Ways to watch games

[celts55]

Please move if this is in the wrong place.

I have 2 issues I’m trying to get help with

One is it’s time to get rid of Xfinity. It’s too expensive, and besides Celtics games and ESPN, I spend most of my TV time watching Nexflix, Hulu, etc.

Two is, I will be leaving New England for the winter and want to be able to watch games while in New Orleans.

I see there are many posters would live in other places and would hopefully be able to make some suggestions. I’m old, so the streaming thing is all new to me.

Thanks in advance

[Goldstar88]

NBA League Pass would be your best bet. It’s $99.99 for the season. Just have to go online and order, create a user ID and password and then Download the NBA app on your smart tv/streaming device like you did for Netflix, Hulu, etc.

[timpiker]

I too have had League Pass for a few years.  I do have just the C's option because I couldn't care less about any other team.  Its better than it used to be.  It used to be slow as hell and constantly pixelate.  Or whatever you call it.

[nickagneta]

I stream off reddit and other type sites, being out of the Boston area. I do it on my tablet in a web casting browser and cast the game to my TV. It's free. Sometimes I have to watch the to opposing team's feed, but that can be interesting. You get to see what other cities think of the Celtics and their players.

Just goggle "NBA buffstreamz". It will give you 3-4 site options to try to stream from. You will need to try them all out to see which works best for you.

[Yuckabuck33]

NBA League Pass would be your best bet. It’s $99.99 for the season. Just have to go online and order, create a user ID and password and then Download the NBA app on your smart tv/streaming device like you did for Netflix, Hulu, etc.

Except League Pass requires you to have some kind of cable subscription, so it's unavailable to cord cutters like me. (I assume this is because the league has tied its fate and salary cap to cable networks that are on the way out.) I only got to buy League Pass last year ($17 a month for a Celtics only pkg) because I signed up with my girlfriend's DirectTV account. But she aint my girlfriend no more, so it's back to Reddit for me. So don't cancel Xfinity yet.

[Big333223]

I stream off reddit and other type sites, being out of the Boston area. I do it on my tablet in a web casting browser and cast the game to my TV. It's free. Sometimes I have to watch the to opposing team's feed, but that can be interesting. You get to see what other cities think of the Celtics and their players.

Just goggle "NBA buffstreamz". It will give you 3-4 site options to try to stream from. You will need to try them all out to see which works best for you.

I'm going to try this.

I would gladly pay the $90 for a season of Celtic games through league pass but since I live in Maine, I'm blacked out of Celtic games.

I paid for Hulu with live TV for 2 months so I could watch the playoffs last season and I'll probably do the same next spring but I'm not going to spend $70 a month for the year to only use it to watch Celtic games nor am I going to spend whatever cable costs to, once again, only use it to watch Celtic games.

The current media landscape is pretty frustrating.

[kraidstar]

Please move if this is in the wrong place.

I have 2 issues I’m trying to get help with

One is it’s time to get rid of Xfinity. It’s too expensive, and besides Celtics games and ESPN, I spend most of my TV time watching Nexflix, Hulu, etc.

Two is, I will be leaving New England for the winter and want to be able to watch games while in New Orleans.

I see there are many posters would live in other places and would hopefully be able to make some suggestions. I’m old, so the streaming thing is all new to me.

Thanks in advance

You have 3 options:

1. Free sites ( as Nick mentioned). These have sketchy popups, make sure to have AdblockPlus and  Web of Trust installed in your browser.

2. Easiest Legal Option - Youtube TV ($65 per month, for when you're in New England) + NBA League Pass ($15 per month, for when you're outside New England)

3. Cheapest, but Trickier Legal Option - NBA League Pass ($15) + a VPN subscription ($5-$8 per month, for when you're in New England)

Youtube TV imo is better than cable. It runs on Roku, a Smart TV, a tablet, computer, phone, etc. DVR is unlimited and easy to use. The feed is snappy too.

It has NBC Sports Boston, but only if you are in New England. It does NOT include NESN, sadly. But it has every other cable channel you'd want. If NESN is a must you can get Fubo TV instead. It's an inferior platform but includes both local sports networks.

For streaming outside of New England, I would use NBA League Pass. You can watch Celtics games while you're away, but NOT in New England due to their stupid blackout rules.

If you have a bit of tech skill you could buy a VPN subscription and use League Pass in New England, too. It's an app you install on your phone or computer but does NOT work on Roku or Smart TVs. A VPN disguises your IP address and makes it look like you're in another state/country, which bypasses the blackouts. It's not hard to set up, it sounds much more intimidating than it actually is. It will run you another $5 or so per month.  I recommend NordVpn. Works great to bypass blackouts on mlb.tv (red sox) and espn+ (bruins), it will work for NBA League Pass as well.

Btw I just saw NESN recently rolled out a new ala carte app. You can finally stream the Sox and Bruins in-market without cable. But it's $30 a month. Yikes.

