nbcsports.com

NBC is arguably one of the biggest networks in the United States when it comes to comprehensive sports action. NBC alongside ABC, Fox, and CBS is one of the four major networks in the country. While all the other three networks have their independent streaming services allowing them to navigate in the streaming market, NBC seems to be holding its own. Though it has an app, it does not have a dedicated streaming platform such as CBS's All Access.

Multiple ways to stream the channel

What is amazing about NBC Sports is that you can consume its content across various devices via different service packs. You do not need traditional equipment and bulky wiring, all you need is an internet connection and subscription to a major streaming service provider such as Hulu+, Live TV, Sling TV, AT&T Now, or YouTube TV. If you have a subscription to any of these services, you can access NBC Sports without cable.

Cord-cutting doesn?t necessarily cut the access

Canceling cable can be a tough decision as 90% of the population still relies on cable and satellite TV connections. However, if sports content is the main content category, you have a lot of alternatives. You don't need to pay hefty $80-150 on a monthly basis to access NBC Sports and other channels.

Skinny Bundles - Most lucrative option

Skinny bundles are a great way to access NBC Sports. If you're not familiar with them, let me shed some light. They have slimmed down packages featuring live channels primarily focusing on OTT content. Through these packages, you only pay for the content that matters to you without being tied down to a contract.

History

NBC Sports is owned and operated by NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, which is owned by Comcast. The network provides sports broadcasting on its network and is one of the leading national sports cable channels. NBC Sports was formerly part of the NBC news division and was tasked with airing a diverse range of sports, such as NASCAR, the NFL, NHL, French Open, Olympic Games, English Premier League and Tour De France among many other events. When Comcast acquired NBCUniversal in 2011, their own cable sports networks were aligned to NBC Sports and thus a new network was formed under the banner - NBC Sports Group.

Design

The simplicity of the search result is what caught my eye. Before even visiting the website, I saw the snippet with sports categories listed in the search engine. There were six major options - Watch, NHL, NFL, NBA, Soccer and NBC Sports Gold. This provided me a fair idea about what I should expect on the website. However, once I landed on the website, it took some time to get used to the interface. Since NBC Sports is a large network, there were too many things happening on its website. We will dissect each of the sections and simplify the overall layout of the website. So, upon initial visit, the first thing that catches your eye is the menus in black and grey.

The black menu has twelve categories that include Watch, NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB, Soccer, NCAA FB, Nascar, Motorsports, Golf and the Olympics. Under that is a grey menu with specific options - Betting odds, Gold coins for bets, Odds tab for betting on sporting events such as nascar and motorsports races, Olympic Channel for watching Olympian events such as track and field and rowing regattas, USA to change the language to English if someone wants to watch American sports such as the NFL or NCAA FB games (or presidential debates), Rotor World to gamble on various types of motor sports including Formula One racing and Moto GP motorcycle racing; Tickets to purchase real-world tickets to sporting events; Newsletters which offer discounts on sports products and services; Sports engines providing information about specific leagues or sports teams; and a search bar.

These menus look decent and are not irritating to use. As you scroll down, you see a very haphazard hero section with lots of whitespace between the header and the schedule. Now, though I get that it is the advertising space, it does look off. After the schedule, there is the main content section which is divided into four segments.

The first section on the left, entitled "Watch Now," features options such as Live and Upcoming Events. In the second section, you'll find a video highlights of recent sports actions. Besides that, you'll find a highlight section which is the combination of video and text content providing reports on upcoming games and also the ones that have been concluded. Finally, on the right, there's a pure News section that has top headlines followed by numerous titles which basically indicate the most read scoop of that particular day.

I wasn't too impressed with the homepage layout of NBC Sports, but the inner pages did catch my attention for a few seconds. Aside from the poor ad placement, the slider banners on this page looked user-friendly. The design and content placement didn't hamper my browsing experience in any way.

Content

If you live in the United States, it's likely that you already watch a majority of the sports content on this network. It has a lot of content, covering both international and local NHL, MLB, and NBA team?s games. NBC Sports? regional network is much better than any of its competitors because you get to catch up with all the local teams and stay up-to-date with what's happening. It's no surprise that two-thirds of RSNs are operated by NBC or Fox. The rest one third is run by local teams.

NBC Sports Gold

NBC Sports Gold is a premium channel that provides live and on-demand coverage of major sports events. Additionally, you can access NBC Sports Gold through multipledevices and receive support for it. One aspect I love about the NBC Sports Gold package is that it covers niche events such as figure skating which generally do not have extensive coverage. Thus, if you want to watch local events and not so mainstream sports events, the NBC Sports Gold service has you covered.

Having said that, there is a catch. These packages are marketed as being cost-effective, but they're not actually affordable. That's because either you buy the entire sports package for a total of $115 or you pay for individual sports where a single sport such as rugby costs $69.99 (that's too much).

Thus, NBC Sports is not affordable when purchased as an individual service. It is only affordable when it is part of a major streaming bundle.

Desktop/Mobile experience

I cut my cable cord nearly two years ago. Although I did have a good viewing experience on the cable TV network, my streaming standards have grown so much since then. It's funny how I didn't have high expectations from cable networks and now I get frustrated when I don't get quality coverage in high resolution. Despite these shortcomings, I stream NBC Sports via FuboTV. I've tried streaming it from Hulu + Live TV service as well, but with each of these services the streaming quality was satisfactory and I have nothing much to complain about. I tried streaming the website on my iPhone X and it was a smooth experience.

NBC Live without cables

If you are not well-versed with IPTV or are purely reliant on streaming services, you may not be aware of how you can stream NBC Live without cable. However, we have multiple solutions for you if this is the case. If you have one of the following services, chances are you'll have NBC Sports on it: a cable/satellite service, an over-the-air broadcast, or a streaming service like Netflix. If you're looking to cut the cord and watch NBC Sports, make sure you only switch to the networks below: To watch NBC Sports programming, you will most likely need one of the following services: cable/satellite service, an over-the-air broadcast, or a streaming service like Netflix.

Compatibility

The compatibility with different devices is as follows: you can stream the channel on your Mac or PC, Roku device, Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Android and iOS devices, gaming consoles such as PlayStation 4.

Plans & Pricing

You can either pay $75 for NBC Gold or you can subscribe to other streaming services that offer NBC Sports. That's completely up to you. Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV Fubo TV, AT&T Now, and YouTube TV all offer NBC Sports.

Suggestions I have for NBC

Rather than overpricing the service and turning the users away, why not start your own platform with inexpensive packages where users can choose the desired package?

Conclusion

NBC Sports is a highly valuable service for sports fans in the United States. It is essential that you have access to this channel, as it offers comprehensive coverage of the best sports content available. I only wish that NBC Sports could improve its services and customer relations management.