Is ESPN Gameplan worth it?

#1
BigSteve09

BigSteve09

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Mar 5, 2007
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#1
I live in Knoxville and I plan on attending most of the home games, but I don't have season tickets. I usually go to the bars or a restaurant to watch away games and the other games around the nation. I was doing the math in my head though and I usually spend around 50 or more dollars going to the bars or restaurants to watch the other games, which would be well over the 130 dollars to subscribe to ESPN Gameplan when added up over the year. I was also going to recommend it to my step-father who lives in Nashville because he is an avid college football freak as well. Any thoughts on the matter? Anyone with a history of Gameplan that can shed some light on this? Thanks.
 
#2
#2
I ordered it a fews years back and i always found myself watching the games that are on abc, cbs,espn, etc. There were times when you would catch a good game, but it was no good for me. I do know people that like it though. i would just rather watch the bigger games that are on regular cable.
 
#3
#3
i think that the gameplan from comcast is really good. this year i anticipate being able to watch every game and i live in chicago. on espn basic cable i will get ucla,probably south carolina and miss st. cbs ill get uab, fla, ga, aub, and probably alabamba, and kentucky or vanderbilt. then with gameplan that i ordered for a 109 dollars early i will get niu, wyoming, and whatever other games havent been picked up nationally. This is by far the most games i will have been able to see in season ever.
 
#4
#4
if you are mostly going to get it for vols games and you live in knoxville or east tn for that matter, i would pass. if you are a huge college football fan and want to see all the games, go for it.
 
#5
#5
[EDIT]Living in-state, you won't get any Vols games on Gameplan. You have to buy the full-price PPV. For other games, see below. :)

You can order Gameplan on a week by week basis, or at least you could as of last year. A much better deal if you're only looking for the Vols. It was $21.95 per week last year. This is from DirecTV.

On the other hand, if you really want all the extra games, DirecTV is offering an "early bird" special of $109 for the whole season if you order by 8/29. Check your provider for a similar deal if you don't have DirecTV.

As far as the quality...if you have grown accustomed to games in HD, you will be disappointed. The picture on Videoseat-produced games is pretty bad, and the announcers (at least last year) were as well. I ordered one week of Gameplan last year, and listened to the rest of the games on the (internet) radio, which was free again beginning last year. Kesling is no treat, but at least it was free.

Bob
 
#6
#6
Any game that is scheduled for a pay-per-view event you won't get on gameplan. They black it out. If you were a vol fan in another state it would be great. But here in tennessee you'll pay for the pay-per-view anyway if you want to see it. So you'd be paying for gameplan and pay-per-view too. That is why i got rid of it. A few years ago it wasn't like that. So unless your just a huge fan of college football i'd take a pass.
 
#7
#7
I'd say pass. Without the game plan you will still have games on noon 'til midnight and later.
 
#8
#8
Cartervol said:
Any game that is scheduled for a pay-per-view event you won't get on gameplan. They black it out. If you were a vol fan in another state it would be great. But here in tennessee you'll pay for the pay-per-view anyway if you want to see it. So you'd be paying for gameplan and pay-per-view too. That is why i got rid of it. A few years ago it wasn't like that. So unless your just a huge fan of college football i'd take a pass.
Click to expand...
I agree 100%. If you love football and want to see all the games, it is great. If you live outside the blackout area and want to see the Vols PPV games, it's great. But you need to check the blackout restrictions before you buy it.

I buy it every year just to get the PPV games and to ensure that I can watch what I want.
 
#9
#9
cgroce30 said:
I ordered it a fews years back and i always found myself watching the games that are on abc, cbs,espn, etc. There were times when you would catch a good game, but it was no good for me. I do know people that like it though. i would just rather watch the bigger games that are on regular cable.
Click to expand...


Same here, did it for one year then cancelled.
 
#10
#10
hopefully comcast will decide to add espnu to their regular cable network. If they did this i would not see a reason to get the gameplan package. Espn and the sec are trying to shy away from pay per view games. So, if espnu gets on basic cable then i suspect the great majority of the entire sec line up will be on basic cable. exceptions maybe kentucky vandy game or when either of those two teams play their lousy non conference opponents. Anyways for me espnu will be the deciding factor.
 
#11
#11
Living out of state as well as out of the southeast, it is very useful for me so that I could get the PPV games as well as games that were only shown regionally. But, I don't think that I would recommend it if you live in TN.
 
#13
#13
i ordered the 12$ sports pack with espnu and cbsc or whatever for directv. i watched 12 $ in old tenn ballgames int he First week. i went with that deal becasue it was cheaper and i feel i can keep up fairly well that way and good bang for the buck. i paid god knows how much last year watching football and basketball game son pay per view for 30$ a pop. i fixed the prob this year i think. then when season gets over cancel it. so i said cancel it we roll into the bruce marathon after football!
 