[celts55]

NBA League Pass would be your best bet. It’s $99.99 for the season. Just have to go online and order, create a user ID and password and then Download the NBA app on your smart tv/streaming device like you did for Netflix, Hulu, etc.

Do you have to have a streaming service to get league pass? Can I get it through Amazon Prime or Hulu?
Thanks

[Goldstar88]

NBA League Pass would be your best bet. It’s $99.99 for the season. Just have to go online and order, create a user ID and password and then Download the NBA app on your smart tv/streaming device like you did for Netflix, Hulu, etc.

Do you have to have a streaming service to get league pass? Can I get it through Amazon Prime or Hulu?
Thanks

You do not need to have a streaming service to get league pass. Just internet and a device that allows you to download the NBA app. I do not believe you can get it through Amazon or Hulu.

[caffeinated]

I had been paying Comcast around $245 a month for quite a while when I decided to cut (video) ties with them a few years ago.  They're still my ISP, but for TV entertainment I currently subscribe to DirecTV Now, on their "Just Right" package for $95/month.  That gets me NBCSN and NESN for local sports, plus another 80-ish channels.  I'm in NH, BTW.

Maybe worth looking into?

[kraidstar]

NBA League Pass would be your best bet. It’s $99.99 for the season. Just have to go online and order, create a user ID and password and then Download the NBA app on your smart tv/streaming device like you did for Netflix, Hulu, etc.

Do you have to have a streaming service to get league pass? Can I get it through Amazon Prime or Hulu?
Thanks

You do not need to have a streaming service to get league pass. Just internet and a device that allows you to download the NBA app. I do not believe you can get it through Amazon or Hulu.

Yeah, it's just a solo app that you get on your smart tv/roku/ tablet/phone/computer/xbox etc. It works on a lot of different devices. Personally, I highly recommend a roku. They run nice and speedy.

League Pass is currently having a 7-day free trial.

https://www.nba.com/watch/league-pass-stream

[Yuckabuck33]

NBA League Pass would be your best bet. It’s $99.99 for the season. Just have to go online and order, create a user ID and password and then Download the NBA app on your smart tv/streaming device like you did for Netflix, Hulu, etc.

Do you have to have a streaming service to get league pass? Can I get it through Amazon Prime or Hulu?
Thanks

You do not need to have a streaming service to get league pass. Just internet and a device that allows you to download the NBA app. I do not believe you can get it through Amazon or Hulu.

Every year for the last 5 years that I have tried to sign up for it, I have been blocked when I could not enter a cable provider.. I assume that it is the same this year but I have not looked yet.

[Goldstar88]

NBA League Pass would be your best bet. It’s $99.99 for the season. Just have to go online and order, create a user ID and password and then Download the NBA app on your smart tv/streaming device like you did for Netflix, Hulu, etc.

Do you have to have a streaming service to get league pass? Can I get it through Amazon Prime or Hulu?
Thanks

You do not need to have a streaming service to get league pass. Just internet and a device that allows you to download the NBA app. I do not believe you can get it through Amazon or Hulu.

Every year for the last 5 years that I have tried to sign up for it, I have been blocked when I could not enter a cable provider.. I assume that it is the same this year but I have not looked yet.

Pretty sure that you have to enter a cable provider to access NBA TV, not League Pass.

[jpotter33]

NBA League Pass would be your best bet. It’s $99.99 for the season. Just have to go online and order, create a user ID and password and then Download the NBA app on your smart tv/streaming device like you did for Netflix, Hulu, etc.

Do you have to have a streaming service to get league pass? Can I get it through Amazon Prime or Hulu?
Thanks

You do not need to have a streaming service to get league pass. Just internet and a device that allows you to download the NBA app. I do not believe you can get it through Amazon or Hulu.

Every year for the last 5 years that I have tried to sign up for it, I have been blocked when I could not enter a cable provider.. I assume that it is the same this year but I have not looked yet.

Pretty sure that you have to enter a cable provider to access NBA TV, not League Pass.

Not this year. They combined to give NBA TV with NBA League Pass again. I only have Hulu Live and the other streaming services, but I was watching the Mavs-Nets game the other night on NBA TV through my League Pass account. This is the best value and service they've ever had, I think.

Yuckabuck - I just signed up for League Pass through my NBA.com account. Then you just download the NBA app on whatever device you're wanting to watch it on, sign in, and then you have access to League Pass.

The only crap thing about it is that Samsung Smart Tvs and a few others don't have the actual NBA app available, so I have to have a Roku device on my smart tv to watch NBA League Pass on it.

[feckless]

I live in upstate New York but signed up for Youtube TV using a Western Mass Zip Code and  last year and so far this year I get NBC Sports Boston.  Plus Local Channels for Albany and Western Mass.  all for $65 a month.