When it comes to watching soccer, we’ve watched hundreds of games across ESPN+, Paramount+ and Peacock to determine which are the best soccer streaming services for you.
So, which are the best soccer streaming services? It’s up to each individual. It may be the one that brings you the games from the team you love. Or if you’re a neutral fan, it may be the one below that has the features you use most often. There’s certainly one clear leader at the moment in the United States, having had a much longer head start. At the same time, the others are catching up.
Best soccer streaming services
| ESPN+ | Paramount+ | Peacock | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ease of navigation | B | C- | C | |
| Pause/rewind functionality | Yes on all devices | No | Only on Apple TV devices at this time | |
| Time it takes games to be made available on-demand | A | C+ | F | |
| Multiview availability | Yes | No | No | |
| Picture in picture availability | Yes | No | No | |
| Whiparound show | No | Yes for Champions League, Europa League and Conference League | Not at this time | |
| Technical issues | Yes (sporadic login issues via website) | Yes (Amazon Prime & PS4 apps don’t have all games available) | No | |
| Monthly Price | $6.99/month | $4.99/month | $4.99/month | |
| SIGN-UP | Browse offers | 7-day trial | Browse offer |
When it comes to judging the best soccer streaming services, we realize there are so many factors we could have reviewed. But to us, the ones listed above are the most important ones. For example, with the sheer number of matches available, the Multicast feature on ESPN+ is a godsend.
We realize that sometimes you, the consumer, have no choice when it comes to streaming. If you want to watch the Bundesliga or LaLiga, for example, the only streaming service that makes those games available is ESPN+. As of press time, the same applies to the non-televised games of the Premier League. They’re on Peacock.
But as our tastes expand and the choices we have available to us become more plentiful, consumers like you and I may decide to watch soccer games on the streaming services that we enjoy the most. The features that are most user-friendly. At the same time, we may tend to watch less games from leagues that are made available on inferior streaming services.
Searching for the perfect service
Having said that, no streaming service is perfect. None of them have mastered the way to make games available. In our research, the one that has impressed us the most is DAZN. However, for soccer fans in the United States, DAZN doesn’t offer any soccer games, so there’s little of interest for us there.
Streaming services that show soccer games are not like television channels where the features on your remote control are the same for every channel that you flip through. Every streaming service is different. None of the features are the same. With every streaming service we try, we have to get used to the navigation system they have in place in order to find our games. And not every streaming service offers the same functionality. But that can be fun, too. A sense of adventure, in a way.
Want to find out which leagues and cups the streaming services feature? Check out our in-depth pages on ESPN+, Paramount+ and Peacock Premium. And also check out our list of the top 10 streaming services for watching soccer.
Have any questions about the best soccer streaming services? Let us know in the comments section below.
200+ Channels With Sports & News
- Starting price: $33/mo. for fubo Latino Package
- Watch Premier League, World Cup, Euro 2024 & more
Live & On Demand TV Streaming
- Price: $35/mo. for Sling Blue
- Watch Premier League, World Cup & MLS
Many Sports & ESPN Originals
- Price: $9.99/mo. (or get ESPN+, Hulu & Disney+ for $13.99/mo.)
- Features Bundesliga, LaLiga, Championship, & more
2,000+ soccer games per year
- Price: $4.99/mo
- Features Champions League, Serie A, Europa League & NWSL
175 Premier League Games & PL TV
- Starting price: $4.99/mo. for Peacock Premium
- Watch 175 exclusive EPL games per season
110+ channels, live & on-demand
- Price: $59.95/mo. for Plus Package
- Includes FOX, FS1, ESPN, TUDN & more
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Lori
September 26, 2022 at 12:53 pm
How come there are NO channels/apps available that show ONLY soccer/futbol? Why does EVERY ONE have to have movies, shows, and OTHER programming? I want ONLY soccer!!! Why, in this day of technology, can I not get this??!
Christopher Harris
September 26, 2022 at 12:58 pm
Almost all of Fanatiz’s content is soccer-only:
https://worldsoccertalk-wp.futbolsites.dev/watch-soccer-via-fanatiz/
JP
April 24, 2022 at 9:41 am
Could just be my imagination, but the Serie A picture quality seems improved this weekend…brighter/crisper. Anyone know if they upgraded?
–
Noticed yesterday for the Verona match and still held up for Salernitana and now Napoli. Didn’t notice for Inter, but matches at San Siro always look off in some undefinable way.
–
FWIW, Serie A always had the best quality on P+, even UCL never seems the highest quality.
Ra
April 6, 2022 at 5:20 pm
Really enjoying the Croatian ex-manager (I believe) commentator on Paramount. He is knowledgeable and helps keep the ‘bro atmosphere’ down…
Mercator
April 6, 2022 at 8:39 pm
Slaven Bilic is fantastic, thought he was a great manager as well. He had nothing but good things to say about Real Madrid today, can tell he really lives for the game.
David R.
April 2, 2022 at 8:06 pm
Dunno if anyone is watching this thread anymore, but Peacock is really starting to cheese me off. I watch through replays, and when several games were on at the same time they insist on showing the other scores in the corner of the screen (something you could turn off in NBC Sports Gold). OK, I’m used to that, and since I watch using a projector I can handle it by blocking off that part of the screen. Lately they’ve taken to jumping from the end of the game to a screenful of scores of the others as quickly as they can; I’ve gotten used to that too, by exiting the match when the whistle blows. However, starting two weeks ago their app has decided to basically ignore my hitting the “exit” button. Whether that’s a new slowness in the app, or an intentional move to keep you from exiting quickly, I don’t know, but I had to use extraordinary measures to kill the screen. Seriously, I don’t know why Peacock is putting so much energy into making it so difficult to avoid spoilers. Some viewers want to see the scores of the matches they chose not to watch, and that’s fine, but those of us who want to watch more matches should have an option as well.
Christopher Harris
April 2, 2022 at 9:48 pm
Sorry to hear that David. Maybe some of the readers may offer some suggestions of how to avoid spoilers.
That’s one thing I liked about B/R Live when it was showing Champions League games. They had a no spoiler option. Wish Peacock had that too.
David R.
April 5, 2022 at 8:47 pm
Thanks. Just had to vent. I can’t really complain otherwise, the service is so cheap.
JP
September 21, 2021 at 10:49 am
@Ra, thanks! I’ll make an effort in the near future to watch some of the night matches. Now that other leagues have fans, the lack of it is just so glaring.
Ra
September 21, 2021 at 10:42 am
@JP. In terms of fans, I heard that the Libertadores game tomorrow will have fans (Flamengo vs Barcelona SC in Maracana), as well as the Libertadores game next Tue (Atletico vs Palmeiras).
For Brasileirao, the clubs signed an agreement where fans will be allowed only if they are allowed in all Stadiums to preserve the isonomy of the competition.
Ra
September 21, 2021 at 10:37 am
@locofooty Thanks for the tips. I will definitely check BBC World Football. I wanted to find more content to read/listen to. My audiovisual needs are well covered:
For highlights, I enjoy Paramount+’s magazine show.
To access the games, I rely on Sling World Sports. Picture quality and commentaries are superb but are in Portuguese.
Ra
September 21, 2021 at 10:33 am
@JP, I hear you. I also dislike most of the commentators on Paramount+. Some are a little less bad.. 🙂 The picture quality seems to have improved.
The highlights show on Paramount+ is pretty good, though. It has good commentary as well. It is called Brasileirao Magazine and will give you a good idea of what is happening. The lack of fans is really hurting the league, but fans are expected to return in Nov.
At this moment, Atletico-MG and Flamengo are playing the best soccer in the continent and are expected to win Libertadores.
However, I generally like the fierce rivalries of the big 4 from the Sao Paulo metropolitan area:
Palmeiras = funded by Italian immigrants was called Palestra Italia before WW2. Won 2 Libertadores (99 and 2020)
Sao Paulo = tended to be more elitist but is more popular now. Had a superteam in the 90s that won everything in 92-93 (Rai, Cafu, Palhinha, Pintado, Zetti, Müller). Won 3 Libertadores and 3 club WC (92, 93 and 05)
Corinthians = the people’s team. Won 2 club WC (’00 and ’02)
Santos = Pele’s team and still one of the exporters of players. Won WC in ’62 and ’63.
They are known for the following mascots (pig, Bambi, skunk, and fish). All were pejorative and given by their adversaries (of course). Palmeiras and Santos actually embraced theirs.
The rivalries are very fierce, and Stadiums tend to be packed.
JP
September 21, 2021 at 9:59 am
@Ra, whenever I tried to watch the Argentine or Brazilian leagues on Paramount+, the picture quality, announcers (mostly), and lack of fans made it a tough watch.
Outside of the usual suspects like Boca, River, Flamengo, Santos, Gremio, Racing (are Gremio and Racing good? Know them from transfer rumors mostly) etc, who are the clubs to watch?
locofooty
September 21, 2021 at 9:49 am
Ra, PrendeTV has 2-3 matches per round available for free from Argentina and Brazil. BBC World Football is a good podcast. ESPNFans and TyC Sports on Youtube are good channels with highlights and analysis. For classic videos, FutebolNacional and RptimaoTV.
Ra
September 21, 2021 at 7:52 am
For those that follow SA soccer (Libertadores, Sudamericana, Brazilian, Argentinean). What pod/apps/sites do you follow?
Thanks!
Nosferatu
September 20, 2021 at 10:28 pm
I find Paramount+ pretty annoying in how it lists things you’ve recently watched, so you click on those to try to continue the game you were in the middle of watching the replay of, but it doesn’t actually take you to that game.
