Live Streamed Sports on TV

Tired of missing your favorite teams on TV? Some viewing has also been available via the internet but now you can view live streamed sports on TV easier than ever.

Web to TV software company Boxee recently announced deals for live streamed sports on TV with National Hockey League (NHL). Another web to TV software company Roku announced a similar venture with the National Basketball Association (NBA). Roku currently streams for Netflix and Amazon and has a deal with the National Baseball League (NBL).

Consumers are all for having what they want when they want it. Any device or company that will give them this is sure to be a success. Some will say adding yet another device to their digital line-up, no matter what the reason, is just cumbersome and bulky and possibly even unnecessary. But there is the other group that doesn't want a gap in any viewing opportunity. For them, live streaming sports on TV is here and available.

The NHL's Game Center Live streams a large percentage of the league's thousand plus games per season like the many not televised by the NHL league's partner networks for $19.95 a month. Boxee will carry these live streamed games for TV at no additional cost to the viewer. Both Boxee and Roku confirm their intension of expanding their live streaming sports in the future.

It seems the cable industry and television networks are a bit skeptical of how this new avenue of live streaming sports will affect cable sports packaging bundle subscriptions and the possibility of the viewing of unlicensed content. The announcements from Roku and Boxee come as no surprise since the current gaming consoles like Playstation3, Nintendo Wii, and Xbox 360 also offer a means of viewing live streaming video on TV.

Boxee currently provides a free means to view by using a personal computer connected to the television. While there are still questions as to how this new service will be accepted or used it is a confirmation that society loves its television viewing and especially its live sports viewing. Providing yet another means to provide this can only be a plus.

So should you hurry and jump on the band wagon of live streaming sports on TV by way of Boxee or Roku? If you are a fanatic about your team and your sports viewing then go for it. If you are more the wait and see personality then wait, in the next year there will surely be expanded options and new technologies.

Sources:

Wall Street Journal By Lauren Goode
http://www.roku.com/
Boxee