Hockey Fans - can you get rid of cable?

[Deleted]

Me and DH are basically over paying comcast a million dollars a month and are considering a switch to Century Link internet ($19.99 / month for 5 years) and some combo of Netflix and hulu or something.  BUT we are die hard hockey fans and the real / only reason we pay for cable/DVR is to watch hockey games.  Is there a way to cancel cable and still watch sports?  DH works crazy hours and we have 2 little boys so "going to a bar" or something like that to watch the games every other night is not an option.  It looks to me like the NHL streaming packages online are only for out of market games but I'm not sure if I'm missing something.  Not watching hockey is not an option as it's basically our only form of entertainment.  We are lame.  Sigh.

[mbcdefg]

It looks like you can watch full games on Hulu, but it looks like they might not be live and you can't watch on mobile: www.hulu.com/nhl-games

[FWP]

Not that I have found.

Last season we were pretty busy so we went to the local sports bar occasionally to watch the games and have dinner, although I see that's not an option for you.

[mrssandro]

We got the basic of basic, meaning the 5 local channels. We pay $10. No DVR or anything else. DH can still watch NFL this way.

[Velar Fricative]

We haven't found a way yet. The only way it could work is if H and I were fans of a non-local team, because then a package like Center Ice wouldn't block our team. But we are fans of one of our local teams so we'd be screwed if we gave up cable.

There is internet streaming from European websites that we did temporarily when our cable company was in a dispute with the channel that airs most of the local hockey team games, but the quality is poor.

Sorry, it really sucks to be a sports fan and not much of a TV watcher aside from sports.

[abramos]

Yah, I am right there with you. We have had no such luck of trying to get rid of cable. The best option is to say you want to cancel or go to a competitor and they may give you a discount. Sorry.

[keweenawlove]

I haven't found a way. Most games we get are through NBCSN or Fox Sports. Can you even get Center Ice one it's own? DH wanted it and we ended up canceling cable for DirectTV because that was the only way we could get it.

[swagger]

Nope. It's non-negotiable in this household. -signed, the girl that watched 4 games yesterday and is gearing up for another few today

[rachelgreen]

Being transplanted Chicagoans, DH has found some less than legal streaming feeds and we hook up our laptop to the tv. The quality is poor 99% of the time and they're usually Canadian channels. The commercials are always fun to watch. We still have cable though. We watch a lot of sports and we try to get as many of our hometown teams as we can.

Go Hawks!

[pinkdutchtulips]

Jan 21, 2013 13:33:53 GMT -5 swagger said:

Nope. It's non-negotiable in this household. -signed, the girl that watched 4 games yesterday and is gearing up for another few today

i watched 2 ... my Flyers were somehow the GAME of the week ?!? and i caught a shortened 'replay' of the Sharks/Flames last night .. man it felt good to watch it again. couldn't have come at a better time to get from the Super Bowl to NFL training camp

[audette]

Get a VPN setup so you're using a Canadian IP address, and stream the games from Canada. We haven't tested this, but even with cable here, nhl is likely to have very limited coverage for us...

[Deleted]

Jan 21, 2013 13:33:53 GMT -5 swagger said:

Nope. It's non-negotiable in this household. -signed, the girl that watched 4 games yesterday and is gearing up for another few today

haha.  Seriously.  We live in Minnesota - H is a native, I'm a transplant who has come to love hockey  It's non negotiable here - especially since the Wild scored Parise and Suter this summer.  Woop Woop!  haha.  

[mbcdefg]

Jan 21, 2013 16:54:31 GMT -5 @sirsleepsalot said:

Jan 21, 2013 13:33:53 GMT -5 swagger said:

Nope. It's non-negotiable in this household. -signed, the girl that watched 4 games yesterday and is gearing up for another few today

haha.  Seriously.  We live in Minnesota - H is a native, I'm a transplant who has come to love hockey  It's non negotiable here - especially since the Wild scored Parise and Suter this summer.  Woop Woop!  haha.  

I can't tell you how many red #9 tattoos with devil horns that I've seen on girls (online, at least). D'oh!

[kadams767]

Nope. It's the only reason we keep cable.

[dukesilver]

We don't have cable but are big hockey fans. We are using Hockey Streams. I'm pretty sure it is run by two guys in a basement in Canada somewhere, and it is of somewhat questionable legality but the quality is pretty decent (we stream through our Roku) and it costs less than cable. Plus, unlike NHL game center there are no local blackouts and we'll get to see the playoffs.

[ohbirdie]

I am not sure what the specs are, but we are in the same boat. DH downloaded something yesterday through the Xbox that allows us to watch games. I am not sure what it is called. However, one of the games was a blackout last night so we couldn't watch it. Last year, he downloaded something on the computer so he watched them all online. Sorry for being so vague.

[puppyluv]

Jan 21, 2013 13:50:32 GMT -5 rachelgreen said:

Being transplanted Chicagoans, DH has found some less than legal streaming feeds and we hook up our laptop to the tv. The quality is poor 99% of the time and they're usually Canadian channels. The commercials are always fun to watch. We still have cable though. We watch a lot of sports and we try to get as many of our hometown teams as we can.

Go Hawks!

We also stream through not so legal sites to watch hockey. After we got rid of cable we bought a computer specifically to hook up to the tv. It allows us to watch Hulu, Netflix, or anything from the internet on the tv. Also, because our parents have cable/satelite, we can use their passwords to watch a lot of tv stations live online like CNN and Big10 network. Its not HD quality, but it works. 

[Deleted]

Jan 21, 2013 17:01:10 GMT -5 mbcdefg said:

Jan 21, 2013 16:54:31 GMT -5 @sirsleepsalot said:

haha.  Seriously.  We live in Minnesota - H is a native, I'm a transplant who has come to love hockey  It's non negotiable here - especially since the Wild scored Parise and Suter this summer.  Woop Woop!  haha.  

I can't tell you how many red #9 tattoos with devil horns that I've seen on girls (online, at least). D'oh!

haha yikes!  He's not even #9 anymore so those tattoos are total fails.  

[Deleted]

DH watches live via antenna or finds clips on NHL.com.

He will also go to his dad's house to watch, but they enjoy watching sports together.