For instance, I was watching some of the Slavia Prague v. Union Berlin Europa Conference League game while doing the dishes the other day, on replay, and then later went back to watch on the Roku. It was in the section showing things to continue to watch. “Nice!” I thought. “Excellent feature!”
But as has happened in the past, I was duped. I clicked on it and it took me to the Roma game instead. And then I remembered this from last season, where sometimes you’d click on match replays from the Champions League and it would say one game listed at the top, but then it would show you a different game or even the Golazo replay! You can only get to the correct game by going through the match replays and clicking to the specific one, no matter what it says on the main screen. Super confusing.
Of course they don’t even have all their replays up still from Thursday, so I guess I shouldn’t complain about the ones they actually do have available.
Mercator
September 20, 2021 at 8:01 pm
@JP I – I think that feature comes from the Apple TV app. When you link ESPN or P+ or others to the Apple TV app, it will send you close game alerts and other notifications which may be relevant, like if someone is close to breaking a record. It’s kind of random and I still get a lot of close game alerts for baseball and things I don’t watch, but I love the feature and find it super useful, and I get the notifications on phone and watch as well. The Apple TV app is actually very useful for sports, I do more and more of my browsing in the Apple TV app because you don’t have to keep track of what games are on what app, etc. It’s the closet thing to a “guide” for the football I’ve found aside from this website.
The ESPN app now has an ESPN+ Mas section as well apparently which seems to be the Spanish language hub (all baseball and football SPA events). I also just got the sports section in P+. It’s improving but still not great, this is the type of stuff you would have expected on Day 1. I don’t think P+ all have multicast anytime soon unfortunately.
Ra
September 20, 2021 at 7:50 pm
@Hans @JP I use only Android (phone and tablet) and Win10 but an AppleTV in the big TV is a must for me. I will use my wife’s iPad or an old Iphone to do some workarounds for apps with no native PiP support.
JP
September 20, 2021 at 7:45 pm
@Hans, if you’re like most of us here and stream and unhealthy amount of soccer, Apple TV is a must. The prior 3 years of my streaming experience looks like the Stone Age in comparison haha
Hans
September 20, 2021 at 7:41 pm
I am totally in the Android, Windows and Roku world but may sacrifice for the sake of ease of use as well as the multiple games being displayed venture into the Apple TV world.
JP
September 20, 2021 at 7:22 pm
@Ra, AppleTV
Ra
September 20, 2021 at 7:18 pm
@JP Sound great. What device were you using?
JP
September 20, 2021 at 7:14 pm
Couple of things I noticed today on ESPN+ and P+
–
Paramount+ has ‘Sports’ on my homesceen now, below ‘continue watching’ and ‘my shows/my list’ (don’t recall the exact name). Serie A and UCL 1st options so seems like the algorithm is working.
–
Today when I switched to ESPN+ following the Napoli match to see the finial minutes of Barca, a pop up appeared top right with something like ‘exciting game alert’ telling me about the Barca match being 1-0 and towards the end. I was already in the Barca match before the pop up, but interesting they may now be attempting to steer us to events if close/almost over.
JP
September 12, 2021 at 10:32 am
@Ra, good to know, but no Hulu for me. Rarely even use Netflix (gift subscription) or the non sports offerings on P+
Ra
September 12, 2021 at 9:51 am
PS: I had to search by name to be able to favourite them all. In my case: ESPN+, Bundesliga, Bundesliga2, Bayern, Dortmund, Leverkusen and Stuttgart.
Ra
September 12, 2021 at 9:48 am
@Mercator @JP I realized something yesterday. You can favorite leagues, clubs or events on the Hulu app.
They will then appear in ‘my stuff’ under sports, teams and networks. I have ESPN+ favorited and it will appear as network in my hub and sports will show the latest game available for replay and teams will show the upcoming games of your favorited teams.
It will also continue from where you left off for replays and ESPN FC.
Now Hulu is my go-to app. The only feature it does not have is multiview and PiP. I will open the ESPN app should I need it.
JP
September 11, 2021 at 8:12 pm
@Mercator, same here except viewed the entire Napoli match then a bit of Atalanta, but basically all ESPN+ all day.
Now getting my Ray Hudson fix on the Inter Miami match while the Revs game is at halftime. Good to hear his voice and still can’t comprehend why ESPN didn’t bring him along but allows Keller and Moreno to call La Liga matches, ugh.
Moreno makes me turn it off unless it’s a must watch. His constant condescension gets old real fast. Keller is just boring.
Mercator
September 11, 2021 at 7:39 pm
@JP – Yea great point and this annoys me as well, particularly since ESPN will have several dozen live events going on at once. Not a trivial bit of scrolling. It’s truly been fantastic this weekend though – Bundesliga, US Open, College Football, MLS, the Multicast is getting a workout. Snuck over to catch some of Napoli-Juve but otherwise its been on ESPN since noon.
After today’s events, I would reiterate my initial comment about Peacock’s frequent technical issues. It’s clearly the worst of the streaming platforms. I really really hope ESPN pulls something out of their pocket and gets the EPL rights.
Ra
September 11, 2021 at 6:49 pm
@JP Agreed. ESPN also lack an ‘add to favorite ‘ for both leagues and specific events as well as a continue watching.
I have been testing Star+ and they implemented both options there. It seems a more mature app in general.
JP
September 11, 2021 at 4:04 pm
While ESPN+ is great, have one small complaint.
With the “More live” function wish there could be a way in the settings to exclude/only include certain events or at least have it be more intuitive with what the user has historically watched on the service and put those types of events 1st.
–
Was watching the AZ/PSV match and had to scroll through a dozen college football games to see Athletic/Mallorca, then 20+ to get back to AZ/PSV
–
With all the US Open I’ve been streaming these couple weeks you’d think that would at least be before all this college football, but 24 events before it gets to the woman’s final!
Mario Garcia
September 10, 2021 at 3:49 pm
Really nice article (and comments!). Paramount+ has really stepped up their game, with all the rights during international window (Asian and Concacaf qualifiers), they make it worth to keep the subscription during the pause of regular season for all their other rights.
Was going to skip Peacock, but now they’re running a promo of 3 months for 7.5 $, at 2.5$ a month Peacock is more than worth it (the code is NOTREDAME).
dave
September 5, 2021 at 5:38 pm
@Nosferatu, your comment nicely captures my thoughts about the current landscape – “I don’t have any great love for Spectrum . . . but between . . . viewing habits, networks we want . . . there’s nothing yet that has led me to cancel Spectrum for something else. Everyone has their own preferences or desires . . . Doesn’t make [any] of us right or wrong”
.
@Stevek, I found your contrast to the UK landscape informative and your summary of Peacock strikes me as about right – “I am definitely in the Michael F camp here. Peacock has 175 matches live, all NBC matches are simulcast on peacock and delayed replays of all 380 for what, $5 a month? This is an amazing value . . .”
.
I sometimes think soccer fans in the US lose sight of how good we have it – so much access to so many good games, all legal and above board (both of which are important to me), generally at reasonable prices
Michael F
September 5, 2021 at 3:06 pm
@Ra. Fyi: I do get linear CBS sports network off u Tube tv, which carried some of the later UCL knockout matches and the UCL final and the picture quality was great. So its can’t be a problem with UEFA distribution.
It shall certainly be very interesting to see what happens to EPL rights beyond 2022. I am willing to bet that someone won’t be happy about it, whoever obtains the rights. Hahaha
Ra
September 5, 2021 at 2:30 pm
@Michael F. You too, enjoy your Sunday. We can continue once we know who gets the rights… 🙂
Ra
September 5, 2021 at 2:30 pm
@Michael F. Agree and would like to see all streams in 4k. In the case of the UCL, being the 2nd provider with video quality issues, I suspect there may be a problem with UEFA distribution. Maybe the original feed is over-compressed or uses an inadequate encoder.
I noticed this with Brasileirao. The picture quality of Fanatiz, PrendeTV and Paramount is clearly inferior to Sling, that uses a different source that is not the world feed.
Michael F
September 5, 2021 at 2:25 pm
@Ra Yes, i agree.
Hey! We agree on something. That’s cause for mild celebration and closing the book on this current debate. Enjoy your Sunday.
Ra
September 5, 2021 at 2:12 pm
@Michael F. Maybe I chose a wrong word. I was trying to say “fight to compete in the UCL”. Amongst the EPL teams, they compete for:
1. The Title
2. UCL
3. Europa
4. Conference
5. Not to be relegated
Would you disagree?
Michael F
September 5, 2021 at 1:19 pm
@Ra. In the age of large flat 4K and 8K ready TVs and tablet devices that can produce striking video quality as long as the source provides it, it should be of greatest importance for a major aired tournament to have exceptional picture quality. Fox streaming was poor too, when they had the UCL. It is year 2021. Any streaming service that exclusively carries a major euro tournament like the UCL, must have great picture quality, or it should receive harsh criticism.
There are those that have complained about Peacock’s stream quality here. Thats because its not in 60fps like ESPN+ which is exceptional Yet Peacock streams matches better than Paramount+
Michael F
September 5, 2021 at 1:00 pm
@Ra. I do know what you were trying to say. Every euro domestic league has clubs that have a very tough time qualifying for UCL.
But to compare UCL tournament that doesnt play every weekend to euro domestic leagues that do carried by services is silly. Sorry, it just is.
Every argument of yours seems to center around what ‘should be’ and not what is. Live in reality. NBC has a model and you hate it. That doesnt mean we all have to agree with you.
