How to watch live sports in Canada without cable

To watch live sports in Canada without cable you need Sportsnet, TSN and CBC. No single streaming app gives you all 3. An IPTV subscription does, and it costs less than the sports package on a cable bill on its own.

Here is how the broadcast rights work and what your options are.

Why is sport split across so many channels?

Broadcast rights in Canada are sold separately. Sportsnet holds some. TSN holds others. CBC carries a share of the national games. Certain events move again once the playoffs start.

That split is on purpose. It is why nobody in Canada can follow a full season on one service by accident.

What does the cable route cost?

A television package with the sports tier attached costs more than $150 a month in Ontario once the promotional rate runs out.

That is around $1800 a year, plus a lot of channels you will never open. Add a box for a second television and it goes up again.

What about the single sport streaming apps?

Apps like Sportsnet Plus are a real option and they work well for what they cover.

2 things stop them being complete. They only carry their own networks, so anything on a rival channel is missing. And you are paying a full subscription for one sport.

If anyone else in the house follows a different sport you end up buying a second service.

How does IPTV cover it?

An IPTV subscription carries all of these in the same login.

• Sportsnet, Sportsnet One and Sportsnet 360
• TSN 1 through 5
• CBC
• ESPN, NBA TV and NFL Network
• beIN Sports and Sky Sports

Pay per view events are included at no extra cost. A single card normally costs around $80, so 2 events a year covers the whole subscription.

NoraStream is $120 for a full year. That is less than 1 month of the cable package that gets you the same games.

What do you need to make it work?

A device that runs apps and an internet connection of at least 15 Mbps. Almost every plan sold in Canada is well above that.

A Fire TV Stick is the cheapest way in and takes about 10 minutes to set up. Our Firestick guide walks through it. Android boxes, Samsung and LG Smart TVs, iPhones and laptops all work too.

The connection between your router and your television matters more than your internet plan. Wi-Fi across a whole house drops frames during fast action. An ethernet cable to the main TV removes that problem for good.

Can you watch on a phone?

Yes. The apps work over mobile data and a game in HD uses around 1.5GB an hour.

If you are on a limited data plan, switch to the SD version of the channel. It uses about a third of the data and looks fine on a phone screen.

What happens during the playoffs?

Playoff coverage moves between networks depending on the round. That is the situation where having all of them in one place matters most.

Every one of those channels is in the NoraStream lineup, so you do not need to check who holds the rights before a game starts.

Do you need fast internet?

You need 15 Mbps for HD and 25 Mbps for 4K. Nearly every internet plan sold in Canada is faster than both.

The problem is almost never the plan. It is the Wi-Fi between your router and your television. A router sitting in a basement cupboard sending a signal through 2 floors will drop frames no matter how fast the plan is.

If your stream freezes during fast action, try these in order. Switch the device to the 5GHz network. Move the router out into the open. Run an ethernet cable to the main TV. The cable fixes it permanently and costs about $15.

Can more than 1 person watch at once?

One subscription streams to 1 screen at a time. If 2 people in the house want different games at the same time you add a second connection for a small amount.

Message us and we will quote you. Most households never need it.

What does it cost against the alternatives?

Here is what a year looks like for each route.

• Cable with the sports tier: around $1800
• A single sport streaming app: around $250 for 1 sport
• NoraStream: $120 for everything

Even if you keep a couple of streaming apps for shows on top of that, you are still well under $400 for the year.

What if you miss a game?

Most channels keep the last 7 days available. A game from Tuesday night is still there on Thursday.

That replaces a PVR for most households and there is no box to rent.

The short version

Cable gets you every game for around $150 a month. A single sport app costs less but leaves gaps. An IPTV subscription gets you all of it for $10 a month.

If you want to see it working before you pay, start a free trial and watch a game on it. 2 days, no credit card.