FAST Channels - FIFA+ (Samsung TV Plus CA) DAZN (Pluto TV/LG CA)

[Joe MacCarthy]

Just putting this here in the most popular forum as this could be something people find useful.  Mods, if you can give this a couple of days here before you move it, I would appreciate it.

More info can be found in the Cord Cutting Thread. 

While I'm here, I would like to draw your attention to the General Off-Topic Discussion Forum particularly the Open Source "Free" Software Thread where there are some interesting new things and long overdue updates.  Also, much of the software now has very good YouTube tutorials to help learn them.  I've had some feedback in the past that people found the thread useful, I just want to let folks know it is being updated.

Edited February 25 by Joe MacCarthy

[Joe MacCarthy]

In case anyone had a quick glance at this and didn't see the fine print, this will be available on Pluto TV.  There are a couple of forces at play here.  The legal Pluto TV in Canada may not carry it or the American version may be geo blocked or DRMed but I am feeling pretty confident that we'll be able to view it one way or another. 

Wouldn't it be funny if the free games weren't any of the "marquee" teams like Barca or RM but Valladolid.  I'm not holding my breath on the free games too much but this looks like an impressive venture from a big player. Just have to wait until April 11.

Edited March 9, 2023 by Joe MacCarthy

[Joe MacCarthy]

Yowza!  I am watching Golazo Network on Pluto TV.  It's live (a couple of minutes behind), Champions League Bayern vs Man City, Davies is playing, with British commentary.

The game is being shown on a wide angle camera called Tactical Cam.  There is no usual teams playing, score and time info in the top left corner.  That info appears in a scroll at the bottom along with other game scores which confused me and took me a while to figure out who was playing.

Heard someone in the crowd start O Canada

This could be better than I thought.  I'll take live games on a wide camera angle no problem.

[Joe MacCarthy]

I am watching Bayern vs Man City on the US version of Pluto TV, unfortunately, it is not available on Pluto TV Canada.  But have no fear, there is a solution.  You can use the Opera browser.

When I first got it going in Opera the resolution wasn't too good but it cleared up after a minute or so, might have been because I was playing the game on Pluto TV in Kodi at the same time.

[Joe MacCarthy]

This channel could be very handy for the cord cutters out there.  The replay for Man City and Bayern is playing now.  Instead of the wide angle from the live broadcast, it is now a normal broadcast with all the different camera angles, different commentators  though.

[SoccMan]

15 hours ago, Joe MacCarthy said:

This channel could be very handy for the cord cutters out there.  The replay for Man City and Bayern is playing now.  Instead of the wide angle from the live broadcast, it is now a normal broadcast with all the different camera angles, different commentators  though.

Can we download this channel’s app  from Canada ?

[Joe MacCarthy]

As I don't own/use a smartphone or smartTV I don't know. 

This much I can tell you, Pluto TV US has 220 more channels than Pluto TV Canada.  If you go to the website you will see the Pluto TV Canada channels.  If you employ a gimmick (which is built into the Opera browser) or you can use your own if you have one, you will be able to see the Pluto TV US channels.  Not that I would ever encourage attempting to get past geographical restrictions.

Sorry, I can't be more help.  If you can figure out how to get a US restricted app to work on your phone/tv or whatever you are using, please report back.

This is meant for cord cutters who aren't able to see the game.  I realize others have paid services or cable/satellite, I don't, that's why I posted it, for others like me whose numbers are growing and growing.

 

[Joe MacCarthy]

This "Tactical Cam" view is quite cool.  It goes from wide (the entire field) to 2/3 of the field.  You really get a sense of the buildup of play moreso than the usual conventional framing.

I am very critical of FAST channels.  Of the thousands of channels, I have about 100 that I added to a playlist.  Golazo! Network makes that list for me, it's a quality channel from what I've seen so far.

[narduch]

There were ads for Pluto TV during the last Real Valladolid match on TSN+

Edited April 12, 2023 by narduch

[cornerkick]

I checked the Pluto tv website, and couldn’t find golazo under sports.  Is this not available in Canada yet ?  Wasn’t able to watch on the cbs website either.

[narduch]

15 minutes ago, cornerkick said:

I checked the Pluto tv website, and couldn’t find golazo under sports.  Is this not available in Canada yet ?  Wasn’t able to watch on the cbs website either.

Probably need a VPN to make it work.

Which makes it more of a grey market solution than anything else.

[red card]

4 hours ago, cornerkick said:

I checked the Pluto tv website, and couldn’t find golazo under sports.  Is this not available in Canada yet ?  Wasn’t able to watch on the cbs website either.

No real reason to be available in Canada since competition rights held by Paramount/CBS are only good for the US unless shown on CBS network. And other than for SPFL, Brasileirao & AFC, the Canadian rights are already held by DAZN, fubo, OneSoccer, fanatiz, TSN or SN.