Michael F
September 5, 2021 at 12:51 pm
@Ra. You might want to stop while you are behind. “Why do the EPL teams struggle to qualify for it?” Seriously?? You are now reaching down a path that makes no sense at all. Every top Euro league has roughly 20 clubs and most have 4 that qualify. The top 4 in England that do qualify every year have consistently competed very well in the Champions league tournament with a finalist from the EPL or both teams from EPL Final in champions league final over the last 5 years except the year before last. Sorry, but this last post of yours is easily weakest argument you have presented. If you are implying that EPL is not that strong of a domestic league vs the other euro leagues, why are so displeased that you can’t watch all of its matches with your current subscriptions, while having access to all the others you want? Maybe you should spend your time more wisely than debating here endlessly about a service you hate that carries a euro league you think is not as relative.
Hans
September 5, 2021 at 12:45 pm
While my previous comment is awaiting approval for moderation here is a quick supporting point for that comment.
From Matt Belloni former editor of The Hollywood Reporter and an entertainment lawyer with his most interesting observation and showing the incompetance of the Comscum/Warner/NBC management:
ckarchive (dot) com/b/k0umh6hkzzle?utm_source=convertkit&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=What+I%E2%80%99m+Hearing%E2%80%A6+About+How+NBC+Lost+to+Netflix%2C+Ted+Lasso%E2%80%99s+Headache%2C+and+More+Jeopardy%21+Drama%20-%206491139
“When the epitaph for broadcast television is written, it won’t be streaming video that is credited as the killer; it’ll be the networks’ inability to adapt to an on-demand ecosystem and co-exist with (and even capitalize on) what streaming does well. The Manifest situation perfectly illustrates the limitations of the current thinking.
Ra
September 5, 2021 at 12:38 pm
@Michael F. I agree that their picture quality is bad. And the lack of pause and rewind in a live stream.
Navigation ease is great in my opinion tough.
I never had problems locating content and a list view is much preferable to a clumsy Playlist in my opinion.
Ra
September 5, 2021 at 12:33 pm
@I agree that those are different properties. But UCL is the most anticipated club soccer competition. Why do the EPL teams struggle to qualify for it? Why do they bother?
It is the only arena where the world powers are put to test.
Also, UCL is on streaming and the audience numbers for streaming are not published. Or do you have any numbers to share?
Michael F
September 5, 2021 at 12:31 pm
@Ra. And for every praise you give to CBS/Paramount+, there are two other that b*tch as loudly about its service. Like for example (as highlighted by Christopher Harris grade for ‘Ease of Navigation’, which is worse than Peacock. I will add and other have complained – that Paramount+ has easily the worst picture quality of their aired matches. And considering how popular the Champions League tournament is for viewers (as you have alluded to a number of times), i will take the opportunity to be over-the-top in my opinion as you have been about Peacock… by saying that Paramount+ having the worst video quality for such a popular tournament is disgraceful! There… i can be as emphatic and extreme and subjective as you are about specific services. It doesn’t make me right. Its just an opinion. Nor does it make you right about your extreme opinions.
Hans
September 5, 2021 at 12:22 pm
Michael just to clarify my standpoint. ESPN+ and Paramount+ show all the games of La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A and European competitions on their streaming service. For me I just hoped that NBC would follow that pattern. They inched closer by streaming the NBC broadcast games but are still on two totally different platforms for all games which is the main complaint by many of us here.
The second preference of mine is the quality of the video & audio plus the app and navigation then all the other areas like pundits, pre, post and halftime analysis are following.
The inexperience by NBC in entering into the streaming model is excellently highlighted in the following link and as you rightly concluded they want to maximize their business but I am afraid that they may not know yet how to do this.
http://www.nexttv (dot) com / news / how-nbc-badly-misplayed-its-hand-with-manifest
Here are a few highlights:
“The conglomerate burned tons of promotional jet fuel, only to drive a ratings hit for Netflix and wind up with nothing for itself
Manifest’s third season on NBC, drawing only 2.9 million viewers on May 3, on its final broadcast. But just as NBC announced the show’s cancellation, its off-net streaming run took off into the stratosphere on Netflix, producing subscription streaming’s biggest weekly audiences of 2021 so far in June.
Last week, Netflix announced a deal with Warner Bros. TV to produce a 20-episode fourth season of the show, while locking in the rights to put up the third season on the platform immediately.
NBCUniversal? It ended up committing millions of dollars worth of promotional air time for Manifest, only to wind up with nothing. Nothing for the NBC TV Network. And nothing for struggling streaming startup, Peacock.”
Don’t know if that is because people want it on Netflix and will not subscribe to another streaming service, nevertheless it does show that in the NBC Universe there is inexperience and I have no doubt that this is also bleeding over into their sports segment.
Michael F
September 5, 2021 at 12:18 pm
@Ra. We are simply going in circles with this debate. But one thing i will definitely disagree with you is that champions league is more popular than EPL throughout the whole 9 month season that soccer is played and these two respective ‘leagues’ are in play. For example: the Liverpool-Chelsea match last weekend was the 4th largest watched EPL match since 2016. That’s in month of August. Try to convince me or provide proof that any Champions League match would draw this kind of audience from August thru December. Once the knockout stage of the Champions League begins in February sure. You want to talk about comparing apples to oranges, you just did. One league is a tournament. The other is a league that plays every weekend for 9 months aside from the few international breaks.
Ra
September 5, 2021 at 11:50 am
@Stevek You are comparing apples to oranges. EPL is the most expensive sports property in the UK, but that is certainly not the case here. This is true for all the soccer leagues. For example, in Brazil you get Premiere for $20/mo. Here, with sling, you get if for $5, along with BeIn and other properties. And they do not air all the matches because they don’t have the rights.
To get them all, you would be paying ~40usd and would need different services.
Paramount has all the matches in English for $5 along with all UCL, Serie A, and other properties.
But they paid a very small fraction for these rights compared to what they cost for globo.
How much do the EPL rights cost in the UK and how much do they cost here? A comparison between the ratios would be more meaningful.
Ra
September 5, 2021 at 11:41 am
@Michael F. I knew you would end up agreeing with us that NBC should not retain the rights… 🙂
Now seriously, I agree with you about ESPN, but I do not see a reason why CBS would put EPL behind cable pay-wall, after everything they said to investors about soccer and streaming.
Besides, CBS sports commands low carriage fees and they would be better off charging the customer directly. You can see that with UCL.
NBC is the largest cable provider in the US and ESPN has the highest carriage fees in the industry. So, both have more skin in the game than everyone else.
I agree that the EPL is the most relevant country league (less than UCL, tough), but it is not relevant to single-handedly drive cable subscriptions. Even the big4 are struggling now…
Stevek
September 5, 2021 at 11:32 am
The few vocal whiners and pirates on this site amaze me sometimes, I am definitely in the Michael F camp here. Peacock has 175 matches live, all NBC matches are simulcast on peacock and delayed replays of all 380 for what, $5 a month? This is an amazing value even if aspects of the streaming product “could” be improved.
In the UK Sky only has 128 matches, BT Sport has another 52 and Amazon has 20. That’s it, so only 200 of the 380 matches can be watched live in the UK. Sky forces you into 18-24 month contracts at 41 pounds mo (or $57 USD) The Sky & BT Sports bundle is 58 pounds mo (or $80 USD) Why so few games? The dreaded 3pm blackout where no game can be shown live at 3pm which means everyone has to wait until 5:15 for highlights of the game. I am thankful Comcast, the parent company of Sky, doesn’t enforce that blackout here for our 10am games.
In the US, for significantly less money, we can watch every one of the 380 games live…every single match…with mutiple screens and devices we can watch all of the blacked out 3PM games simultaneously if we want and we can do this without any onerous contract commitment. We can go month to month on a service like Sling Blue for $35/mo plus the $5 for peacock…that’s $40 a month for everything live and later on demand…that’s half of what you’d pay (58 pounds/80 USD) in the UK for the Sky/BT bundle for only 180 games.
Let’s review that for all you cheapskates and Comcast haters…to watch only 180 Premier league matches in the UK you’d pay $80 month with an 18 to 24 month contract, to watch any and all 380 Premier league games broadcast live in the US you can get away paying $40 a month. Yes, Comcast really sucks.
The best soccer streaming service by far is the one that gives me the opportunity to watch any of the 380 Premier League matches live for $40 a month.
Michael F
September 5, 2021 at 10:17 am
@Hans. I am honestly now starting to hope that EPL rights go to ESPN, so you can perhaps witness some high profile EPL matches only being aired ‘live’ on ESPN linear networks and not on ESPN+.
You are making an assumption that when EPL goes to one of these other streaming services (ESPN+ or Paramount+), that all EPL matches will be live on the provider’s streaming service. I refuse to make that assumption. We simply do not know. As it is, last season when ESPN+ had Serie A, a few matches were aired live only on linear ESPN and never available on-demand on ESPN+.
One thing we do know for certain and is not an assumption. EPL is the most watched domestic euro soccer league throughout the course of its whole season than any other Euro league competition. So to assume if ESPN and Paramount would give the same treatment for coverage of EPL as it’s other current domestic leagues they carry, is presumptuous at best.
Every provider is looking to maximize their revenues any way they can. That’s called running a business.
Michael F
September 5, 2021 at 9:55 am
@Ra. You are the one that is not reading the article above and it’s specific review ratings. That’s clearly evident. Christopher Harris never really gave an overall review rating above for any of the soccer streaming services. You and Hans are simply giving one.
The specific review rating that Mercator first raised as inaccurate was quote: “Time it takes games to be made available on-demand”.
You continue to raise other things not even involving the streaming services mentioned in this article. It is you that needs to read the article again and stay on topic.
