NHL Gamecenter Live

[Josh]

So I was recently seriously considering splurging the $150 for a subscription of Gamecenter Live. But then I read the fine print:

Due to local and national blackout rules and regulations, game broadcasts that are available to watch on television in your local market and nationally televised games are not available to watch live or within 48 hours of game completion in NHL GameCenter LIVE™.

and later on:

National broadcasts may include games televised on the following networks in your area: CBC, NBC, NBC Sports Network, NHL Network, RDS and TSN. Games broadcast live on these networks -- regardless of whether they are available with your cable or satellite package -- are not available to watch in NHL GameCenter LIVE™ until 48 hours after the game is complete. In the United States and Canada all Stanley Cup Playoffs and Stanley Cup Final games will be nationally televised.

So, basically this means I cannot use Gamecenter to watch Ottawa Senators games? And I cannot watch any Playoff games with it either?

[Dean Ambrose]

Re: NHL Gamecenter Live

Gamecenter is terrible because of the blackouts. Terrible, terrible service. Take off the restrictions and I'd probably buy it if it meant watching all Habs games on TSN-Habs.

[matchesmalone]

Re: NHL Gamecenter Live

I have it. The blackouts are fucking retarded. It's good for me and my roommate, as Canucks and Sens fans living in Saskatchewan, we can hardly watch them play otherwise. But the fact that we wanted to start cheering for the Jets, but aren't allowed to is a major piss-off. All Jets games are blacked out because they are supposedly accessible to us, yet we would need to buy TSN-Jets in order to actually be able to watch them. Also, we're usually unable to watch the Sens on HNIC, since if it isn't the national game, Center-Ice tells us we can't watch it anyway, because it's supposedly on CBC.

All that said, we get to watch a fuckload of teams and players we'd usually never get to see. We were able to catch Barkov's and Seth Jones' first NHL goals. I get to watch other teams I really enjoy watching, this year particularly Detroit, Nashville, St. Louis, Dallas and Anaheim. Oh, and of course Pittsburgh, but they're always on TSN anyway.

I also really like that you get to pick which team's broadcast you watch the game one. Sometimes I'll watch random Florida or Dallas games just to hear the commentary. Presumably because they need to keep it interesting to keep the fans' attention, some of those non-hockey market teams have the best commentary. So much fun to watch.

[Josh]

Re: NHL Gamecenter Live

So what if the Sens are playing in Florida, for example - would I be able to watch the Florida feed, or would that still be blocked since there is an Ottawa feed? It's starting to seem like Gamecenter really only appeals to out of market fans...

[Josh]

Re: NHL Gamecenter Live

On that note... what if I used a proxy? Or registered and said I live in Saskatchewan too? Or will they consider the billing address on the credit card as the "market"?

[Matt the Aussie]

Re: NHL Gamecenter Live

As someone who lives in Kitchener, there's just no other way I could watch the Sens games. It doesn't really work as well for people who already live in the Ottawa area...but you can get around it by proxy.

Gamecentre checks IP when you start each game stream, it is not based on billing. My home market is Toronto, but if I am travelling in Australia or anywhere outside of the Toronto area, I will be able to see Leafs games on there as well.

[Josh]

Re: NHL Gamecenter Live

OK still, that's great news that a proxy will still let me around it!

[Alfie11]

Re: NHL Gamecenter Live

Josh, I just saw this thread now. I hope it's not too late.

Apparently (you'd have to research it a bit..probably HF Boards would do) you can change your IP to a European country and get Gamecenter for the $100 full year rate. You'd save about $50-$100. I'm not sure the exact pricing.

As for the blackouts, they're awful. I recommend a website called 'unblock-us'. It's $5 per month but works perfectly. You can set your Gamecenter to appear in a European country so you get access to all the games. It also works perfect to set your IP to look like it's from the United States and get their Netflix and Hulu.

[Josh]

Re: NHL Gamecenter Live

Awesome, thanks so much for that info man :)

[Dean Ambrose]

Re: NHL Gamecenter Live

Josh, I just saw this thread now. I hope it's not too late.

Apparently (you'd have to research it a bit..probably HF Boards would do) you can change your IP to a European country and get Gamecenter for the $100 full year rate. You'd save about $50-$100. I'm not sure the exact pricing.

As for the blackouts, they're awful. I recommend a website called 'unblock-us'. It's $5 per month but works perfectly. You can set your Gamecenter to appear in a European country so you get access to all the games. It also works perfect to set your IP to look like it's from the United States and get their Netflix and Hulu.

That's what you talked about on HF in that entertainment forum thread!

Fully plan on getting that when I move in February and don't put a cable box in my room for my TV.