Considering cutting the TV cable service, what are the pros and cons as it relates to watching the Kings?

King Baller

All-Star
We have cable TV at our house and we are considering cutting cable and just going with high speed internet and a smart TV. Has anyone done this on the Kings Fans board? If so how do you watch the Kings? I know nothing of League Pass or NBA TV but assume a subscription to one of those is the ticket?

I live in Modesto so I am close enough for a blackout if one exists.

Thanks in advance for the info,
KB
 
Yes....we did this. YouTube TV is an option and they broadcast the games on NBC Sports CA. Only problem is YouTube TV is getting close to the same price that cable, DirectTV, etc. is. I still do like it better though.
 
Yes....we did this. YouTube TV is an option and they broadcast the games on NBC Sports CA. Only problem is YouTube TV is getting close to the same price that cable, DirectTV, etc. is. I still do like it better though.

I also have YouTubeTV and find it quite an acceptable alternative. In fact I'm quite happy with it.

I'm surprised that you see YouTubeTV as being "close" in price to cable, as it is still half or less of what traditional cable (full price) would be for me, of course you might start with a promo that makes YTTV like 2/3 the price of cable but then get locked into a longer contract that goes up to full price after a year, with no guarantee that you can negotiate back down to a promo price.

YouTubeTV wasn't my first streaming service - I started with AT&T TV (which morphed into Direct TV Stream), but they forced me out due to price increases that basically equalled cable and had the same sort of long term contract. YTTV has no long term contract, it's month-to-month so if they do decide to jack up the price you can get out. The YTTV interface is a bit clunkier than Direct TV Stream (e.g. no way to page down on the guide) but it has some nice benefits like the ability to custom order your channels. And there are like 100+ channels, basically the full set you would get from cable. Literally the only channel I care about that is not on YTTV is the Pac12 Network, but that wasn't on Direct TV Stream either.

Due to the lack of Pac12 Network, I have also done month-to-month subscriptions of Sling during college basketball season. Sling is even cheaper than YTTV but has very limited channel lineups and apparently is now (or was very recently) in a negotiation war with the ESPN networks, so it might not be the best primary unless they've resolved that. It does carry NBC Sports Network California, though, so Kings games are on.

But for any of the three streaming services I've done, I've found the quality of the picture to actually be BETTER than cable. The "blackouts" are the same as cable, so if you would traditionally get Kings games in Modesto (I would think that's the case) then the streaming services will carry the games as well. NBA League Pass would almost certainly black out Kings games in Modesto, so a streaming service is the way to go.

The only issue I have at all with the streaming services is that there is a bit of a lag relative to cable/satellite. For live sports, it can be a pain if you are looking at a box score or if you have friends/family that text you during the game. It's kind of a variable lag, seems to be 5-10 seconds. But if you can live with that, then streaming is definitely the way to go in my opinion.
 
I really enjoyed YouTube TV while I had it. It was $35 when I started and I quit when they raised it to $65 at the start of the pandemic while adding a bunch of garbage I didn't want. Kind of defeated the whole idea and the reality is the only thing I needed it for was live sports (which were on hiatus when they bumped the price). But aside from the Pac-12 network it was the best of all services, best DVR of anything hands DOWN. I've heard some say if you sub to League Pass it's also better than the app, but I only have the app because I bought the 2k23 this year.

I'm a little sad they strayed from their original idea of no bloat low cost but I know Paramount/viacom sort of forced their hand. Still makes me angry. But if you need access to all these channels YTTV is still probably the best way.
 
I did this about 5 years ago with PS Vue, when that folded a couple years or so ago and then went with YTTV. 65/month... I add the sports package to get RedZone during the football season, then cancel it after (10/month).

My favorite part of YTTV is the Cloud DVR.
 
If you’re in the broadcast area for Sacramento, League Pass won’t be an option for Kings games. They’ll all be blacked out. A contract-free streaming TV service that you only pay for during the season might be your best option.
 