Ra
September 5, 2021 at 7:26 am
@Michael F. Read the article again – it is called “BEST SOCCER STREAMING SERVICES”. So the fact that you can watch it in cable should have no relevance in this discussion.
Another interesting piece of information. The many ads interrupting the F1 broadcasts on NBC. When you switched to Telemundo, NBC would not interrupt the race with ads. They knew better. It would be considered criminal by F1 fans (me included).
I am mentioning this because NBC knows that their core audience has low standards. And the fact that you waste your time defending them illustrates this point.
Gosh, NBC should be really proud of their sheep-minded audience. Makes life so much easier for them. Customers advocating the brand and grateful for being scammed.
Hans
September 5, 2021 at 1:21 am
From the WST guide “How to watch soccer via Peacock”
Cons:
(1) On-demand not available for Premier League TV channel.
(2) Difficult to avoid spoilers when searching for replays of matches.
(3) The replays of NBCSN games aren’t available on Peacock until the day after the games.
(4) No option to subscribe to all 380 games per season.
Compared to the ESPN+ and Paramount+ soccer offerings with all games available via streaming, yep for me that is an F which means FAILED. Remember Comscum has all the broadcast and digital rights and could follow the example of ESPN+ and Paramount+.
We can all see what they are trying to do from their own press release:
“Premier League matches airing on NBC broadcast network will stream on Peacock, but NBCSN matches will not.” So they are throwing a small bone to Peacock subscribers by willing to put the OTA games on Peacock but not the cable ones even in a timely fashion. Everyone knows why, thus the name Comscum is most appropriately.
Michael F
September 4, 2021 at 11:34 pm
And for those that have any live tv stream service or cable and Peacock ..… they do not give this F grade for topic at hand because they don’t have this problem with not seeing any and all EPL matches at their own convenience. They are all available live and on-demand right after matches are complete.
Michael F
September 4, 2021 at 11:30 pm
@Ra. You know what Peacock offers for matches live and when these matches are available on-demand. They are on-demand shortly after they air on Peacock. That’s it. That doesn’t match an F grade, if ESPN+ gets a A grade as Chris Harris for the same category. No matter how you want to spin it. The matches aired live on linear NBCSN are on-demand via a delay on Peacock. ESPN never aired matches on their linear network later on ESPN+. Ever.
The stupid debate you continue to raise about NBC should air all matches on Peacock at your convenience is not relevant to the grade Chris Harris gave for ‘time taken for matches to be available on-demand”. All these raised arguments of yours are spun so conveniently for you to debate what is not the topic at hand.
Ra
September 4, 2021 at 11:11 pm
@Michael F. I am not defending ESPN either. So – you are just grateful that Peacock will even allow you to watch the games? I still don’t get it. You should have some respect for yourself. 🙂
Michael F
September 4, 2021 at 10:44 pm
Correction on last sentence 2nd paragraph: “It is only on-demand for ESPN subscribers. Same thing for NBCSN.”
Michael F
September 4, 2021 at 10:42 pm
@Ra. You are hilarious. Matches live on Peacock appear as on-demand very soon after the match completes.
I know what you are trying to do here, and this is not at all relevant. Matches aired exclusively on ESPN last season weren’t even put on ESPN+ to watch ever. If is only on-demand for ESPN subscribers. Same thing for NBCSN.
This is why Christopher Harris grade above for ‘time taken for live matches to be available on-demand’ is very subjective and does not present the objective entirely when compared to other providers streaming apps.
Ra
September 4, 2021 at 10:23 pm
@Nosferatu. The review if for Peacock, not NBCSN. Do these games appear in Peacock? Yes. Are they timely? NO. Simple as that.
Michael F
September 4, 2021 at 10:20 pm
@Nosferatu. Excellent response on your clarification on this topic and your reasoning on viewing habits and choices. I knew exactly what you meant and was one that was staying on topic. Unfortunately, this becomes an overall discussion of distaste over Comcast every single time. It’s really an opportunity for the few here to fire away at this provider and give the readers here another repeat ad nauseam complaint about them. Sorry, guys… but this has been rinse and repeat over and over, and I know you simply can’t help it.
Nosferatu
September 4, 2021 at 10:06 pm
I didn’t realize my one comment about one grade would create a firestorm like this!
I just want to clarify my point about the F for Peacock, though. We’re talking simply about time it takes for games to be made available on demand. To me, this grade shouldn’t include games that weren’t originally even aired on the service. You may not like that this is the way NBC is doing things, but it makes the grading scale feel inaccurate.
The point is, games on NBCSN show up on the NBC Sports app for people who subscribe to get that network, and they’ve gotten better about making those available soon after games end. To me, a subscriber, this all feels much better than Paramount+, where I recall last season waiting 4 or 5 hours (or more sometimes) to have replays appear.
I don’t have any great love for Spectrum–ffs, I had to wait several hours to post my reply here because of another internet service outage!–but between my and my wife’s viewing habits, networks we want (like RSNs for sports like baseball and hockey), traditional and easy-to-use DVR service, there’s nothing yet that has led me to cancel Spectrum for something else. Everyone has their own preferences or desires. If I’m paying what I do for cable, would I be happy if all Premier League coverage is moved to Peacock but the price of that doubles? No–but that’s because of my specific circumstances. Someone else understandably will be in a different boat. Doesn’t make either of us right or wrong.
Travis
September 4, 2021 at 10:01 pm
Is there currently any 30 day trial for Paramount + like there was in the past? Please share the code. Thank yall kindly.
Ra
September 4, 2021 at 9:24 pm
To me, F1TV is in the vanguard of how sporting events should be streamed. I believe that EPL will follow this route. You can decide to get it through cable, or have the premium experience, with 24 cameras and 7 audio streams directly through them. I also have to mention that before ESPN got the rights, NBC had them and they thought that they were dealing with the Indy audience. The would stop the race to show commercials. This is when I started to show them the middle finger , and didn’t look back. But back to my example, this is how it works (from their website):
HOW CAN I WATCH F1 IN THE UNITED STATES?
Two ways:
1) On ESPN.
Every race is broadcast commercial-free (!) on ESPN, EPSN2, or ABC, with practice and qualifying sessions occasionally drifting onto ESPN3 and ESPNEWS.
2) With F1 TV.
F1 TV is Formula 1’s official subscription video service. There are two tiers:
F1 TV Pro ($10 per month or $80 per year)
F1 TV Access ($3 per month or $27 per year)
The first has live events, and the second has replays available 3 days after the race.
This is the future – you want cable, you have it. You want a streaming service, there you go. You are a fan of this property, here is our exclusive, premium offer.
EPL must be thinking of offering the latter at some point.
Ra
September 4, 2021 at 8:55 pm
Very well said from the December 2020 article. Great reporting from WST. I know many different reasons to throw Comscum under the bus, but not a single valid one to praise them.
Hans
September 4, 2021 at 5:07 pm
Just revisited the “Bait and Switch” article and didn’t realize that the gaffer of WST was so much in the know. From the December 2020 article.
“Peacock TV is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. While they want to appear to be on the bleeding edge against streaming rivals such as ESPN+, Netflix, Paramount+ and HBO Max, Peacock TV is intrinsically linked with old media. They’re owned by NBCUniversal, which is owned by Comcast — the nation’s number one cable provider. The last thing Comcast would want is for consumers to cut the cord. But by having both the television and digital rights to a sports league such as the Premier League, Comcast/Peacock can control every single aspect of the customer experience and what users can access.”
There you have it why so many are disgruntled with the Peacock experience “Comcast/Peacock can control every single aspect of the customer experience and what users can access”.
Michael F
September 4, 2021 at 4:40 pm
@Ra Thanks for the clarification on the Sling add on. Good info. Btw… BeIn was just added to u tube tv but as part of an additional fee for other add on sports like additional soccer coverage. I dont plan to get it but it certainly has everything that FuBo has (which is advertised here a lot) and u tube tv’s unlimited DVR is easily a great feature because you just click once for any sport league and all of it is recorded. Never have to worry about running out of DVR space.
Ra
September 4, 2021 at 4:33 pm
@Michael F. No, I don’t think Sling is different from the other cable-like services, but with this broken system, they are the answer to the only (used to be 2, but NBC botched the Olympics) event where I will get some cable if I need to – the World Cup. And for $10, I get the login credentials to authenticate the TV anywhere for it.
The SlingWorld sport is indeed a completely different animal. It is an add-on that Sling sells as a stand-alone (let me know if you can do that with your provider). It has only 4 things – Bein, 8 Premiere channels (Brasileirao in the original portuguese narration from globo, like RAI in Italy), nautical channel and willow tv. This for $5/mo. I would argue that it is less bundled than ESPN+. I would actually like to remove all UFC, MLB and MLS from my ESPN+ homepage, to no avail).
Michael F
September 4, 2021 at 4:18 pm
@Hans Fair points. I just wanted to ensure you knew what i meant about the NBC model for airing live EPL matches on linear vs streaming. How they have kept changing when matches aired live on linear were available on-demand on Peacock is a legit complaint.
Hans
September 4, 2021 at 4:12 pm
Michael, we would not have this discussion if they would not have tinkered with when to make the NBCSN games available on Peacock consistently. As you may very well remember I did get a refund for my yearly subscription and I would not have subscribed for a year to Peacock unless the sign up advertisement was to my liking. If they would have stuck with what they advertised, my posts would be more like hoping that they finally release games after match completion rather then annoying subscribers with a 24 hour delays, which is new for the 2021/2022 season.
However, Comscum knows they need to grow subscribers on Peacock and why they can’t show a game shortly after completion is beyond comprehension for many of us and only they know the reason why, but we all have a very good educated guess why..