Otherwise, it has only 2 original shows: Morning Footy (7-9) and Box to Box in the afternoon. Prepare to endure lots of commercials and fluffy banter. You can watch show clips on CBS Sports Golazo youtube channel or twitter.

Better & more tailored content from same people can be heard on CBS soccer podcasts like In Soccer We Trust (US focus), House of Champions (UCL), Que Golazo (top leagues) & Attacking Third (NWSL/USWNT).

[Joe MacCarthy]

I love fluffy banter, that's why I come here.

[Joe MacCarthy]

FIFA+ is available on Samsung TV Plus.  If I am not mistaken it is also streaming the 2023 WWC

FIFA makes a new bid for soccer fans with FIFA+ streaming service
Rob Pegoraro streamtvinsider.com April 12, 2022

FIFA has launched a “plus” service with a surprising feature: no attached dollar sign. FIFA+, a new streaming service announced by the Zurich-based soccer association Tuesday, is free to view online.

The new ad-supported service, available on the web without a sign-in as well as in Android and iOS apps, combines live coverage of some matches and features like “The Happiest Man in the World,” a documentary about Brazilian soccer great Ronaldinho.

FIFA+ is available in English, French, German, Portuguese and Spanish, with six more languages, unspecified in the FIFA release, coming by June.

Soccer fans probably won’t be able to cut any subscriptions from their budgets, with FIFA+ not displacing existing streaming deals. But it will provide more exposure to leagues with lower profiles, streaming 1,400 matches live a month. This week’s live lineup, for example, features matches from Denmark’s Superliga, Latvia’s Optibet Virslīga and Mongolia’s Premier League.

But fans will be able to catch up on past competitions, with FIFA’s release touting the eventual inclusion of every World Cup and Women’s World Cup recorded, “totaling more than 2,000 hours of archive content.”

“FIFA has access to a massive library of content, including live content that is currently unmonetized or under-monetized,”

FIFA isn’t ruling out charging for the service at some point

[Joe MacCarthy]

About FIFA+

FIFA+ is an online streaming service owned by FIFA and operated by Eleven Sports. The platform was launched in April 2022 as a way to bring fans closer to the beautiful game.

FIFA+ has included a large variety of content to satisfy its users. Live games, archive footage, online games, and original content such as documentaries, movies, and drama series have been included in the platform.

Speaking about competitions, FIFA+ has included both domestic and international games available to stream. Some of the most notable leagues featured on this platform include the Primera División Argentina, the Primeira Liga, the Uruguayan First Division, the Polish Ekstraklasa, and many more. During its launch, FIFA+ execs revealed that over 40,000 games will be available to stream yearly, with nearly 11,000 of those being women’s football matches.

Fans who want to access FIFA+’s content must register on FIFA’s website. Once they’ve done so, they will be able to access the content available on the platform via the most popular web browsers in the world and via mobile apps developed for Android and iOS users (Samsung TV Plus Canada - Joe Mac)

[red card]

22 hours ago, Joe MacCarthy said:

FIFA+ is available on Samsung TV Plus.  If I am not mistaken it is also streaming the 2023 WWC

 

WWC 23 is only available in countries where no rights have been sold or not all matches will be shown. In Canada, matches will only be TSN/RDS, 8 on CTV and 29 on Fox.

But FIFA+ does have a 6 part globe trotting doc on the road to qualifying. Above average quality for a footbal doc and better than the Captains series they did about the Road to Qatar. They covered quite number of teams that didn't make it and don't hold back covering all the off pitch challenges being faced by the players.

https://www.plus.fifa.com/en/content/242e3674-8ba3-4ffd-80fb-b1e7d9de516b?gl=us

 

 

[Joe MacCarthy]

7 hours ago, red card said:

WWC 23 is only available in countries where no rights have been sold or not all matches will be shown. In Canada, matches will only be TSN/RDS, 8 on CTV and 29 on Fox.

I am figuring on that being the case.  I have eleven countries versions of FIFA+, not all of whom are at the WC, so it will be interesting to see what happens, but I won't hold my breath. 

Looks like my only hope is the ol' Mohu Curve for my biennial viewing of CTV.  Good thing about the antenna signal is it is not compressed (better picture)

[Joe MacCarthy]

My impressions of FIFA+ so far, lots of docs and old games (which at least are preferable to most panel shows IMO).  Brazil/Germany 2014 is playing now.  Aside from games of some historical significance like that one does anybody like watching old games.  I'm not much of a fan no matter the sport.

Golazo! is a very good channel with high end panel shows (above the usual FAST channel schlock for sports talk shows).  I'd watch it more if I had an interest in the scene outside Canada, but I don't.

[Joe MacCarthy]

19 hours ago, Joe MacCarthy said:

I have eleven countries versions of FIFA+, not all of whom are at the WC, so it will be interesting to see what happens

To my surprise, of all the eleven Samsung TV Plus channels I have, I was able to watch the game live (no strings attached) on FIFA+ Italy (in Italian).  Not that that will help anybody here, just puttin' it out there.  BTW, the EPG schedule showed something else.

