Post by jgrout on Dec 12, 2016 10:56:26 GMT -5
Since a lot of misinformation... and a lot of unauthorized password sharing... has been going on here, I thought I'd post some facts about this week's coverage and how to watch replays of last week's action and (once it is complete) this week's action.
If you don't have ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPN3 on your cable, there are ways to get it with a decent enough Internet connection for video... some of them are legal and free (with a credit card, as part of a seven-day free trial of Sling, which is especially valuable if you want to use portable devices or set-top boxes to watch).
ESPN, ESPN2 (live coverage of all remaining matches):
If you have ESPN or ESPN2 on your cable or satellite, and your provider is part of WatchESPN... which requires (a) being able to authenticate users and (b) being able to tell which channels a user has paid for... you can watch it on your PC, Mac, portable device or set-top box using WatchESPN. Note that you can only watch the channels that are on your cable package.
Here is a list of WatchESPN Affiliates:
WatchESPN Affiliate List
ESPN3 (replays of all regional and national matches):
Many cable Internet companies without online account management will let you watch ESPN3 on your PC or Mac connected to their network without you having to have any cable TV at all (see link below). They cannot do online authentication, so they use network-based authentication instead. All PCs and Macs accessing the Internet from an .edu or .mil domain have free access too... ESPN always does a reverse DNS lookup and simply grants a PC or Mac if it comes back from one of those domains.
However, some ISPs who have online account management may choose to authenticate ESPN3 access that way. That is the only way to get ESPN3 if you are not on your home network.
If you want to watch on your portable device or set-top box, you need WatchESPN: this is annoying, but at least ESPN3 is included if you have any ESPN network on your cable. For example, this means that Sling Orange has ESPN3 access (it comes with ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN3) but Sling Blue does not (it has no ESPN networks).
Here is a list of ISPs that provide ESPN3 access:
ESPN3 Affiliate List
Cable-Cutter Options:
There are a number of Internet TV packages that work with any ISP. The one getting the most press is Sling, which has two different packages (Orange and Blue) and one can also get both together. Sling Orange is the sports-oriented package, as it comes with ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN3 (and WatchESPN) and you can add on channels like ESPNU.
Sling offers a seven-day free trial with a credit card (which will be charged if you do not cancel in time). Note that you must use their Web site on a PC or Mac or their app on a portable device or set-top box (ESPN networks are an exception... you can watch those on the WatchESPN web site or app with your Sling userid and password). Note that Sling Orange will not allow more than one simultaneous stream using the same userid and password.... share your password and your buddies can lock you out, leaving you high and dry.
Here is the sign-up page. Note that the trial comes with all channels, but you should specify what you might actually want (once the trial expires), because that will determine how much they bill you if you don't cancel.
Sling Trial
Note that if you want to make a longer-term commitment to Sling, you can get heavily-discounted (or free) set-top boxes as a sign-up bonus.
If you don't have ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPN3 on your cable, there are ways to get it with a decent enough Internet connection for video... some of them are legal and free (with a credit card, as part of a seven-day free trial of Sling, which is especially valuable if you want to use portable devices or set-top boxes to watch).
ESPN, ESPN2 (live coverage of all remaining matches):
If you have ESPN or ESPN2 on your cable or satellite, and your provider is part of WatchESPN... which requires (a) being able to authenticate users and (b) being able to tell which channels a user has paid for... you can watch it on your PC, Mac, portable device or set-top box using WatchESPN. Note that you can only watch the channels that are on your cable package.
Here is a list of WatchESPN Affiliates:
WatchESPN Affiliate List
ESPN3 (replays of all regional and national matches):
Many cable Internet companies without online account management will let you watch ESPN3 on your PC or Mac connected to their network without you having to have any cable TV at all (see link below). They cannot do online authentication, so they use network-based authentication instead. All PCs and Macs accessing the Internet from an .edu or .mil domain have free access too... ESPN always does a reverse DNS lookup and simply grants a PC or Mac if it comes back from one of those domains.
However, some ISPs who have online account management may choose to authenticate ESPN3 access that way. That is the only way to get ESPN3 if you are not on your home network.
If you want to watch on your portable device or set-top box, you need WatchESPN: this is annoying, but at least ESPN3 is included if you have any ESPN network on your cable. For example, this means that Sling Orange has ESPN3 access (it comes with ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN3) but Sling Blue does not (it has no ESPN networks).
Here is a list of ISPs that provide ESPN3 access:
ESPN3 Affiliate List
Cable-Cutter Options:
There are a number of Internet TV packages that work with any ISP. The one getting the most press is Sling, which has two different packages (Orange and Blue) and one can also get both together. Sling Orange is the sports-oriented package, as it comes with ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN3 (and WatchESPN) and you can add on channels like ESPNU.
Sling offers a seven-day free trial with a credit card (which will be charged if you do not cancel in time). Note that you must use their Web site on a PC or Mac or their app on a portable device or set-top box (ESPN networks are an exception... you can watch those on the WatchESPN web site or app with your Sling userid and password). Note that Sling Orange will not allow more than one simultaneous stream using the same userid and password.... share your password and your buddies can lock you out, leaving you high and dry.
Here is the sign-up page. Note that the trial comes with all channels, but you should specify what you might actually want (once the trial expires), because that will determine how much they bill you if you don't cancel.
Sling Trial
Note that if you want to make a longer-term commitment to Sling, you can get heavily-discounted (or free) set-top boxes as a sign-up bonus.
