2023: College Football on TV

[Dean Pope]

OK. I know we've got a few sports media experts out there. Can we get a complete guide for college football on TV posted? I'm especially interested in the lesser known network agreements including streaming networks like Peacock, etc. I've dumped ESPN & cable TV/YouTube TV for the time being and I might keep it that way for a while.

 

[RedCap]

What's the cheapest way to stream BTN?

 

[Tuco Salamanca]

7+ legit ways to catch your favorite college football teams without a cable TV subscription.

Here's how to watch college football without cable TV, including live stream online and over the air, on your phone and on your tv.

livingonthecheap.com

 

[Dean Pope]

7+ legit ways to catch your favorite college football teams without a cable TV subscription.

Here's how to watch college football without cable TV, including live stream online and over the air, on your phone and on your tv.

livingonthecheap.com

Well I just went down that rabbit hole and it looks like Peacock is the only streaming network carrying stand alone college football games (Big 10). If anyone (like me) drops ESPN which also means dropping live cable, it looks like the only problems would be when Husker games are on FS1 or Big 10 network. Northern Illinois and Illinois is on FS1. But so far Minnesota (Fox), Colorado (Fox), and Iowa (CBS) will be on over the air network TV. And it's probable that at least one of NU's games will be one of the nine games exclusively on Peacock (La Tech?). I think at least two other NU games, maybe three could wind up on network TV as well.

So if you already have Peacock at about $10/month, a basic cable subscription or a decent TV antenna would get you access to all but probably five Husker games, maybe six. If you have season tickets, you would be able to view all of the other games except for those two early FS1 games.

 

[Dean Pope]

What's the cheapest way to stream BTN?

I think it's by ordering the Sling TV blue package- for $40/month the blue package has FS1 (but not ESPN). Then you add on the $11/month which has BTN and NFL Red Zone. That's $51 a month.

I just looked that up. I'm enjoying life without a cable/Hulu Live bill but that Sling Blue + BTN & NFL Red Zone package is mighty tempting for football season.

 

[MargotDeeper]

Even the old reliable https://www.lsufootball.net/tvschedule.htm
is waiting until mid-July to finalize the mess that watching football on TV is.

 

[Dean Pope]

Even the old reliable https://www.lsufootball.net/tvschedule.htm
is waiting until mid-July to finalize the mess that watching football on TV is.

That's one hell of a website. I bookmarked that site.

Your "mess" comment is right on the money with me. In the 80's and 90's, fewer games were on TV and I watched more college football. I watched games from start to finish. Nowadays, I channel flip. Usually the only thing that holds my attention other than Husker games is (oddly) games involving the service academies. More often than not, I find myself turning off the TV and trying to do something more productive with my time. Less is more. And even without cable, there's still going to be 10+ games on each Saturday when I'm home. Even Stadium Network carries Conference USA athletics.

 

[OzzyLvr]

I think it's by ordering the Sling TV blue package- for $40/month the blue package has FS1 (but not ESPN). Then you add on the $11/month which has BTN and NFL Red Zone. That's $51 a month.

I just looked that up. I'm enjoying life without a cable/Hulu Live bill but that Sling Blue + BTN & NFL Red Zone package is mighty tempting for football season.

This is the result of my research as well. I had Hulu LIve for last season but tried the Sling package mentioned above for the Spring Game. I was pleasantly surprised that, for me, Sling was a better product overall than Hulu LIve. The DVR isn't as convenient but it just takes a little more intentionality on my part.

 

[Husker4real]

Well I just went down that rabbit hole and it looks like Peacock is the only streaming network carrying stand alone college football games (Big 10). If anyone (like me) drops ESPN which also means dropping live cable, it looks like the only problems would be when Husker games are on FS1 or Big 10 network. Northern Illinois and Illinois is on FS1. But so far Minnesota (Fox), Colorado (Fox), and Iowa (CBS) will be on over the air network TV. And it's probable that at least one of NU's games will be one of the nine games exclusively on Peacock (La Tech?). I think at least two other NU games, maybe three could wind up on network TV as well.

So if you already have Peacock at about $10/month, a basic cable subscription or a decent TV antenna would get you access to all but probably five Husker games, maybe six. If you have season tickets, you would be able to view all of the other games except for those two early FS1 games.

I feel a little dirty defending cable companies here, but it caught my attention when you pointed out that - after configuring basically 3 different inputs (streaming, basic cable, antennae) - more if you need to add more than one streaming service - you'll still miss half of the Husker games.