Michael F
September 4, 2021 at 3:45 pm
@Hans. And to make my point clearer. I doubt very much you really care if matches on NBCSN etc are aired later in day or next day on Peacock because you want ALL EPL matches live on Peacock.
That was never the case before Peacock (when NBC Sports Gold was streaming EPL matches) and has never been. Model has not changed.
But you want to refer to all the other issues with Peacock to say i am incorrect. But i am not in the context of the model of that all EPL matches were never available live via streaming by NBC/Comcast.
Michael F
September 4, 2021 at 3:31 pm
@Hans. Fair point but you know exactly what i am referring to as to their model…. that is not all EPL matches are aired live on Peacock, (some still and always live exclusively on their linear networks) which is what has you and so many are more upset about, not the fact that these behind their cable wall is available later in day or next day. You and i know that. The rest of the complaints made are legit, but the real issue by you and others is not all EPL matches is available live via streaming. That model has not changed for NBC.
Hans
September 4, 2021 at 2:45 pm
@Michael F
Your statement “the NBC model that hasn’t changed since they started streaming some of the EPL matches, while exclusively airing others live on NBCSN etc as they always have.” is incorrect and you know that as several articles here have dealt with that matter.
Comscum’s fiddling with the availability of the On-Demand games ever since the creation of Peacock is a direct result of their not coming to grasp with the fact that the landscape has shifted towards streaming and that they are not willing to resolutely address this problem as ESPN and ViacomCBS have done.
So to present a well rounded picture and reason why their F Grade for On-Demand availability is warranted this fact of their approach toward streaming is needed to make a fair argument for their F grade. And as we all know you don’t agree with that, thus your deflection.
JP
September 4, 2021 at 2:35 pm
@Ra, Hans, MichaelF
The other issue not touched on with cable are the taxes and fees. Close to $40 of my monthly bill went to regions sports fees, franchise fees, and other unintelligible taxes and fees that get passed on to us. Allbecause localities need to extort their cut for the privilege of allowing these companies to lay down cable and fiber in their city. Was only up until a decade ago my city wasn’t Comcast only with no competition.
–
As for ESPN+, another thing not mentioned here is the ESPN3 access. For the longest time I thought that was tied to cable log in, not internet. Great to see I still have access to tons of events on ESPN3 without cable! US Open tennis (which I watch), marquee college football (which I do not). Hope the semis and final will be available too!!
Michael F
September 4, 2021 at 2:18 pm
@Ra. So are you saying its ok to be a Sling cable-like customer but all the rest are not ok?? What exactly is the right or wrong stance to take to show Comcast the “middle finger”?. Seems you are hopping on and off the fence, if i may say so. Either keep that finger up or put it away. Haha
Michael F
September 4, 2021 at 2:14 pm
@Hans. Btw… we are all well familiar with the history you continue to repeat over and over. Haha. It would be nice to stick to the actual subject matter. The F grade given was specific for when live matches were available on demand by Peacock. But continue to provide the history lesson of everything else. Broken record.
Michael F
September 4, 2021 at 2:10 pm
@Hans. It could be worse. Like for those in the UK everywhere who cannot legally watch Ronaldo’s return to Old Trafford this Saturday vs New Castle because it is blacked out country wide as the Athletic reports. So all is not that bad here for soccer fans.
Hans
September 4, 2021 at 1:36 pm
The F grade for Peacock is definitely warranted for me as they constantly shift where their games are being shown. It started out with NBCSN and Peacock showing all the EPL games and those that were shown first on NBCSN would be after match completion be available On-demand on Peacock but the time of availability was between 2 hours and more than 9. Then the infamous bait and switch only to be retracted after massive complaints and refunds because false advertisement. With the new season again a new switch to now being available the next day on Peacock which really pisses people off.
Comscum (as someone here appropriately named the parent company) can’t rip the band aid of the festering wound that is the switch from cable to streaming. ESPN & Paramount+ get it, Comscum will learn it the hard way. Since they are not willing to provide a solution that other networks like DAZN (Canada) are willing to do, their customers will dwindle and their only profit will be from providing Internet Access as the most recent quarterly statements show.
F all the way and because of the late availability, my reliable alternative sources are plugging the hole Comscum left. If it were not for Rugby I would be done with Peacock.
Ra
September 4, 2021 at 12:22 pm
PS: Sling is Sling World sports. Not the usual garbage. To be fair, I spent another $20 on the promo rate to watch the Euros and Olympics on SlingBlue (regretted the Olympics, the coverage was a complete garbage)
Ra
September 4, 2021 at 12:19 pm
Using me as an example, they would be better off with their soccer rights if they did (that they admit is uniquely positioned for streaming).
In the past 12 months, this is what I spent:
Paramount: $100
Sling: $60
DisneyCorp: $28
Peacock:$5
I would have paid $140 for Disney (just put a statement out that all soccer and F1 will be live on streaming) and $50 NBC (all live EPL + MotoGP).
Ra
September 4, 2021 at 12:04 pm
@Michael F. I don’t think it is presumptuous, and at that time I (and I assume many) was not interested in the EPL. The shift of power between EU clubs changed that. I do like to watch the best players in the world. ESPN+ is close with Bundesliga and LaLiga and Paramount with UCL.
Also, customer demands drive business decisions. If most of us showed them the middle finger, this would change in no time… 🙂
Michael F
September 4, 2021 at 10:07 am
@Ra. I dont disagree with your commentary. I also won’t pretend to be a proponent of cable conglomerates or their pricey packages.
This commentary went a certain way with regards the grade for when aired matches on Peacock become available on demand. Nosferatu brought up a very good point about the subjectivity of that F grade. It is almost immediately after matches aired live on Peacock are complete that it is on demand. I was just reiterating that point and stating again the NBC model that hasnt changed since they started streaming some of the EPL matches, while exclusively airing others live on NBCSN etc as they always have.
Were these complaints this loud back a few years ago when NBC Sports Gold started streaming EPL matches? Seems that as soon as ESPN+ and CBS+ (now Paramount+) started exclusively airing the majority of the other euro league matches – everyone assumed that’s what Comcast should do. I just think that is very presumptuous, despite being upset they don’t do what you want. And by 2022/2023, it all could change dramatically for EPL coverage in the US, whoever gets that next contract.
Ra
September 4, 2021 at 8:06 am
@Michael F. One last argument and I’ll rest my case. Just because it is legal and has been so in the past does not mean that it is ethical and should continue in the future. It is estimated that USA network is NBC’s most expensive channel, at a cost per subscriber of $1.65. So, with my $5 to Peacock, I am paying more than my fair due. If they really need it, they could charge a couple of more dollars and offer the whole thing live.
In the end of the day, it is not only you who is paying for it, but the cable subscribers who don’t watch and care.
There is a very interesting article from variety “THE TRUE COST TO CONSUMERS OF PAY TV’S TOP CHANNELS”. Check it out. Interesting numbers.. The problem is even worse with ESPN as everyone here knows. ($7.64 in the current model; $35 in a model that would be fair to everyone).
They call the current system the “universal socialism model”. It is funny that the word socialism comes up in the most predatory capitalist model…
And no, I don’t think that they need to keep bidding ridiculous amounts for TV rights. A market correction is around the corner and is going to be very good in the long run…the current model of scaming customers is not sustainable and the industry knows it. The can be proactive and start adjusting now (many are starting) or see the system implode once people realize that they are paying a ridiculous amount for a basic service.
Ra
September 3, 2021 at 9:17 pm
BTW, I agree ESPN is not any better at this. I have canceled ESPN several times in the last year – Euros being the prime example, with their ridiculous streaming angles. That is why I think Paramount is best.
Ra
September 3, 2021 at 9:00 pm
@Rye @Mercator To me the most interesting league is UCL, by far. Paramount has a lot to improve (pause and rewind live streams and immediate access to games once stream has ended). But to their credit, they are the most reliable streaming provider. There is not a single property that you can’t access through Paramount+).
And yes, I will keep complaining about NBC/Peacock for as long as they put content behind a pay wall that I am not willing to climb. I got 15 days of Sling today for free – but no, thanks. I would actually pay not to be brainwashed by cable.
Maybe some enlighten executive from EPL will realize that it is a horrible idea to ostracize the target market of an incipient property here in the US.
If Peacock gets another 5 more year of this BS, I will just tune off EPL completely and check again after the 2026 WC. I am not sufficient emotionally invested to bother to get some IPTV.
Rye Brook
September 3, 2021 at 8:34 pm
I bet Pea-cockup still does not offer the ability to time-shift on demand Prem matches it carries exclusively live with full functionality so it’s utterly useless for me and probably hundreds of thousands of other viewers. Gave up on it last season and won’t ever be coming back. Please in the name of the holy mother Mary, the supreme and infinite karmic wisdom bestowed by the infinite incarnations of Krishna, and the thousand loving arms of Aviloketishvara….. Premier league – get someone else to replace the current license holders in the USA – it’s a diabolical hell hole under Comscum and is deeply hurting a league that should be doing far better in America but being held back by a hostile, shambolic conduit. ESPNFC A+++, Gab etc brilliant. Paramount? Who gives a ****.
Michael F
September 3, 2021 at 8:29 pm
@Ra. Not saying that at all. I am simply saying that NBC has had a model with coverage of the EPL from day one… priority on their cable networks and then they added streaming years ago (ie NBC Sports Gold, and now Peacock). This is the way they chose their business model for this product. Just because other providers choose to stream all their less popular euro leauges, doesnt mean its something that NBC should do for the more popular demanding EPL. For you and others to scream foul because of this for so long is moot. Thats all i am saying. But i have commented before that providers are in this business to make money and to make comments here that Comcast is greedy or not being fair to the streaming customer because all the EPL matches arent available live to streamers is over the top. They dont owe you anything or feel the need to change their model because ESPN+ streams all LaLiga and Bundesliga.
