Dragracing without cable? (1 Viewer)

[Theresa]

I don't know if this had been discussed before but I'm tired of paying for Comcast. I'd like to cut cable completely because it's still $100 with just internet and basic cable and that still makes me sick. Dragracing is the only thing I watch on ESPN. How do I watch it at home without cable? I've researched getting an indoor antenna to watch network TV and we have an xbox with Netflix but I'm still unsure how I'll get my racing fix. Thanks in advance.

 

[mike]

of your replacement broadband provider offers ESPN 3 you can use your xbox to watch NHRA on ESPN 3

 

[Theresa]

Thanks for that Mike. I've seen ESPN3 mentioned before but didn't know what that was about. Does it show both qualifying and eliminations? Also, I know it might seem like I'm asking for a lot here, but can you kinda DVR it using an xbox also? I ask because I travel a lot and am not home half the time the races come on on Sundays. I never had DVR until about a year ago but it sure is nice now that I've had it for a little while.

 

[camaro]

to get espn3 i believe u have to be a cable subscriber. i could be wrong but doesn't espn3 ask u for a provider when u log on for the first time ??

 

[none]

Theresa, quit being so cheap. You have to be rolling the dough by now Captain.

 

[Theresa]

Theresa, quit being so cheap. You have to be rolling the dough by now Captain.

LOL! I wish I was rolling in dough right now! Even if I was, I still wouldn't be able to bring myself to pay that outrageous cable bill every month. It makes me more sick to think about the price/usage since I'm gone half the month anyways. I'll be in your neck of the woods next month. Lookin forward to it.

 

[none]

I heard you were going to be in town, unfortunately we won't be, Mikey will be racing at Martin, MI. so we will be up there.

 

[Theresa]

I heard you were going to be in town, unfortunately we won't be, Mikey will be racing at Martin, MI. so we will be up there.

Bummer! I'll have to catch ya'll next time then.

 

[DragFan2]

to get espn3 i believe u have to be a cable subscriber. i could be wrong but doesn't espn3 ask u for a provider when u log on for the first time ??

This is all true, but even if you are a cable subscriber for Basic and Internet, or in my case, just internet, when you try to login to ESPN3 you get bounced off due to not subscribing to ESPN/ESPN2 on cable. I thought just as you did that I might be able to sneak in and get ESPN3 as that would be perfect as far as I'm concerned, but alas, they blocked me. Bright House Cable is my provider and they are part of TimeWarner Cable, or split off from them anyway. I have been on over the air TV for the past year or more, and it's great except for not having access to ESPN/ESPN2 or SPEED or a small number of my other favorite channels. Not worth $100.00 for that to me at this time.

 

[Theresa]

This is all true, but even if you are a cable subscriber for Basic and Internet, or in my case, just internet, when you try to login to ESPN3 you get bounced off due to not subscribing to ESPN/ESPN2 on cable. I thought just as you did that I might be able to sneak in and get ESPN3 as that would be perfect as far as I'm concerned, but alas, they blocked me. Bright House Cable is my provider and they are part of TimeWarner Cable, or split off from them anyway. I have been on over the air TV for the past year or more, and it's great except for not having access to ESPN/ESPN2 or SPEED or a small number of my other favorite channels. Not worth $100.00 for that to me at this time.

So if I ditch cable all together, there may not be a way to watch racing at home?

 

[DrRocket]

So if I ditch cable all together, there may not be a way to watch racing at home?

Yep. Pretty much. The major media powerhouses realised some years ago what was going to happen, and started taking over all of the various cable channels so they can link everything together and "force" you to subscribe. That's why most racing is now shown on cable channels, like Speed, ESPN, TNT, Versus, etc.

MY problem is that I watch NOTHING the "over the air" stations have. EVERYTHING I like is on cable.

 

[Prix-Mo]

I dropped my cable but still have my internet through comcast, I get espn 3. They do a live feed for the 2nd session qualifying session and the full Sunday feed. They are available after the taping as replays to watch later.

 

[DragFan2]

I dropped my cable but still have my internet through comcast, I get espn 3. They do a live feed for the 2nd session qualifying session and the full Sunday feed. They are available after the taping as replays to watch later.

Philip, that is what I was hoping to do also, but ESPN checks with Bright House cable to see if I have a cable TV subscription to ESPN channels, and I don't so it blocks me. I guess Comcast is not being checked by ESPN or is giving bogus info. I had been using ESPN3 prior to dropping cable TV and when I initially dropped my cable TV I was allowed to still get in for a month or so, and then I started getting an ERROR message about not subscribing to the ESPN channels.
Grrr !!! If Theresa has Comcast cable for internet only, she might get it like you do. Good luck.

 

[PJ]

Just curious but if you were bought the espn insider deal on their website would espn3 come with that? 1 time time yearly fee $20-$40 range sure beats $100 every month.



Also just call your cable company and complain about the price. I do it every year or two and have always been able to get them to lower it. Usually last for at least a year

 

[mike]

Philip, that is what I was hoping to do also, but ESPN checks with Bright House cable to see if I have a cable TV subscription to ESPN channels, and I don't so it blocks me.

from what I gather on the American LeMans message board (ALMS is also on ESPN 3) Brighthouse and Time Warner are much more difficult than the other broadband providers. But it seems like many have found ways around that. I know there are many broadband providers that you can use to watch ESPN 3 without also having cable TV.

 

[Theresa]

Thanks for all the advice. Our bill came in the mail for $175. We called and told them we weren't gonna pay more than $100 for their service so we kept our internet and got a basic cable package. We'll do this till we can figure something better out. From what it sounds like if we continue to get Comcast internet through them and therefore ESPN3, we can ditch the cable and still watch the races. Thanks again.

 

[PJ]

may want to check out the various dishes as well

 

[Tony]

I recently did the same thing that you are considering. Your internet provider must pay a fee to ESPN to allow you to access ESPN3. I switched my internet to Comcast since my prior provider wasn't on the list. You can find a list of providers here ESPN3.com FAQ

Your XBox 360 should have ESPN already loaded. If it doesn't you can download it from the Apps area. You will also be able to watch on any device using your internet connection.

A couple things to be aware of. The friday qualifying feed you get on the 360 is an unpolished feed. The friday show is, in my opinion, a lot more entertaining because they have all of the reporters sitting around BSing. You don't get saturday qualifying. The sunday show is pretty close to the final product because they don't have time to do much polishing. You do miss a lot of the off-track stories.

Past races are available for at least a few weeks and you can watch the live feed day-of if you want to.

One of my few gripes with this set up is that ESPN puts their "Highlights" show above the races in the list so on several occasions I have seen who wins the race (based on the thumbnail for the show) while trying to navigate to the race.

Good luck.

 

[DragFan2]

This is the exact error message that occurs when I try to connect on ESPN3:

It appears that this content is not a part of your Bright House Networks TV Subscription. To sign up for this channel, please contact Bright House Networks at Contact Us | Bright House Networks

Sucks for me