NBC Sports Bay Area, California and Washington Cut off April 1

[nyrfan1]

Just heard that NBC Sports Bay Area, California and Washington are being dropped on April 1.
That will probably be the end for my 25+ year association with DISH! I assume there is no way to watch these channels ala carte (streaming, etc.)
Ironically, I only got dish to increase sports on my TV when I could watch MSG, etc. in addition to local sports channels. Now they will soon all be gone!

 

[AlaJoe]

I thought NBC sports was shutting down the channel. You wont be able to get it anywhere.

 

[Juan]

I thought NBC sports was shutting down the channel. You wont be able to get it anywhere.

He is talking RSNs not nbcsports channel

 

[The Fat Man]

I'm surprised that it took this long. NBC Sports Boston was gone back when it was CSN New England. And, wasn't NBC Sports Chicago removed a while back?

 

[zippyfrog]

One thing I must say is more positive about this, if you can call it positive, is that both sides have stated publicly the channels will no longer be a part of Dish's lineup on April 1, and there isn't a bunch of ads saying "switch providers" or "call Dish" or a website dedicated to the channels about to be dropped that would change to "your channels have been dropped" on April 1. Maybe these companies understand Dish is going in a direction without the RSN's and have accepted it.

 

[Howard Simmons]

One thing I must say is more positive about this, if you can call it positive, is that both sides have stated publicly the channels will no longer be a part of Dish's lineup on April 1, and there isn't a bunch of ads saying "switch providers" or "call Dish" or a website dedicated to the channels about to be dropped that would change to "your channels have been dropped" on April 1. Maybe these companies understand Dish is going in a direction without the RSN's and have accepted it.

Wish they'd do that with Sinclair.

 

[Radioguy41]

One thing I must say is more positive about this, if you can call it positive, is that both sides have stated publicly the channels will no longer be a part of Dish's lineup on April 1, and there isn't a bunch of ads saying "switch providers" or "call Dish" or a website dedicated to the channels about to be dropped that would change to "your channels have been dropped" on April 1. Maybe these companies understand Dish is going in a direction without the RSN's and have accepted it.

That's because it's not a dispute, it is being killed off by NBC. The networks are going to streaming packages and if there were any value in the sports it would have been transitioned to the streaming package. It was not, it was killed off instead. That tells you they don't believe there's enough viewer interest to justify paying the exorbitant fees the sports entities demand . Comcast owns NBC and Comcast's history is to lock down sports to exclusive Comcast contracts so keep your eye out for future agreements between certain sports teams and the local Comcast entity for exclusive TV rights ala-Philadelphia Phillies.

 

[pattykay]

One thing I must say is more positive about this, if you can call it positive, is that both sides have stated publicly the channels will no longer be a part of Dish's lineup on April 1, and there isn't a bunch of ads saying "switch providers" or "call Dish" or a website dedicated to the channels about to be dropped that would change to "your channels have been dropped" on April 1. Maybe these companies understand Dish is going in a direction without the RSN's and have accepted it.

As I speculated in the other Comcast/Dish thread, it is possible that Dish and Comcast have already reached a long-term deal for all of the Comcast (NBC) channels that Dish will continue to carry going forward. (That deal was likely reached shortly before the change in the uplink report that restored the OTA guide data links to the satellite-delivered versions of the NBC-owned channels, and removed the separate guide data streams that had temporarily been uplinked for the OTA versions.) It is simply that these sports channels were not included in that contract. So, both sides agreed to simply let Dish's contract to carry these channels expire, and that is that.

 

[nyrfan1]

As I speculated in the other Comcast/Dish thread, it is possible that Dish and Comcast have already reached a long-term deal for all of the Comcast (NBC) channels that Dish will continue to carry going forward. (That deal was likely reached shortly before the change in the uplink report that restored the OTA guide data links to the satellite-delivered versions of the NBC-owned channels, and removed the separate guide data streams that had temporarily been uplinked for the OTA versions.) It is simply that these sports channels were not included in that contract. So, both sides agreed to simply let Dish's contract to carry these channels expire, and that is that.

Is there anyway to watch the games and not change providers, i.e. VPN with MLB.TV?

 

[pattykay]

Is there anyway to watch the games and not change providers, i.e. VPN with MLB.TV?