Ra
September 3, 2021 at 4:24 pm
@Michael F. I understand that you subscribe to cable, and based on your comments, you also have Peacock. What I do not understand is why you think it is outrageous that people believe they should have access to the content without paying for cable. Having access to it in both scenarios, does it bother you that you are getting less utility out of your cable $? Nobody here is saying that the games should be streaming-exclusive.
The discussion is futile at this point before we know who gets the rights. If they don’t renew, they may put every single game live on Peacock and on cable to generate a bigger subscriber base before the bait is gone.
I will get a month of Peacock every once in a while, and I delete the peacock app on every device out of spite before complaining that games are not available. I then use youtube to see replays and check other sources so that they can not brag about their non-paying subscriber database… 🙂
For me, I do expect a great deal of all my services. After getting 3mo of Disney bundle free, I just got a promo to get another 3 mo for $9.99/mo using another email (redeemable by 9/30). The truth is that fidelity pays off (annual bundles), but infidelity pays even more. For 6 months, I am paying $5/mo for the whole bundle on average. I do not understand why to run to get a year-long commitment for a mere $10 savings. And it is not for the money; I enjoy outsmarting them. 🙂
Michael F
September 3, 2021 at 2:38 pm
@Nosteratu. I agree with your post. Matches aired live on Peacock are available very soon after March is complete. The grade by. Christopher is not taking all into consideration. And as Ana example, any rare matches of Serie A on linear ESPN cable network.was never aired on demand on ESPN+. At least NBC aired matches all are available at some point on Peacock. Little consolation for those that believe ‘all’ EPL matches should be available live on Peacock for $5 per month. Which would be an amazing over the top deal!. And let’s please not compare the demand for LaLiga or Bundesliga on ESPN+ at $6 per month, as being the same popular demand as the English Premier League. Because it’s not. At the end of the day, NBC has a model and haven’t changed it, while providing more EPL matches than before via a low cost streaming price.
Michael F
September 3, 2021 at 2:25 pm
@Ra. Your last post opinion here on Peacock is a good example of being subjective. Haha
Ra
September 3, 2021 at 9:52 am
@Nosferatu. I think it is very fair to give than an F. So if they sr* you on purpose it shouldn’t count and you give them a pass? To me, it is even worse.
Edward
September 3, 2021 at 9:29 am
based on Peacock’s Live and Upcoming listings, Goal Rush is coming back starting GW4
Nosferatu
September 2, 2021 at 1:54 pm
Some of this is subjective, but I think it’s kind of unfair to give Peacock an F for time it takes to make games available on demand.
I assume this is all because of how they now make you wait until the next day for games that were on NBCSN/USA/CNBC, but since those feel like bonuses–they weren’t actually on Peacock–I feel a more representative grade would only include the games that were streamed on Peacock in the first place. And in that regard, they’re quite fast and everything I’ve seen puts Peacock right up there with ESPN–definitely better than Paramount+.
Michael F
September 1, 2021 at 11:33 am
@Mercator. Ornstein is impressive. He provided a lot of knowledgeable insight on club stories within the transfer window.
Leo
August 31, 2021 at 8:32 pm
ESPN+ great pause/rewind function is something that “dubious streamings links” cannot match yet. Only reason (for me) to pay for ESPN+. The rest of the features not worth (for me) even $1.
Mercator
August 31, 2021 at 8:18 pm
It’s not particularly helpful though and it would be much better if they offered that content on demand as well. Just watching though NBC’s transfer wrap up now and it really is very good. I think Howard has gotten much better this year, more present and opinionated. Ornstein is brilliant and a real addition, but I’m not surprised.
@Ra, the navigation is poor so you have to scroll up before you scroll, over to switch, otherwise you end up fast forwarding. The PL hub is pretty good though, they break out the match replays from the rest of the on demand content which ESPN+ does not do. There should be a way to set the PL Hub as the default starting point when the peacock opens.
Michael F
August 31, 2021 at 8:11 pm
@Mercator. Well said. Nice summation.
@Hans. Based on what you said, I agree. I do like the ESPN FC show and if one is only looking for coverage and analysis of the top tier clubs, they give it. They also are entertaining. I enjoy their ‘extra time’ segment, as they know how to have fun.
Edward
August 31, 2021 at 7:51 pm
no mention of Peacock’s 24/7 PLTV channel
The other streamers don’t have that
Ra
August 31, 2021 at 7:32 pm
How do you operate these s* controls on Peacock? It is always frustrating to navigate their playlists. It will ff when I want to jump to next video and vice-versa.
Hans
August 31, 2021 at 7:00 pm
@Michael F.
Watched both ESPN-FC and Peacock’s Sky deadline day coverage and do prefer much more the Sky coverage for the rest of the leagues for me it suffices to get a summary either on the many online sports pages or ESPN-FC. They do sort of stick just with the major headlines and that is not to my liking in a Transfer Window business.
Mercator
August 31, 2021 at 6:42 pm
@ Michael F – Agree. Peacock sucks etc etc but the EPL is on another level now. Probably have spent more this window than the rest of Europe combined. You have 4 major competitive clubs, 6 if Arsenal turn it around and we pretend Spurs will ever win something, probably 10 when Villa, Leicester, West Ham and Everton are doing well. It’s already the super league (although I wish Celtic and Rangers were in).
I think you can get better coverage on youtube to be honest. Fab is running a great stream and there are several near professional streams exclusively covering on club, like AFTV. But I agree NBC does a good in depth job with their coverage, although I think part of this is that EPL clubs are generally buyers and not sellers so its probably much better for EPL fans than leagues which sell their best every window. They need to make SkySportsNews a default peacock channel though, even if all they do is try to piss on Arsenal and make things up out of thin air.
Madrid and PSG are fighting with each other to set $200 million on fire, but otherwise if you look around, it really just those two and Bayern at this point. Can’t see how Seria A will be able to compete with EPL money anytime soon. Barca are run worse than Arsenal – just took a €80m loss on Greizmann, although they will be back soon. We are not far away from bottom EPL clubs being able to splash more cash than anyone but maybe the 8 biggest clubs in Europe?
The best thing for the league though has been Klopp and Pep – they play attractive football. It wouldn’t be the same if the league was full of Mourinho like tacticians parking the bus every week.
Michael F
August 31, 2021 at 5:52 pm
Another CORRECTION; It does seem so many soccer fans here try to claim that other leagues are more enjoyable than the EPL simply because they DETEST the provider of this league – NBC/Peacock. Boy do I wish this site allowed you to edit/correct your own comments.
Michael F
August 31, 2021 at 5:49 pm
CORRECTION; Sorry, the last paragraph’s first sentence should read: “I am NOT trying to get into a spat with you over what is preferred”.
Michael F
August 31, 2021 at 5:47 pm
@Hans. Just one added comment. If you’re following a specific league in depth like I am with the EPL, there is no way ESPN FC’s coverage of the transfer window for a specific league (EPL) will satisfy. NBCSN coverage of the EPL transfer window is very in-depth. They go through and review every EPL clubs in and out transfers and how it will impact these clubs.
I am trying to get into a spat with you over what is preferred, but if you want something specific like the above, you won’t get it anywhere else. For those that follow the EPL, this is the way to view a transfer window.
It does seem so many soccer fans here try to claim that other leagues are more enjoyable than the EPL simply because they deserts the provider of this league – NBC/Peacock. But let’s be realistic, things are happening in the EPL this transfer window alone to one again prove this is the league to watch over the others.
Turfit
August 31, 2021 at 12:39 pm
@Mercator, Fubo also has TUDN which has most of LigaMX matches to include matches in English. They have recently upgraded their DVR and it is a lot better.
Michael F
August 31, 2021 at 10:08 am
@Hans. Yes… I enjoy the ESPN FC pundits you mentioned. Although those on NBC and via Sky Sports (on Peacock) are European too (former players etc).
Gabe Marcotti is easily my favorite of the ESPN FC cast. Very knowledgeable.
Ra
August 31, 2021 at 9:00 am
@Chris Thanks for the info. SkySportsNews is also transmitting live on YouTube. It would be very convenient to have SkySportsNews as a regular channel on Peacock.
Ra
August 31, 2021 at 8:16 am
I liked SkySportsnews for deadline day coverage. Does Peacock always offer it as a channel?
Christopher Harris
August 31, 2021 at 8:51 am
Not as a channel, no. But they do have Sky News via Peacock, but it’s 99% news focused.
You can watch Sky Sports News today, however:
https://worldsoccertalk-wp.futbolsites.dev/2021/08/31/where-to-watch-transfer-deadline-day-on-tv-and-streaming/
Ra
August 31, 2021 at 8:13 am
@ Rob Yes, it is called Serie A Magazine and it is available in the Extra section.
Rob
August 31, 2021 at 7:07 am
Will Paramount+ offer a weekly highlight show of Seria A? I can’t catch every match and a one hour highlight is perfect for my schedule. So far, it’s been very inconsistent but I know they are just getting started.
Efrain
August 31, 2021 at 6:50 am
@Raksiam- Complain to Peacock on PQ. I try to complain once a month by sending an email and will mention how their competitor (ESPN+) streams at much better quality (60fps). Hard to imagine how a company as big as NBC won’t invest in equipment to improve their sports program. While many may watch soccer on computers, tablets and other devices…… the PQ is night and day for me watching on a 65″ OLED.