Another vote for YouTube tv. I switched from Sling because that service didn’t include local channels and Antenna didn’t work for local nbc half the time
 
Agree, YTTV is the way to go. If you hate it, cancel. No commitments. No hardware. Just a smart TV or Apple TV/Roku device needed.
 
Does anyone use Hulu + Live TV? We’re already paying for Hulu and Disney Plus, so it seems cheaper to go that route since it would cover those options as well.
 
I'm a fan of the Shield TV boxes for cord cutters.
Most everything is available out of the box, and you can sideload a browser. I don't know why you'd do that, but you can ;)
 
I got a superbox off Amazon. It has blue TV that has lots of channels including locals across the country. It has YES that worked for the Yankees. I think it has Kings station too.

I still have directv for nfl Sunday ticket , but that goes away after this year.
 
I had Hulu tv for awhile. It worked fine for the Kings, but lacked other channels we needed. I currently have Fubo tv. It also works for the Kings but lacks channels I like (TNT). If you have any of those services, you can add the NBCSports app. Login through your service and watch games at any time including days after the game.
 
If it wasn't for basketball, I wouldn't even have YTTV. Basically anything else I watch I could get one off subscriptions for.
 
Another vote for YTTV. For $65 a month, it allows you up to 6 household members to share 1 subscription account and unlimited DVR. My Dish bill was well over $100 for just two TV's.
 
Another vote for YTTV. For $65 a month, it allows you up to 6 household members to share 1 subscription account and unlimited DVR. My Dish bill was well over $100 for just two TV's.
6 accounts with their own favorites and DVRs and I think 3 concurrent streams. Which is pretty good. Another thing I really liked was when I went to Sacramento or what not I would get the Sac local stuff but still get my home stuff DVR'd though I think I had to wait until I was back in market to watch it.

If I had never gotten in on that $35 deal I'd probably be subbed now thinking it was a huge bargain. :D
 
You could get NBA League Pass and still get access to all of the Kings games. You just wouldn't get them live when they play in Sac (I think it's a 24 hr delay in access). Not ideal, but just sayin
 
Another vote for YouTubeTV. As stated earlier, you can have 3 simultaneous streams going at once, meaning you can share with 2 others and split the bill 3 ways. (About $23 apiece) This is what I do and it works out great.
 
Ok, so I activated league pass today, connected it through nba.com with YTTV but it’s not letting me watch games. Anyone have any ideas?
 
speaking of league pass, does one need a streaming service to watch games or can you watch on your laptop?
 
What does this mean exactly? You bought league pass via nba.com, and there was a way to connect it to your YTTV account?

Yes, it asks for your tv provider, you log into that provider and then it shows active in the nba.com site. But when I go to YTTV it still wants me to buy it. I signed up for the free trip just so I can watch tonight, but I might have to actually make a call tomorrow
 
Yes, it asks for your tv provider, you log into that provider and then it shows active in the nba.com site. But when I go to YTTV it still wants me to buy it. I signed up for the free trip just so I can watch tonight, but I might have to actually make a call tomorrow
Ah. Interesting. I’d have expected YTTV to require a purchase directly from them, since they price it out monthly. YT‘s interface does specify though that its for out-of-market games only.
 
Thanks for all the input. YTTV seems like a good thing to try out. What kind of taxes and fees do they add on top of the $65 cost?
 
Technically, you’re not cutting a cable just changing the one that feeds your television ;)

Unless, of course, your Internet connectivity is wireless.
it's funny the true cord cutters say that like its a path to enlightenment but since I ditched my OTT service I just started watching youtube videos to fill time/provide background noise and aside from being essentially free I have a lot of crappier ideas now.
 
it's funny the true cord cutters say that like its a path to enlightenment but since I ditched my OTT service I just started watching youtube videos to fill time/provide background noise and aside from being essentially free I have a lot of crappier ideas now.
Some shows you can watch for free on YouTube that I would recommend: 8 out of 10 Cats does Countdown & Would I like to you.
 
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