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Technological progress grows at different rates depending on the industry, and few industries have gained as much growth in the last several years as sports entertainment. With companies like ESPN leading the way in HD and then 3D television, the sports industry has pushed the rest of the entertainment business to improve and innovate.
There are a variety of ways to watch, listen, and follow your sports team these days. Things are almost to the point where a simply having a cable TV service isn’t enough to really get the full experience. We’re going to take a look at a number of services and gadgets that will both enhance your sports viewing experience and provide more flexibility in how and where you watch your sports.
Sports related services are a microcosm of the technology industry as a whole. There are some free services, some subscription-based and some that are only available with a subscription to another service. We’ll take a look at some of the services that are available from different providers, but be aware that these services are subject to change, and blackout restrictions often apply.
LEAGUES
The national pastime is also one of the most difficult to follow on the professional level due to the sheer number of games in a season and the wide range of times in which the games are played. Fortunately Major League Baseball has a number of different services that will allow you to keep up with your favorite team or fantasy players. MLB.tv is baseball’s streaming video service, and allows you to watch both live game broadcasts and full game archives. Premium and mobile services are also available for MLB.tv at different price points. The Premium subscription will allow you to view both home and away broadcasts, and offers live DVR-type controls as well as the ability to simultaneously watch multiple games using split-screen or picture-in-picture.
We’re rapidly approaching the start of the NFL season, though whether the season is played as scheduled remains to be seen. Regardless of what happens between the owners and the player’s union, the NFL has a couple of different services that will allow you to keep up with your favorite team. Though the NFL doesn’t stream game video live in the U.S., NFL Rewind will let you view games on-demand and commercial-free after the fact. NFL Audio Pass is a live service, allowing you to get play-by-play announcements in real-time with commentary from home, away, national, and even Spanish language broadcasts. If you happen to live outside the U.S. or Mexico, NFL Game Pass allows you to watch live HD video broadcasts.
Right now we’re sandwiched between one of the most exciting NBA seasons in recent memory and a potentially delayed and shortened 2011-2012 season. Once Lebron and Kobe get back on the court, the NBA will have you covered with their NBA League Pass services. Though the details of specific services are up in the air during the offseason, typically the NBA offers both live audio and video streams of their games. Visit the NBA League Pass home page for more details and to sign up for notifications as new information is released.
Thankfully the NHL is not currently going through a labor dispute, but it’s still the offseason. When the teams get back on the ice the NHL has several levels of service for their Gamecenter product. The baseline Gamecenter product allows you to watch postgame highlight videos and track the scores. Gamecenter Premium adds the ability to listen to live broadcasts and watch in-game highlights. NHL Gamecenter Live provides live and archived game video, as well as access to over 800 classic NHL games.
CELLULAR PROVIDERS
Smart phones are a great way to follow sports events when you are away from the TV, and mobile providers are using sports-related services as a way to entice new customers. A perfect example is Sprint, who has partnerships with both the NFL and NASCAR. Through these partnerships Sprint customers get exclusive applications and access to live audio, video, and statistics. Other cellular providers offer similar features but availability is sometimes limited on a phone-by-phone basis. Check with your provider to see what may be available to you.
ESPN
We mentioned it at the top of the article, but ESPN is one of the most technologically advanced companies in the entertainment industry. In addition to their TV services ESPN offers live streaming of their various channels through ESPN Networks, based on partnerships with traditional television providers. ESPN also broadcasts much of their content through ESPN3.com. Access to ESPN3 is determined by your internet provider and their partnership with ESPN.
In addition to streaming video ESPN is a great source of audio commentary both through ESPNRadio and the ESPN PodCenter, which provides a huge number of podcasts covering all different sports and leagues. ESPN Insider gives users premium-level access to ESPN content and comes bundled with a subscription to ESPN the Magazine.
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