Will FTA Help My Football Situation?

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flyguyj

SatelliteGuys Family
Original poster
Dec 2, 2007
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Hey guys! Since we've moved to Utah, and with Dish dropping every channel except infomercials ... like BTN ... we aren't getting to watch one single game that we are interested in. We even had better luck in Phoenix!

I've been interested in FTA anyways, but now after losing BTN (which I know isn't FTA) I'm ready to take the plunge. But my question is, will it even help? Will we be able to find games on ABC/NBC/CBS elsewhere, that aren't typically broadcast here in Utah?

Still not sure how all the blackouts and football maps work and was hoping FTA would be our ticket to watching games closer to our home states. It's bad enough you can't buy real beer in Utah, but now without football .....
 
You can find SOME games via FTA, but not much. With the new PAC 12 network many of the games that were in the clear last year are scrambled this year unfortunately. :(
 
Yes like Scott said you will still find a few but not as many as you used to unfortunately.
 
you're probably going to have a tough time finding the games you want to see - a website I dub as "feedkiller" has really hurt football feeds in the last 2 seasons to the point it seems like most football feeds are now encrypted.

If you want to watch college football in general, there are still some feeds left FTA but if it's a specific game you are looking for, you may be out of luck in watching it on a FTA system because chances are it is encrypted.
 
The best way to improve your football situation is to stop caring about what teams are playing. They all look identical to me anyways; just different numbers and colors. I find the sport to be very repetitive.

Anyways, if you do this, you will find plenty of random games with random teams from around the country in the clear. Embrace the rainbow!
 
I know this isn't FTA, but is an option. Directv is including NFL Sunday Ticket for new subscribers with certain packages. Heard this on the radio and is good until 3 October.
 
Thanks for the replies fellas. We're kind of in a pickle right now....really upset with Dish ... I mean **REALLY** upset over the channel cancellations all within a few months of each other. Not sure if we want to switch, assuming DirecTV will probably just play the same games with us next year or so, but then we'll be stuck in a stupid contract (don't even get me started on how contracts are complete BS).

FTA-wise, I think I'm still going to go for it ... mostly just because it sounds like a fun project and challenge. Thanks again, and DISH, if you're reading this ... SORT YOUR LIFE OUT!!!
 
You will enjoy FTA...there is all kinds of stuff up all the time that is neat to find. Also it is a fun hobby and not really expensive like some hobbies can get. So get out there and get your feet wet. Then come here and read read read and ask as many questions as you want we will help get you going.
 
Slightly off-topic, SLC has a nice TVFOOL list (depending on how far away you live from SLC and the towers). It could easilly give you a couple of games on Saturday and Sunday.

Cheers, K
 
I don't know what SLC is, but TVfool is a web site showing how big/high an antenna is required for local OTA reception.
I'm just south of Los Angeles (25 mi to all their towers).
So most residents don't put up much of an antenna.
However, with a long range antenna, I get Palm Springs and San Diego.
You'd think their games might be different.
If you are located between a couple of big cities, ya might take a look. :)
 
Thanks for the replies fellas. We're kind of in a pickle right now....really upset with Dish ... I mean **REALLY** upset over the channel cancellations all within a few months of each other. Not sure if we want to switch, assuming DirecTV will probably just play the same games with us next year or so, but then we'll be stuck in a stupid contract (don't even get me started on how contracts are complete BS).

FTA-wise, I think I'm still going to go for it ... mostly just because it sounds like a fun project and challenge. Thanks again, and DISH, if you're reading this ... SORT YOUR LIFE OUT!!!
DirecTV has had only 1 long outage (versus 6 months) in the 14 years i've had them sports wise. if you like sports DirecTV is the way to go imho.
and easy to deal with. with a great start up deal now. choice xtra is the best deal, getting it now for $49 with called in discount of $20 off.
good luck
 
IMHO, you can't go wrong with an FTA system for college football. You can't count on it for every single game that you wanna see. But there will be games you wanna see that you can't get any other way. Encryption does pop up from time to time, in fact, every weekend there are encrypted games. But encryption has been a little over stated. There are still a ton of games that are in the clear every week. Sooner or later, your team will be one of them.

When you consider the cost of a beginner FTA system, it's well worth it. If you pick up an old C/Ku BUD for free, buy a new C/Ku LNBF, new cable, V or G-Box, and any of the nice HD receivers that you have to choose from... you could be set up for just a few hundred dollars. The enjoyment a system like that could provide would be well worth it IMHO.

As far as the other site being a "feed killer", well, everyone is entitled to their opinion. But for those who know the REAL reason why NCAA football feeds are sometimes encrypted... it's frustrating to see an honest guy and his site continuously get the blame. Encrypted NCAA feeds are not a result of our hobby.