Subscribe to an out-of-market sports package (such as MLB Extra Innings) and "move" your service address to another team's market. You would still be blacked out whenever your team plays that other market's team, though. So try to pick a "moved" location where only one team has a claim, if you can find such an area.

 

[Bobby]

Subscribe to an out-of-market sports package (such as MLB Extra Innings) and "move" your service address to another team's market. You would still be blacked out whenever your team plays that other market's team, though. So try to pick a "moved" location where only one team has a claim, if you can find such an area.

But be prepared to lose your local channels when you do that.... Unless, of course, you have OTA locals.

 

[pattykay]

But be prepared to lose your local channels when you do that.... Unless, of course, you have OTA locals.

Yes, if you still need the satellite-delivered broadcast network feeds, then the best you could do is find a market where the local channels are on CONUS. That way, you could still receive the networks, even though they would be from another market. For example, Cincinnati locals are CONUS on Eastern Arc. So, as long as no other team claims Cincinnati as their home area, that would "solve" both problems. That is, except for whenever your team plays the Reds.

 

[The Fat Man]

Subscribe to an out-of-market sports package (such as MLB Extra Innings) and "move" your service address to another team's market. You would still be blacked out whenever your team plays that other market's team, though. So try to pick a "moved" location where only one team has a claim, if you can find such an area.

I've never tried that tactic, because where I live, the only viable market for sports is New York and Dish doesn't carry any New York city and state based RSNs. Plus, although I like the Mets and Rangers, I'm more of a Red Sox and Bruins fan.

 

[nyrfan1]

Yes, if you still need the satellite-delivered broadcast network feeds, then the best you could do is find a market where the local channels are on CONUS. That way, you could still receive the networks, even though they would be from another market. For example, Cincinnati locals are CONUS on Eastern Arc. So, as long as no other team claims Cincinnati as their home area, that would "solve" both problems. That is, except for whenever your team plays the Reds.

What about MLB.TV with a fire stick and using a VPN to change location

 

[pattykay]

What about MLB.TV with a fire stick and using a VPN to change location

I've never tried it, but I remember others reporting that it worked for them.

 

[AntiMoz]

What about MLB.TV with a fire stick and using a VPN to change location

Rather than a VPN I use a DNS service to get around the geofencing. I have the DNS service setup on my router so that devices on my network that don’t have GPS based location services can use the NHL.tv or MLB.tv apps to watch my “home” teams (fore MLB we lice in a market where FOUR teams claim home team status even though the closest one is over 200 miles away. PM me if interested. I use it with PC, AppleTV and Firesticks. Setting it up on the router (rather than the device) makes it available to all devices on the network.

 

[nyrfan1]

Rather than a VPN I use a DNS service to get around the geofencing. I have the DNS service setup on my router so that devices on my network that don’t have GPS based location services can use the NHL.tv or MLB.tv apps to watch my “home” teams (fore MLB we lice in a market where FOUR teams claim home team status even though the closest one is over 200 miles away. PM me if interested. I use it with PC, AppleTV and Firesticks. Setting it up on the router (rather than the device) makes it available to all devices on the network.

Is it safe?

 

[nyrfan1]

Rather than a VPN I use a DNS service to get around the geofencing. I have the DNS service setup on my router so that devices on my network that don’t have GPS based location services can use the NHL.tv or MLB.tv apps to watch my “home” teams (fore MLB we lice in a market where FOUR teams claim home team status even though the closest one is over 200 miles away. PM me if interested. I use it with PC, AppleTV and Firesticks. Setting it up on the router (rather than the device) makes it available to all devices on the network.

What are some good DNS services?

 

[AntiMoz]

Search yonder.tv. Based on what I’ve read from multiple sources, yes it is safe. If you are concerned, only change the DNS a settings for the device you plan to use to stream NHL.tv or MLB.tv rather than changing the DNS settings on your router.

They claim better performance than over a VPN which can be bandwidth limited by nature.

Note, if you plan on watching using a device having GPS based location services (iPad, iPhone) on your WiFi network this solution will not work because the device requires GPS based location services to be on. AppleTV, Roku, PS4, Firestick, etc. don’t use GPS abased location services, they use IP or DNS based location services.

(Hopefully I haven’t stayed into forbidden territory here with this advice. I’ll defer to the site moderators and respond accordingly.)