Hans
August 31, 2021 at 1:43 am
@Lou
On Demand is very important to a large audience here which lives on the West Coat or in Hawaii. The early kick off games are happening when they are sleeping. Or should an emergency or other event happen that takes priority, then On Demand is a must for many of us and before you jump in with the DVR argument, why should there be an extra fee for recording something that you already paid for. I run a Network Attached Server (NAS) which has 56 Over The Air (OTA) channels and I can record those, but it still costs the purchase of the NAS and its maintenance. Let the Rights owners record it and make it available ASAP to the streaming customer. Paramount+ and ESPN+ do that. If you turn off the notifications and stay away from your sports sources, then when you have time watch it On Demand.
@Michael F.
ESPN-FC will start at 5:30pm EST with all the transfer window news that is 30 minutes before the window closes and having all the pundits present. I do prefer the European pundits, Klinsman on the Bundesliga, Gabe Marcotti on Seria A, Mark Ogen on EPL, some of these are jornos with their connections because after all the Transfer Window is bread and butter for pundits.
Michael F
August 30, 2021 at 9:18 pm
I like to add that I think these stream app review ratings for soccer coverage is lacking a review for coverage of its league they are contracted with.
I am sure to get some replies here, but say what you want… NBC/Peacock is superior in every way vs it’s competition when it comes to providing the best in-depth coverage of the league they are contracted with. Nobody has as much shoulder programming like Peacock does for the EPL, plus a 24 hour EPL live channel, plus the full match day experience and analysis. For the transfer window on Tuesday, Peacock is devoting like 12 hours of live coverage from Sky Sports and NBCSN is devoting 3 hours at the end of the day to recap all the EPL club transfers. NO other provider covers their league as in depth like this. And yes, some of us really like this in-depth coverage. It can’t be beat.
Michael F
August 30, 2021 at 9:08 pm
@dstorm. Great point about lack of extended highlights for any match shown on ESPN+. So true. The only highlights they provide is from the ESPN FC show, which is minimal at best. I like the show for its commentary, stories and analysis although they also just focus on the top tier clubs of each league. ESPN really lacks the in depth coverage of all clubs of a league they exclusively air games for.
Michael F
August 30, 2021 at 9:01 pm
@Lou. I concur with your comments about watching multiple views or matches and your other comments. To me, that’s not how to take in the match day experience. But that’s just me.
Lou
August 30, 2021 at 8:08 pm
As noted, it really depends on what’s important to you. For me, PIP and Multiview are gimmicks I just don’t have use for. I prefer to give my attention to one game at a time and if it’s got the stink of a 0-0 snore fest, I change to another. Highlights are important and NBC/Peacock reins supreme here. I have a busy life so I rarely need on demand to watch matches later. It’s a bit disingenuous for WST to give so much weight to on demand as it would be much more important to them as organization.
Since I watch much more EPL then other leagues, I am going to give NBC/Peacock the slim win over the ESPN and Paramount. with Paramount coming in third.
Mercator
August 30, 2021 at 7:22 pm
@dstorm This is an excellent point and I agree Paramount really gets this one right. That said, I really do think youtube is the best for highlights and commentary, particularly since its free. The NBC youtube channel is fantastic and from my recollection things we’re uploaded there several hours before they were available on peacock. If I have time after a good match I pop over to youtube and immediately get all the highlights and punditry clips, often NBC and you can find Sky ones available as well (punditry no highlights or clips from the match). There is a lot of great football content on youtube, live matches aside it puts any of the streaming services to shame.
Ra
August 30, 2021 at 5:40 pm
@dstorm I agree with your reviews. Once you find it, Paramount is the most organized, with lists for different things – match replays, highlights, extras, etc.
I also like Be-in’s 90 for 30. It is a great extra-extended highlights.
Ra
August 30, 2021 at 5:36 pm
@Bana2166 You can go back to the start of a live match on both ESPN+ and Peacock (only on AppleTV at this point). Chris mentioned in a previous commentary that Paramount is working on adding this to their app also.
dstorm
August 30, 2021 at 4:46 pm
Good points all around – I think there is another dimension here that adds to enjoyment as a fan that is very important – that of should programming and extended highlights. Could probably be its own future article.
For most of us it is impossible to watch multiple games, but it is fun to watch a 60 min highlight show or access the highlights of a match you couldn’t watch. Here’s is how I would hand out grades here:
Paramount+: A+ Once you actually find their league hub page (which is more difficult than it should be), it’s very well organized between live games, full game replays, extended highlights and magazine review shows. They have nailed this and make it easy to follow all the teams and highlights for all of their properties, (both CBS Sports and league/competition produced)
NBC / Peacock: A- They get this grade because they always provide extended highlights for every match. So you can miss a match but still get the best 10 minutes with full match commentary. The reason I marked them below Paramount is I wish they would offer the excellent Premier League Review show or ‘Match of the Day’ program on-demand.
ESPN+: B- This is where ESPN lags it’s competitors. They don’t provide any extended match highlights on their own. Sounds crazy, but it’s true. Missed the Real Madrid or Barca match and want to just watch match highlights on ESPN+? They don’t exist. Your options are to leave the ESPN website and go to YouTube (with commercials), or watch the ESPNFC show (which is excellent – but is more of a pundit show). They do get a boost in the grade because just this last week they started adding the La Liga weekly highlights show and the very excellent Bundesliga match day review show. So kudos to ESPN for that.
Bana2166
August 30, 2021 at 4:17 pm
Chris – I love all the point you made about ESPN Plus — Paramount — Peacock …….. My only thing with streaming services it does not provide you ability watch live game from the start ……… Meaning if a game is going on live & you wanted to watch the game from the start/beginning as live game is going on ……. You have to wait for the live game be over before you could watch it from the start/beginning ( if that make sense)
Thanks
Michael F
August 30, 2021 at 4:05 pm
@Raksiam I have to chime in here about Peacock’s video quality. While it isn’t at the same par with ESPN+… I don’t understand this claim that it is “abysmal”. That’s too harsh. It’s been more than fine quality for me, if not 60fps. And btw… Paramount+ is considerably inferior to Peacock’s video quality. No question about it.
Ra
August 30, 2021 at 1:41 pm
@Yespage The difference is that the streaming pay wall is a pony wall. If you want to follow a league you can pay $5-7 and get every match. For cable, you need to depart with $65-100 and get a lot of garbage as ‘bonus’, which I’d rather skip.
Raksiam
August 30, 2021 at 1:21 pm
My biggest problem with Peacock is the abysmal video quality. ESPN+ looks amazing. I’m watching both via Nvidia ShieldTV apps. I haven’t felt any need to try Paramount
Yespage
August 30, 2021 at 1:10 pm
@Ra: The difference is that the programming was on Cable/Sat TV, the rights were purchased by other Cable/Sat station owners… and it was put behind a paywall.
David the Yank
August 30, 2021 at 12:59 pm
I hate peacock but I def got it to pause live TV on my roku week 2 for the first time. Didn’t work on my android yesterday. Wasn’t at home to try on my roku thus weekend.
locofooty
August 30, 2021 at 12:37 pm
ESPN+ runs at 60fps, it’s got the best quality.
REK53
August 30, 2021 at 12:18 pm
I have only watched a few matches on Peacock (which I subscribe to primarily in order to watch Brentford) but I think that the video quality of ESPN+ is clearly better.
Ra
August 30, 2021 at 12:03 pm
@Yespage I get it and…exactly! It also doesn’t make sense that many here say – “I am paying so much for cable, so it should be included ” The ‘so much’ is to pay for all the other stuff.
Mercator
August 30, 2021 at 12:00 pm
@Greg – Harsh, but fair. I will say I am very glad for the international break – no Arsenal or Peacock nonsense for a few weeks, happy to watch Euro qualifiers on ESPN+. I will say NBC is much fairer to Arsenal than ESPN – ESPN has some vendetta against Arsenal and the ESPN FC guys and their social media managers take pot shots at every single opportunity.
Would also love to see Fanatiz included in these sort of metrics. They show way more football than Peacock and its probably the only way a majority of viewers (other than FUBO subscribers) can get the Bein Sports channels and Ligue 1 matches. Would also love to see a similar comparison of the cable alternatives like Youtube TV, ATT TV and Fubo. I’ve been considering FUBO for Bein and the multicast, but YTTV still seems superior for me.
Yespage
August 30, 2021 at 11:50 am
It is incredible how some people seem to think their entertainment choices should be the same choices everyone else makes. Some people don’t cut the cord because there is stuff on the cord they want to watch.
Ra
August 30, 2021 at 11:12 am
@Yespage Peacock now supports pause, restart and rewind on AppleTV. They might include it in the next AndroidTV update as well.
The other upside for hard-core fans is that now you can watch every single game, which was never the case. This benefits particularly the smaller teams. It is great. Paramount alone has 2,000+ soccer matches per year.
Cut the cord and enjoy!
JP
August 30, 2021 at 11:12 am
@Ra, yes. For me it somehow works out so the ESPN+ match remains in the small viewer and have the P+ match on the full screen. Can’t switch which gets full screen but can change which one gets audio. Since I’m likely to be more focused on Serie A when doing this anyway, it’s suitable
Ra
August 30, 2021 at 11:08 am
@JP The other benefit of the workaround is that you can swap the big and small screen matches, even when watching content that does not natively support PiP.
Yespage
August 30, 2021 at 11:02 am
I’d say it is kind of silly, seeing that if you want to watch EPL, ESPN+ and Paramount+ are nothing but big F’s when it comes to soccer streaming.
