I agree that the prime time games get more production budget, especially related to the broadcast team. But lets say ESPN decided to put the game on ESPNU or ESPN News and it was visible on cable. I wouldn't expect any difference to the quality we get on ESPN+. This is just the difference between games they prioritize for a national audience. And I agree, the games are very watchable either way. No downgrade in picture quality or unacceptable changes, in my view. The downgrade in picture quality if you rewind, etc. as mentioned above is likely internet quality related. I have only noticed this for a few seconds, and the picture quality is back to normal.
Basketball telecasts
- Thread starter hoosman
- Start date
FIFY - Last I looked, the games on ESPN+ are still televised. If you aren’t able to get those games on your TV in 2024, then that is user error.
That is the adaptive streaming where it will change bitrates depending on network conditions. It could be your Internet (or your in house network) but it also could be the hardware running the ESPN app.
Yes. That would be a big enhancement. Pick the games I want in the box.
I dont get the hate for ESPN+.
I get it, its New and different to a point.
But looking at other conferences and the history Its way better than what we have had in the past.
It was not that many years ago, that not all games were broadcast, and then when they were you had to have something like Dish or DirecTV and an expensive add on package NCAA Gameplan etc to get them all. And if you didnt have Mediacom You were SOL for a lot of content.
Now we have all our games on one of the ESPN channels or formats, ALL SPORTS.
Plus we get almost all the other sports content as well, that used to be only avail with a CyTV sub that was not avail on most TV and Streaming devices, plus tons of other games and content from around the country.
Then you compare it to B1G, they have games spread over multiple channels and streams. To be a B1G fan and get all the content we get with ESPN/+, they need cable, with BTN, they need not just the basic BTN+ that only shows 1 school but a much more expensive BTN+ package to get more than 1 school. Then they need Peacock, and Paramount+. (Paramount+ games are simulcast usually on CBS etc, but from what I have read they are doing that currently, but they dont have to, in the future they may go to Paramount+ exclusive to drive subs.)
Those saying ESPN+ doesnt have announcers, on site, must not watch the same games I do. While once in a while that is the case and was for a while with Covid. Most all I have seen this year have had on site announcers, even with other sports outside FB and BB. I barely notice the difference anymore.
I get it, its New and different to a point.
But looking at other conferences and the history Its way better than what we have had in the past.
It was not that many years ago, that not all games were broadcast, and then when they were you had to have something like Dish or DirecTV and an expensive add on package NCAA Gameplan etc to get them all. And if you didnt have Mediacom You were SOL for a lot of content.
Now we have all our games on one of the ESPN channels or formats, ALL SPORTS.
Plus we get almost all the other sports content as well, that used to be only avail with a CyTV sub that was not avail on most TV and Streaming devices, plus tons of other games and content from around the country.
Then you compare it to B1G, they have games spread over multiple channels and streams. To be a B1G fan and get all the content we get with ESPN/+, they need cable, with BTN, they need not just the basic BTN+ that only shows 1 school but a much more expensive BTN+ package to get more than 1 school. Then they need Peacock, and Paramount+. (Paramount+ games are simulcast usually on CBS etc, but from what I have read they are doing that currently, but they dont have to, in the future they may go to Paramount+ exclusive to drive subs.)
Those saying ESPN+ doesnt have announcers, on site, must not watch the same games I do. While once in a while that is the case and was for a while with Covid. Most all I have seen this year have had on site announcers, even with other sports outside FB and BB. I barely notice the difference anymore.
I can deal with home team announcers and even remote announcers. And the quality really isn't that bad. What I wish the + would improve is their player. You should be able to see what you are fast forwarding or rewinding by rather than just see a timer change. And on live broadcasts you should be able to FF and Rew without something going wrong and suddenly throwing you back to the start of the broadcast. If I join a live broadcast late and start from the beginning I can use the buttons normally but once I hit the point where the game was when I joined if I try to rewind it instantly sends me back to the start of the game. It is frustrating. With the amount of content they have on the App they could invest in a more DVR quality player for pennies on the event.
I didn't watch it because I typically find other things to do during halftime of games, but for the ISU vs. BYU game it looked like BYUTV was going to do a studio type halftime show during the game on Tuesday night. Not sure the production quality, but that would be better than the current format on ESPN+ where the game announcers provide lead-ins for special interest stories during halftime.
I am sure cost is an issue for Disney, but would be great if Big12 could have a studio crew for ESPN+ games.
Back in the day I used to get a cable subscription and boom, I had all the games. Now I have YTTV for the linear network games, then ESPN+ for their content, now I need Peacock for an NFL playoff game, and then Amazon Prime for Thursday Night Football. And just like that I'm spending just as much as I was for cable for a more fragmented viewing experience. And it seems like it is going to continue to get worse. Ditching the cable company itself was nice, but the replacement product and experience leaves a lot to be desired.
The nice thing is no contracts. You can cancel any of those at any time and not be on the hook like you used to be for cable/dish/directv
My thought is this is where a company like Roku could really add some value. If they are able to find a way to seamlessly allow viewers to "change channels" between apps/specific programs on apps, or even watch multiple apps/shows at once, picture in picture or otherwise splitting the screen. Would probably be pretty challenging to do but would raise the bar on the streaming experience.
I don't have any solution on the cost of multiple apps. I don't mind the idea of being able to pick and choose subscriptions to cater to what you value most. But if you want them all, it is expensive and inconvenient at times. Maybe we need to just fight against our short attention spans.
LOL, I hear you on the ads. Or whatever weird noise is made when there is a game break. The amount of repeats is hilarious when there are ads. I seem to need to start the game a bit late or watch the end late too frequently, so I am happy I get to avoid some of those or fast forward.
We were spoiled when the conference was only 10 teams and Iowa State was in the top 25 for four years in a row. With so few games and always being ranked it was rare we slipped off of ESPN/ESPN2.
Back in the day you didnt get all the games, you got all the games that were televised.
Now ALL games In ALL sports (or almost) are televised. A lot more content.
You just didnt notice it, because you got the games that were televised.
And for those of us that didnt have Mediacom, we were SOL. We saw basically no ISU content.
And this was not very long ago.
Edit: for perspective. Look at the following season, not very many were televised unless you had Dish or Directv and Espn Full court which was several hundred dollars per season.
2009–10 Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball team - Wikipedia
The Hulu app is head and shoulders better than ESPN app for watching ESPN+ content.
In another thread, it was mentioned that some get multiple Roku sticks and use the TV tuner to switch inputs quickly. Tried it this eeekend and it works well. Gotta have a streamer that uses Bluetooth and not IR so the signals don’t get mixed up.
