Watching Footy in the USA in 2013

With the footy season about to kick off, we’re having a look at the various ways we can keep updated on the action across all codes. Last season we had Livesport.TV to watch all codes though it was pretty spotty and couldn’t be viewed on mobile devices but at least it was there and it was affordable. Seems both the AFL and NRL have had a falling out with LiveSport and have announced they’ll be offering up alternatives. Naturally they don’t make it easy, or necessarily all that convenient but for the most part it seems that it can be done so here’s a bit of a breakdown that may help to point you in the right direction.

superrugbyRugby Union – Rugby seems like the biggest mess. I originally got DirectTV because they were the only ones showing the Tri Nations and Super Rugby and this still seems to be the case as long as you have the “Choice” package and above (Channel 490 and 491). They’ve also been known to drop games at the last minute so be warned. We do see Super Rugby available on LiveSport.tv but not for our area so online we’re forced to bounce around between dodgy sites like http://www.sports-x.net/ or one of your mates live TV feeds or some other workarounds that I’m not at liberty to share.

aflAussie Rules – Also seems to be available on TV via Fox Soccer Plus. Like the NRL it’s no longer available online via LiveSport.TV but of course the AFL have it figured out and offer online viewing through AFL TV. $120 will get you the full season and it looks to be well worth the money.

nrlRugby League – Always seems a little frustrating. While the AFL has their act together this season, the NRL appears to have a kind-of, sort-of setup organized. We understand that FoxSports subscribers will get 2 games per week and the NRL will be setting up a UstreamTV channel offering up 5 free games per week. If all goes according to plan, it should work out fairly nicely for us but still, I’m not filled with confidence. At least via UstreamTV we’ll be able to view on tablets and mobile devices which we weren’t able to do through LiveNRL.tv last season. Will update this once we learn more.
=====UPDATE—–>>> It’s not UStream but Livestream and it’s considerably awesome. Not only is it free but it’s very slick and very compatible with lots of devices. Loving it! Check it out at www.livestream.tv/nrl

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