Streaming NHL Hockey Simplified

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IN THIS ISSUE:

  • ⚾ MLB Postseason streaming struggles

  • 📺 ESPN+ testing new ways to watch all the sports

  • 🥊 Boxing’s busy weekend

The Main Event: Streaming NHL Hockey Simplified

Let’s try to simplify streaming NHL hockey. This one will be a breeze.

NHL and Live TV Streaming Services

If you don’t have cable TV or satellite, you can still watch NHL hockey games all season long. A live TV streaming service is a good way to get nationally broadcast hockey games. Which one is the best for the NHL?

To make this easier to understand, I created a chart that shows which live TV stream services carry each of the five channels that regularly have NHL hockey games.

Credit: Roy Delgado

Sling TV only lacks ABC games in their app, but with ESPN3 you can stream those games in the ESPN app using your Sling TV login. Score!

YouTube TV and Hulu with Live TV have the big four national networks with hockey coverage, but they are missing the NHL Network.

FuboTV and Vidgo are both poor options for NHL fans, missing national games on TNT and TBS. DirecTV Stream can give fans all the channels, but it will cost more than double compared to Sling TV.

The best live TV streaming service for NHL hockey is Sling TV. The service has

  • Coverage for national NHL channels

  • NHL Network on Sports Extra

  • A lower cost compared to other Live TV services

NHL and local team streaming

The one thing Sling TV lacks for hockey is local coverage through regional sports networks. RSN coverage on live TV streaming services has gotten complicated.

If watching your home team is the priority, your best bet is to either

  • check each service for your local channel -or-

  • subscribe to a RSN streaming service if available.

Here are four RSN streaming services that offer local NHL hockey games online:

The Best Way to Stream NHL Hockey

There is a much better way to stream NHL hockey for most fans, especially if you don’t live close to your favorite team. ESPN+ is the best streaming service for NHL hockey, especially now that they have ESPN+ Power Play.

ESPN+ Power Play will stream

  • Over 50 exclusive ESPN+ Hockey Night games

  • Simulcasts of ABC and ESPN hockey games

  • Over 1,000 live out-of-market hockey games

  • Replays of every NHL regular season and playoff game

  • All included in the regular $10 per month price

This is by far the best and cheapest way for a hockey fan to get their NHL fix. The cost for ESPN+ for the entire season is less than the cost of one month of most live TV streaming services.

If only streaming every sports league could be this simple.

The Fast Break:

⚾ MLB playoffs streaming easy in U.S.; trouble overseas

The MLB Postseason is in full swing, with the Division Series set to start this week. Here in the U.S., streaming the MLB Postseason without cable is easy, with all the remaining games on just three channels; Fox, TBS and FS1.

While almost any Live TV Streaming Service would have you covered, Sling TV shines as the best and cheapest option.

  • $35 to stream every remaining MLB game

  • That includes the World Series

  • Be sure to confirm that Sling has your local Fox channel

Things aren’t going so well for baseball fans internationally, who just found out they have to pay more for the playoffs unexpectedly.

Until this year, the international MLB.TV included every game including the MLB Postseason. Now, the MLB playoffs are blacked out of MLB.TV, and fans need to find a local broadcast — and pay more. Worst of all, fans found out right as the playoff games started.

  • In the U.K., MLB.TV cost £126 ($140) for 2022

  • U.K. fans need to subscribe to BT Sport for MLB Postseason

  • BT Sport Pass streaming costs £25 ($28) per month

📺ESPN+ innovates with new ways to watch sports

There is a great feature article by Dade Hayes of Deadline about ESPN’s migration to streaming, and the whole thing is worth reading.

  • The ESPN App on XBox and Apple TV offers a multicast feature, with up to four streams of ESPN+, ESPN3, or ESPN networks all at once.

  • A test version of PGA Tour Live has included a “whip-around” feed that shows fans the best action from different holes.

  • ESPN+ streamed 22,000 live events last year.

  • ESPN+ streamed 52 live college football games on Sept. 17

ESPN executives also say that more curated “whip-around” coverage could be coming in the future.

What fans really need is a streaming device that can offer a multicast four-streams feature that can mix streams from different apps. I want NFL from Paramount+, World Cup from Peacock and NHL from ESPN+ on one screen!

🥊 Boxing’s busy weekend on streaming

Boxing has a very busy weekend coming up, with three major events available for streaming all on Saturday, October 15.

First up in the afternoon is Shields vs. Marshall.

  • Claressa Shields looks to become undisputed champion against Savannah Marshall.

  • Mikaela Mayer faces Alycia Baumgardner in a title unification fight.

  • Shields vs. Marshall streams on ESPN+ starting at 2:30 pm.

Then Haney vs. Kambosos Jr. 2 is live from Australia.

The boxing night finishes with Wilder vs Helenius on Fox PPV and PPV.com.

  • Deontay Wilder returns after his trilogy of heavyweight title fights against Tyson Fury.

  • This event starts streaming at 9 p.m., and the main event is expected around midnight.

Watch. Learn. Stream.

I Watched:

I Learned:

The revolution may not be televised, but everything is going to be streaming eventually. Even footage from a closed practice by an NBA team, as TMZ Sports posted leaked video of the fight between Draymond Green and Jordan Poole online.

I’ll Be Streaming: 

  • Monday Night Football, but not this week’s awful Thursday Night game. Even I have my limits.

  • The MLB Postseason.

  • Lots of boxing this weekend. I’ll be cheering on Claressa Shields.

Gratitude

Thank you for reading this week’s Streaming Sports Newsletter.

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