Saturdays West Virginia Game TV Coverage

Looks like the game Saturday will not be on network TV but will instead be on Big12 Now/ESPN+ streaming service. This means that if you want to watch the game you will need both a subscription and a streaming device. And more future games to come the same way. I'm sure it's way for ESPN to increase their subscriber base. Oh well we will just have to be prepared.

I would be ok with this EXCEPT, I have to work while the game is on and there is no way to record it. Best I can do is the gamecast or listen to the KU app

Unfortunately paid streaming is the wave of the future. If you look back, however, it's been much worse and if this is the compromise we have to live with, I'm ok with it. Let's take a trip down memory lane, shall we (written from the perspective of somebody who no longer lives in the local market, excuse the vague estimates on dates):

Pre 1995 or so: some KU games get national coverage on one of the big 3 networks, or on ESPN. Some of those games (particularly on CBS) are subject to "regional coverage" meaning that KU vs. MU might get bumped on the East Coast in favor of Rutgers vs. St. Johns. As for the NCAA tournament, if you saw KU in round 1 or 2, that was a BAD thing which usually meant that we were in danger of being upset.

Late '90s - early '00s: ESPN launches it's college basketball package. For $75-$100 you got a TON of college hoops and every KU game that wasn't picked up nationally. You just had to do the math to figure out if picking up 5 or 6 KU games (usually against cupcakes) was worth paying up to $20/game to watch. Of course, I spent the money, excused it as my birthday present to myself, and justified it by saying that I could watch a lot of other games. The downside was that the cable company often didn't have the bandwidth to deliver all the games which frequently resulted in frantic calls to the cable company waiting on hold for them to troubleshoot issues. Oh well, nothing really important happens in the 1st half anyway, right?

Mid '00s - early '10s: The "golden era" of KU basketball availability on TV. ESPN expanded its network to 4 or 5 channels and practically every game was on TV, with the exception of exhibition games. "Regional coverage" on CBS was less of an issue. CBS finally got wise and teamed up with TBS, TNT and another network to show ALL NCAA tourney games. Finally, the DVR became standard with most cable systems, so that missing a game didn't mean you had to set a VCR to watch a replay. Just set the DVR to grab ALL KU bball and you could watch as much as you wanted at your leisure. Pause, rewind, replay as you wish, no extra charges.

Mid '10s - present: Streaming is now a thing. It's similar to the late '90s where I had to pay a PPV fee for the ESPN basketball package, but with several advantages: 1.) it's portable. I can watch a game on my phone or laptop anywhere I want. 2.) no need for a DVR. Games are archived. I'll probably miss the tip of the game on Saturday, but can watch it in its entirety half an hour late. 3.) It's cheap. Ok, I don't want to pay $5 per month, but in reality that's MUCH better than the $75-$100 I used to pay for the basketball package, and I get other sports thrown in as well (in case I want to watch some team handball from Romania). Best of all, I can shut it down as soon as they play their last ESPN+ game. All in, the season will set me back about $25.

In summary, while this is LESS convenient than the "golden era" in the early '00s, when you look at ESPN+ in relation to the history of trying to get convenient access to watching KU basketball (especially from out of town), it's a pretty good option. In fact, I was visiting family back in Kansas during the Stanford game and the house was packed with about 15 people, half of which were kids under 10 years old. Translation: there was no way on earth I was going to be able to watch the game on the big TV in the living room with the mayhem that was going on. Instead, I quietly ducked away with my laptop and some headphones, found a good hideout, and blissfully watched KU uninterrupted. All things considered, I'm ok with ESPN+

I'd be ok with it too if I knew the best option for the getting the basic ESPN Package via COX? Dish? DIRECTTV? Hulu? UTube? others?

Oh and keeping the better half happy with her TV options!

Sasnak- ESPN+ will always have KU games available to watch as an On Demand replay for a couple of days after the game. No extra charge!