bally's has done since buying up Fox Sports. Their goal should be to be as accessible as possible, especially the local markets.
 

Phrazbit

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The games I remember being blacked out locally were the NBATV games. You couldn't watch the Suns on NBATV because they were using the Bally broadcast, so you had to watch it on Bally.
 
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1tinsoldier

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Well, at least these streaming services don't require you to sign up for more than one month at a time.
true. but it's still offensive that they're not even making an attempt to tell consumers what we'll get and we may have to scramble for another service at the last minute or miss games
 

1tinsoldier

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further illustration of the problem:
i could acquire the exclusive right to NBA games by paying a billion more than anyone else for the contract and still profit by passing the expense on to fans by charging more for access -- because fans have no choice. i'm a monopoly

of course, it's not just the NBA. inflation now is a combination of unregulated monopolies and a domino effect of other businesses taking advantage of issues that started with the covid crisis to move prices at the same time and milk consumers for record profits. because they can

the solution, in all cases, is profit sharing -- owners, players, employees
the more successful a team is, the more ad money it generates and it's divided up between owners, players, and employees, with the star players still reaping the higher profit percentages

(thinking out loud)
but won't the best players would always sign in the best markets (LA, NY, etc..)?


make the player profit sharing also a percentage of the total NBA revenues
say, a Booker gets a higher percentage for being All-NBA, an All-Star, team winning percentage, etc..
and that changes every year based on performance

but won't player's pad stats for rewards?

put the reward focus on team stats more than individual stats

as for the medium? the NBA should go back back to no fee, commercial revenues
(it still works for the NFL and no one misses a game!)
 
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Proximo

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It was the case last year. They air every regular season game, some are just also carried on a national station.

Anyone here still get the physical newspaper? That would confirm it. In the sports section they always list all the broadcasts. I am 99.9% sure the mavs game will be on Bally.
No, that is not correct. There were absolutely games Bally's did not show last year.

I know for certain TNT has exclusive rights to all their Thursday games at a minimum.

Also tonight's game sure seems to be exclusive to ESPN.
 

1tinsoldier

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No, that is not correct. There were absolutely games Bally's did not show last year.

I know for certain TNT has exclusive rights to all their Thursday games at a minimum.

Also tonight's game sure seems to be exclusive to ESPN.

yes. i concur. i think. but, again, amazing that it's a guessing game
 

Mainstreet

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I find Suns.com is the best source for schedule information. See link below.

 

1tinsoldier

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I find Suns.com is the best source for schedule information. See link below.

no. it's not. i know the majority here are avid sports fans who pay whatever it takes, so the "where to watch" is not something they have to think about. But, again, no one has accurate, "where to watch" information including suns.com/nba.com
 

Mainstreet

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no. it's not. i know the majority here are avid sports fans who pay whatever it takes, so the "where to watch" is not something they have to think about. But, again, no one has accurate, "where to watch" information including suns.com/nba.com

The information is accurate for those who live in the right area. That's the problem. One has live where the games are not blacked out.

I get all the regular season games, but I watch Bally Sports Arizona and the national networks on DirecTV.
 

1tinsoldier

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yes, i'm speaking for all the Phx Suns fans, like myself, who live in the metro Phx area.

i'm not going to spend $490 (DirectTV stream x 7 months) for Suns games this year when I only had to spend a total of $140 on Sling 3 years ago
 

1tinsoldier

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so, can anyone tell me if the game was also available on Bally's (despite not being listed as such)?
 

Bada0Bing

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Well they're getting my $20/mo unfortunately. Everyone I know personally that watches suns games streams them for free. However, my wife gets irritated by the stream. Last year I switched from youtubetv to directtv streaming during the season, but I'm not doing that again because directtv streaming is awful. I'm just paying the $120 for the season so I can be done with it. The Ballys app had better work well!
 
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