#14
#14
Not worth it for me. I have to pay for Tennessee games maybe twice a year. Other then that I see all the big games I want to see.
 
#15
#15
August 30, 2008

Saturday, August 30, 2008
Visiting Team vs. Home Team Time (ET) Channel
Hawaii at Florida 12:30 pm 788
Georgia Southern at Georgia 12:30 pm 789
USC at Virginia 3:30 pm 790
Villanova at West Virginia 3:30 pm 791
Louisiana Monroe at Auburn 7:00 pm 788
Tennessee-Martin at South Florida 7:30 pm 789
Michigan State at California 8:00 pm 790
Alabama at Clemson 8:00 pm 791
Idaho St at Boise State 8:00 pm 792

Saturday, September 6, 2008
Visiting Team vs. Home Team Time (ET) Channel
Georgia Tech at Boston College 12:00 pm TBA
Southern Mississippi at Auburn 12:30 pm TBA
Mississippi at Wake Forest 3:30 pm TBA
Tennessee Tech at Louisville 3:30 pm TBA
Cincinnati at Oklahoma 3:30 pm TBA
Buffalo at Pittsburgh 6:00 pm TBA
Tulane at Alabama 7:00 pm TBA
Weber State at Hawaii 11:59 pm TBA

Saturday, September 13, 2008
Visiting Team vs. Home Team Time (ET) Channel
North Carolina State at Clemson 12:00 pm TBA
Temple at Buffalo 12:00 pm TBA
UAB at Tennessee 12:30 pm TBA
Arkansas at Texas 3:30 pm TBA
Georgia Tech at Virginia Tech 3:30 pm TBA
Penn State at Syracuse 3:30 pm TBA
Middle Tennessee State at Kentucky 7:00 pm TBA
Western Kentucky at Alabama 7:00 pm TBA
Utah at Utah State 8:00 pm TBA
Bowling Green at Boise State 8:00 pm TBA
Click to expand...

Link to DirecTV ESPN Gameplan Schedule
 
#17
#17
TennTradition said:
Living out of state as well as out of the southeast, it is very useful for me so that I could get the PPV games as well as games that were only shown regionally. But, I don't think that I would recommend it if you live in TN.
Click to expand...
I concur. It works great for me because I live outside of the blackout region. I just ordered my season pass with the early bird special.
 
#18
#18
I'm just going to save the money this year and watch all the regularly televised games. I was thinking about ordering it for just all the football games that won't be on tv (like UF vs Hawaii or UTM vs USF) just for fun because I like watching football and keeping up with the players and their development. I'll go to most, if not all home games. I've already got Comcast, and I don't want to go through the trouble of signing a deal with DirecTV for an extended time only to move when I graduate. I'll probably be going out most weekends to party anyway so I won't really get my money's worth. I live right down the street from a sports bar anyway. I was overestimating the greatness of Game Plan. Thank the Football Gods that I'm a Vol and most of our games are worthwhile match-ups that are televised.
 
#19
#19
well worth it IMO. I enjoy watching all kinds of games on Saturday to avoid working around the house so it's perfect. $109 for 4 solid months of Saturdays to myself???
 
#20
#20
utvolpj said:
well worth it IMO. I enjoy watching all kinds of games on Saturday to avoid working around the house so it's perfect. $109 for 4 solid months of Saturdays to myself???
Click to expand...

When you put it like that you almost have to get it.
Posted via VolNation Mobile
 
#21
#21
I get it every year and love it. Not only does it allow me to watch most UT games, but all the SEC. I watch college football all day long on Saturdays.
 
#23
#23
If you're a huge college football fan it's well worth it. If you're living in Tennessee and say you want to watch an ABC game at 3:30. Most of the time you're going to have Wake Forest vs. Florida State or something, which generally is a good match up but on the west coast there might be a match up of Oregon and USC and both are ranked fairly high. You're stuck with the ACC game and the USC/Oregon game could be one of the best of the season. With gameplan, you could watch them both. And as for the UT games getting blacked out, if you live in the East Tennessee area, just go to the game. 1. Great experience 2. It's usually going to be a craptastic team 3. You can get tickets for cheap outside the stadium. This is what I've been doing for the past few years
 
#24
#24
I just ordered it. Last year, after ordering a few single games at something like $20 per weekend, I ended up ordering the half season of GamePlan. This year I just got it from the beginning. Some of the PPV broadcasts are very, very mediocre in terms of production quality, commentators, etc., but at least you get to see the UT games. And, you often get to see some other interesting games as well.
 
#25
#25
I get the gameplan on charter cable here.
Saw every ut game last year on it that was not on major tv network...
Well worth it.

Only problem...no hd generally, atleast for ut games
 
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