Peacock doesn’t pause or restart when live, this impacts most of their programming. This would be great to improve. But otherwise, it streams perfectly fine. It isn’t hard to find the programming either. NBC is the only company that hasn’t hidden everything behind a paywall.
ESPN+ obviously has a greater amount of leagues streaming, and if you want to watch those leagues the most ESPN+ magically becomes the best.
And Paramount+ has hidden everything behind a paywall. If you want Champions League and disappointing Star Trek series, that is for you.
The only winner in all this are the leagues who are getting more money and Cord Cutters that don’t want to watch the EPL.
Ra
August 30, 2021 at 10:59 am
@JP Exactly. This is needed only if you want Paramount or Peacock content in the smaller screen.
Ra
August 30, 2021 at 10:58 am
PS: to clarify the method. To open the small PiP window, you load the video in your mobile device and then airplay to Apple.
It will load full-screen, but you will now find a minimize to PiP button. Click that and you have the PiP window.
Now open the main stream using AppleTV’s app.
Sling and ESPN can do the PiP window directly from the native app. Paramount and Peacock require the workaround.
JP
August 30, 2021 at 10:56 am
@Ra, I access the PiP by opening an ESPN+ match 1st–>choose picture in picture–>double tap home button–>select other app from home screen (ESPN+ match still in PiP)–>choose match from other app.
Ra
August 30, 2021 at 10:52 am
@Turfit You can do cross-app PiP by using the method I described in 1.2. I have an older IPhone set aside to do just that.
It is pretty obvious – those apps are not inside YouTube, Sling or other because their companies demand a substantial cut, making it inviable. That is why also there is an exception with Hulu/ESPN as both have the same parent company.
Turfit
August 30, 2021 at 10:47 am
The top 3 leagues (EPL, La Liga, Serie A) are on 3 separate streaming apps. That is the problem with streaming.
We need an user-interface streaming app that will incorporate all the streaming services into one. I hate hate hate hate hate all things Apple, I mean I really hate APPLE!!! but I got that Apple TV just for it’s sports user-interface but it leaves out several of my main apps (fanatiz, willow tv) and it still has to open each app individually. The PIP and Multi-view is awesome but it does not transfer from one app to another.
I do not understand why ESPN+, Paramount+ and Peacock are not add-on to your FUBOTV/YOUTUBETV/SLING service. HULU has added ESPN+ to their service so why should they stop there?
Jesus
August 30, 2021 at 10:07 am
Overall I think the grading is fair. While ESPN+ is better than Peacock (I don’t have Paramount), for me there a a couple of gripes I have on ESPN+. From time to time I experience buffering issues and and have to go back and choose the match again. That usually solves the problem but it’s still an inconvenience. Also, on my Roku, the live scores of all matches in progress are shown so if you wanted to watch one of them later without knowing the result you have to watch all matches on ESPN+ via your computer as the scores are not listed there. I prefer to watch using my TV and not my computer.
greg
August 30, 2021 at 9:35 am
@mercator Peacock keeping you from watching Arsenal seems a blessing in disguise 🙂
Ra
August 30, 2021 at 8:37 am
Great article! I love summarized table comparisons. I have some comments –
1. While PiP is not supported by Paramount+ and Peacock, there are two workarounds.
1.1 If you subscribe to Paramount through Apple and access the stream through the AppleTV+ ‘channels’, you will be able to use PiP natively because it uses Apple’s encoder.
1.2 You can do PiP with any app by opening through an Apple device (iPad, iPhone) and using Airplay to send to AppleTV. It will then allow PiP also (because it will use Apple’s encoder).
2. AppleTV has a ‘Reelgood’/’JustWatch’ style landing page for sports available through those platforms. You have to access AppleTV -> Sports. AppleTV is expensive but great.
3. Why does the article mention the ‘Not at this time’ whiparound show for Peacock? Is there something in the works?
I decided to subscribe to Peacock again this weekend after a while because it was reported that you can rewind/ff games (AppleTV), and the most important games were on the app this weekend.
My impression is that the video quality is great, superior to Paramount’s. EPL’s original score bugs are great – far superior to NBC’s supersized, ad–infested one. I liked the Peacock-exclusive matches far better because of this.
I still dislike Peacock’s playlist-style interface. A list would be much preferable. It is a pain to jump videos vs ff/rewind on both AppleTV and AndroidTV.
With the ff/rewind, Peacock is now a better platform than Paramount’s for sports. But besides sports, there is nothing remarkable about Peacock. It is a $5 for EPL, cycling, some Olympic sports and that’s it. Overall, still a good value IF they provide all the games or at least all the important ones live.
Efrain
August 30, 2021 at 5:53 am
Agree with grading system, though IMO ease of navigation for Peacock and Paramount probably deserved D’s. Also, wish you had included streaming picture quality.
Christopher Harris
August 30, 2021 at 8:48 am
We considered streaming picture quality, but there are so many variables involved including which device you’re watching it on (Roku vs. Amazon Fire vs. Apple TV, etc).
Mercator
August 30, 2021 at 3:16 am
@Michael F. I’m using the exact same equipment. In fairness I don’t use the peacock anymore because last season I missed two separate Arsenal matches with buffering issues. Until maybe 2 weeks ago I needed to force close the app to switch between matches. It does seem like they have had some recent updates though, including pause and rewind functions, but I just don’t use the app at this point because it cannot be trusted to deliver the football I have paid for. Yes I complain a lot about more minor things, but they lost me the minute I missed an arsenal match because of their botched peacock rollout. Even fox has never done that, it was disrespectful to the game and the EPL to be putting matches on such a half baked non-functioning product.
Senor, youtube TV has an excellent DVR function and it’s unlimited. It doesn’t have beIN sports but otherwise it should works just like TIVO. But I agree with many of your critiques, so far I think only ESPN+ really provides a product better than cable. Peacock ruined NBCs otherwise great broadcasting of the EPL. Paramount is good enough but similar to peacock in that it seems like they haven’t made the slightest effort to cater to sports fans.
Ulises
August 30, 2021 at 2:08 am
I see you have listed La Liga games under ESPN+. Is La Liga not on Fanatiz anymore? Thanks.
Christopher Harris
August 30, 2021 at 8:49 am
Correct, Ulises. LaLiga is available exclusively via ESPN+:
https://worldsoccertalk-wp.futbolsites.dev/2021/07/17/espn-faq-for-la-liga-everything-you-need-to-know/
dave
August 30, 2021 at 12:46 am
Interesting summary. A few comments and questions:
1. Appreciate your use of the full A-F grading scale; overall B/C range with ESPN+ in the lead feels right
2. ESPN app is great for having all ESPN linear and ESPN+ content in the same place
3. I am 95% certain I watched Golazo Show for UCL in 2020 (and UEL as in your summary) – am I mistaken or is UCL Golazo cancelled for 2021?
4. Paramount and Peacock could use a better suggestion algorithm that remembers I like soccer
5. Agree with commenters above about the occasional twinge of nostalgia for cable and TiVo
Michael F
August 29, 2021 at 10:42 pm
@Mercator. I agree with Christopher Harris’ grades for Peaock, and I have never had technical issues with video feed or on-demand of matches or their shoulder programming. What are you using to watch Peacock? Apple TV and Samsung smart tv have been flawless, no issues.
Futbol is Life
August 29, 2021 at 9:42 pm
All excellent points @Senor Buckwheat!
Senor Buckwheat
August 29, 2021 at 9:15 pm
Compared to how I used to be able to watch and record games on cable with a DVR, streaming services have a long way to go. I watch less soccer now because the games are all over the place and the user interface blows.
With a DVR, I could setup to record anything with ‘soccer’ in the title or ‘EPL’, etc. It would record them and I could also see what is scheduled to be recorded. I could watch the games from the start even if the game was still going on plus I could record all the pregame and post-game shows. It was easy to pause, rewind to a certain point, do freeze frame, and go frame by frame. Probably all the stuff VAR does now when they are reviewing a play.
Streaming is a pain to operate, live games start at the point the game is going on, pre and post game shows are not integrated and neither is most half time analysis. Most of the time all we get are highlights of the current game over and over with no analysis. I have to search out games over many streaming services. Then when I find one, I get subscription issues even though I am logged on. UI glitches all the time. I could go on forever but hopefully you get the point.
Someone needs to set up a service that integrates all the streaming platforms and where one can choose what to watch and it puts it on a personalized DVR. Basically what cable and DVRs could do before all this “progress”.
Check out Reelgood. It brings in all the streaming services and lets one customize which ones they want access to and when you want to watch a show, you can initiate from there. It is just missing he DVR functionality but with shows and movies, that is not as important as when watching sports.
Carlos
August 29, 2021 at 9:01 pm
Streaming in general is still buggy when compared to plain old cable.!
The worst part about Peacock is you still need cable to watch EPL games!
Futbol is Life
August 29, 2021 at 8:39 pm
Multiview and PiP for ESPN+ are only available on Apple+, is that correct?
I also wish the streaming technology was advanced enough so that you could see the video while fast forwarding and rewinding a game on-demand.
Christopher Harris
August 30, 2021 at 8:57 am
Correct
Mercator
August 29, 2021 at 7:08 pm
This seems about right and neatly encompasses just how far ahead ESPN is. It sounds like minor things but between multiview, pip and the ability to pause and rewind games, it completely changes the experience. I’ve watched much more lower league teams and small leagues thanks to multiview.
Peacock, and NBC apps in general, have been the worst in my experience with technical issues. To date, only peacock has had issues to the point where I couldn’t watch certain matches. It seems to have improved lately, but in terms of technical consistency I think peacock is dead last.