But as it is, I am using the new age indoor rabbit ears (Mohu Curve) to watch the game OTA on CTV.

The game is also on BBC2

Edited July 21, 2023 by Joe MacCarthy

[BearcatSA]

On 7/20/2023 at 2:42 AM, Joe MacCarthy said:

My impressions of FIFA+ so far, lots of docs and old games (which at least are preferable to most panel shows IMO).  Brazil/Germany 2014 is playing now.  Aside from games of some historical significance like that one does anybody like watching old games.  I'm not much of a fan no matter the sport.

Golazo! is a very good channel with high end panel shows (above the usual FAST channel schlock for sports talk shows).  I'd watch it more if I had an interest in the scene outside Canada, but I don't.

I am actually a big fan of the famous historical matches, but you can easily access manu of them on Youtube.

I find that most NA panel shows and video podcasts of nobodies broadcasting from their mom's basements fairly pathetic. To be brutally honest.  They're not insightful and seldom entertaining, so it is not engaging for me as a view or listen.

[Joe MacCarthy]

^ Yeah, I agree, I can get into a true "historic" game but I have a hard time when channels just show "oldies" games that are in this millennium.  FIFA+ has been showing a fair amount of "grainy" games and highlights from the last millennium and I've seen a fair amount of the old CWNT. It is interesting to see it as compared to modern broadcast technology.

Also agree about the mom's basement panel shows which many FAST channels feature.  Having had a career in TV I want something to look professional, Golazo! looks like a true mainstream network. 

Update, it looks as though FIFA+ Italy is carrying the WWC games.  Last night I saw US vs Vietnam and it wasn't listed in the EPG.  Edit: Austria, Switzerland, Germany and France are showing day old games.

Edited July 22, 2023 by Joe MacCarthy

[Joe MacCarthy]

I am watching some old WWC clipped games from Sweden 1995 on FIFA+ Canada on Samsung TV.  I guess everything is relative, as even though that is almost 30 years ago and many people reading this weren't even born yet, it doesn't seem that long ago to me.

I can't get over the poor quality and difference (as compared to today) of the turf (muddy patches), stadiums (old and small), uniforms (baggy, like in Stanley Matthews' day), and video quality.  Living then, you didn't see anything wrong with the picture quality, you thought it was pretty good.  Makes me wonder how things will be 30 years from now

[Joe MacCarthy]

This is for those of our forumites living abroad, those who can presently access this and those who hopefully will be able to access this in the future.

Pluto TV Will Now Air Exclusive Live Sports Events With DAZN In Select Countries
Luke Bouma cordcuttersnews.com August 10, 2023

Today Pluto TV and DAZN announced a partnership to bring exclusive live sporting events for free to Pluto TV. This partnership will see DAZN launch 5 live sporting channels on Pluto TV in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, France, Latin America, Germany, and Austria.

Now you will find exclusive sporting events for Football, Darts, and Fights in these markets.

Here are the new channels being added to Pluto TV:

...

DAZN X PLUTO TV INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL (Live on Pluto TV in Germany and Austria)

The 24/7 channel airs live games from the best leagues in Spain, Italy, France and from cup tournaments Carabao Cup, FA Cup and Coppa Italia, along with exclusively produced weekly highlight shows from LaLiga, Serie A, Ligue 1 and selected cup competitions, also on demand. The Football channel will include a weekly Pluto TV exclusive highlight show called “Die DAZN x Pluto TV Fußballshow”, a 30 min – host driven show which will always consist of; Highlights and short analysis/stats from the 5 biggest matches in the round, show goal compilation from the other most important games in the leagues, summary, results & standings, leading into next round

[Joe MacCarthy]

Sevilla vs Valencia is on now, live (Pluto DAZN) so there will be live games above the level we might think.

Anyone out there now in Germany, are you able to check this out.

[Joe MacCarthy]

Another new free channel for folks to keep an eye out for:  LaLiga+.

 

Wikipedia - The OTT platform can be accessed directly through smart TVs such as Samsung, LG, and Android TV.

Users can access live broadcasts of a large majority of Spanish sports competitions for free.

Although the channel is intended to offer competitions from sports away from the more popular ones, it is also possible to access summaries of LaLiga Santander and LaLiga SmartBank matches, as well as different programs and specials that have soccer as a protagonist.

I am watching through LG, but I am not seeing it on Samsung yet (just me?)

Have checked it out three time this week.  Coincidence, but today I am seeing a Canadian lead a yachting race, and earlier in the week. I saw 2023 Gold Cup: Canada vs Guatemala and a day or two later Canada vs Cuba.  So, I've only watched three times and had CanCon all three times.

Thought I'd mention it, looks like a good quality channel so far.