Cheers
 
As far as the other site being a "feed killer", well, everyone is entitled to their opinion. But for those who know the REAL reason why NCAA football feeds are sometimes encrypted... it's frustrating to see an honest guy and his site continuously get the blame. Encrypted NCAA feeds are not a result of our hobby.

what is the real reason then if it's not the hobby? It's obvious that the feeds are easy to find (the first google search results seem to be the feed info), and sports bars who used to get the feeds for free are now forced to subscribe to the sports networks at commercial rates. Encrypting the feeds for the major programmers drove up the revenue (at least from the sports bars from free to pricey commercial programming based on occupancy) to help offset some of the new higher dollar sports right deals that have been inked. Who knows if they've driven cord cutters back to pay tv or got people to add pay tv when they got frustrated they couldn't watch their must-see team for free anymore.

If I had been a suit at a major sports programmer, I know I would have instituted encryption also so I know that i am forcing viewers to see the commercials, increase the ad rates and thus help defray the increasing dollar rights deals that make my programming desirable.
 
if you like sports DirecTV is the way to go imho.

used to be. DirecTV is being a lot more selective lately for some reason when it comes to sports programming. They probably still have the most sports programming availability of any pay tv provider but I would expect to see them start passing on more and more sports programming and lose their top dog of sports reputation.
 
On the verge of a political discussion (banned here!), but I feel players should be paid $40,000 a year, not $4 million. Sports used to be enjoyable. Now they're just another publicity event for corporations. I guess they are still playing the same game, but everything is so centered on money that the spectator in the end is the one who suffers. Just going as a family in the nosebleed seats at the Atlanta Braves game here is prohibitive anymore.
 
used to be. DirecTV is being a lot more selective lately for some reason when it comes to sports programming. They probably still have the most sports programming availability of any pay tv provider but I would expect to see them start passing on more and more sports programming and lose their top dog of sports reputation.

#1 today and everyday since the 1990's. don't see it ever changing, unless we get a new service... not likely to happen but you never know.


but I feel players should be paid $40,000 a year, not $4 million.

so you would be ok with the owners getting almost all the money ?
if the money is there it is because of the players, so they should get as fair a share as they can. i remember in the 60s the owners paid as little as they could.
never bought a ticket to see a owner.
most of the players in all our sports would play for 10% of what they get but why should they.don't sweat about op money.
ticket prices suck..... because i can't pay it.
but can see every game everywhere thanks to DirecTV for less than ticket cost i spent in the 80s on a few games.
glass 1/2 full
 
No, the owners shouldn't keep all that money either (in a magical ideal world, I know). But there does come a point when the spectator wonders what he's paying for: NASCAR isn't sure what to do with all of its empty stands. Of course, it has problems of its own besides ticket prices. I can't imagine the same kinds of controversy about the sport itself happening in either baseball or football (oops, I just remembered the Seahawks-Packers referee ordeal), but we're starting to see falling attendance in other areas, too, such as college basketball. I admit that I hate watching most sports on TV, but enjoy the atmosphere of watching from the stands. Then again, it's not just sports -- we see the same effect in movie theaters. Why pay $44 for a family of four in movie tickets plus who knows how much for popcorn/drinks (if you dare...I just read where in the spring a person sued a theater in Michigan for violating the state's consumer protection act), when you can go to Netflix or Redbox? It's not the same experience, but $44 is half a tank of gas :(
Glass 1/2 empty
 
A judge here in Michigan tossed that guy's suit right out of court: http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/.../Michigan-judge-tosses-theater-snacks-lawsuit

Personally, I hardly ever go to the theater anymore, but the 4-5 times a year or so that I do, I go on Tuesdays where a ticket is only $5. our local theater also has a card that they credit a point towards for each ticket I buy. After 10 points, you get a FREE ticket towards any movie. That helps save some money. I also VERY rarely buy any drinks or goodies there. Popcorn and a small drink are over $8. Sometimes we sneak in goodies, it all depends...
 
I admit that I hate watching most sports on TV, but enjoy the atmosphere of watching from the stands.
Missed going to baseball games. giving the man the ticket,smelling the popcorn and beer as you first walk in.
walking up the ramp to the seats right before getting up far enough to see the field smelling the smell of baseball
peanut shells being broken and the Cigars made you feel like a little boy again.that was the 60s till 1990 now the smoke
nazis rule. yea i'm a smoker, feel unwanted there so can take the hint.
with this economy all sports are doing well. better than most people i know.
Glass 1/2 empty
quit going to movies long ago too. but do like imax 3-d once a year maybe....
 
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