Football fans can stream Super Bowl 51 live with Fox Sports Go on iOS, Apple TV

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited February 2017
Fans looking to watch the spectacle of Super Bowl 51 -- to be played Feb. 5 in Houston, Tex. -- can turn to Fox Sports Go, an app available on numerous platforms, including Apple's iOS and the Apple TV.




The live coverage will include all of the football game's national advertising along with local spots from some 170 affiliate stations, Fox said. In some past, internet broadcasts these ads were missing, despite the draw of the expensive budgets and unusual premises of some of the national-level campaigns.

As the Fox stream will be free, people will also be able to watch without authenticating a cable or satellite subscription.

Beyond Apple platforms fans will be able to watch via Android, Windows, Chromecasts, Amazon Fire devices, and the Xbox One. On iOS, Fox Sports Go is a free download and runs on any device with iOS 8 or later.

Apple TV owners likely won't be able to take advantage of Siri's live tune-in feature, as Apple has yet to add support for Fox Sports.

Super Bowl 51 pits the New England Patriots against the Atlanta Falcons. The half-time show will be headlined by pop superstar Lady Gaga.

Editor's note: This article was originally published in January, and had been republished in advance of Sunday's big game.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 24
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Sounds good to me. Authenticating is a bummer.
  • Reply 2 of 24
    eightzeroeightzero Posts: 3,063member
    The FoxSportsGo app is the worst one for authentication: it has to be done daily.

    And the "live" streams aren't. They have a minimum 30s delay. Much better to watch OTA if possible.
    jbdragon
  • Reply 3 of 24
    mike1mike1 Posts: 3,279member
    AppleInsider said:
    Apple TV owners likely won't be able to take advantage of Siri's live tune-in feature, as Apple has yet to add support for Fox Sports.

      Isn't this the responsibility of the app developer rather than with Apple? Or is it a combination of the two?
  • Reply 4 of 24
    VergiliusVergilius Posts: 11member
    eightzero said:
    The FoxSportsGo app is the worst one for authentication: it has to be done daily.

    And the "live" streams aren't. They have a minimum 30s delay. Much better to watch OTA if possible.
    I agree.  If the Super Bowl is important to you, you won't rely on Fox Sports Go.  I tried watching Cincinnati Reds' games with it last summer and never managed to actually watch a single game, though I tried numerous times.  Authentication didn't work right and I never got more than 30 minutes into a game before I'd get a message saying that technical difficulties prevented continuing with the streaming, please try another time.
    calilostkiwi
  • Reply 5 of 24
    calicali Posts: 3,494member
    I have DirecTV Now and hate the fact it doesn't count as a "provider" so I can't use any app other than the horrendous DirecTV Now app that constantly kicks me off live TV.  
  • Reply 6 of 24
    mwhitemwhite Posts: 287member
    cali said:
    I have DirecTV Now and hate the fact it doesn't count as a "provider" so I can't use any app other than the horrendous DirecTV Now app that constantly kicks me off live TV.  
    2 more weeks and my 3 months will be up with DirecTV Now and I will be ending my subscription.  I enjoy the free AppleTV but hardly ever use the DirectTV Now app because it is the worst, I do use the ABC app though...
    jbdragon
  • Reply 7 of 24
    krreagan2krreagan2 Posts: 75member
    This has the potential to bring the Internets to its knees! 
  • Reply 8 of 24
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    eightzero said:
    The FoxSportsGo app is the worst one for authentication: it has to be done daily.

    And the "live" streams aren't. They have a minimum 30s delay. Much better to watch OTA if possible.
    I recommend catching a rogue stream over Periscope instead. More fun with the comments.
  • Reply 9 of 24
    freshmakerfreshmaker Posts: 532member
    Can also watch it for free on NFL Mobile if you're a Verizon customer.  Doesn't count against the data cap
  • Reply 10 of 24
    polymniapolymnia Posts: 1,080member
    freshmaker said:
    Can also watch it for free on NFL Mobile if you're a Verizon customer.  Doesn't count against the data cap
    Also doesn't count as free. 
  • Reply 11 of 24
    IronheadIronhead Posts: 22member
    The Super Bowl itself shows as locked on Fox Sports Go, so it looks like it needs authentication to unlock.
  • Reply 12 of 24
    pkisselpkissel Posts: 30member
    Let's face it, Apple TV is great at doing a lot of things but live mainstream TV viewing doesn't seem to be one of them yet.  I had good luck with watching Olympic coverage but that felt like a fluke.  So I still keep my basic cable tv service around to easily watch annual events like the State of the Union speech (skipping that this year), Macy's Day Parade, Super Bowl, World Series, etc.  It's a pricy fix but it's nice to know it's there when I want it.  Otherwise I never turn on the cable box. 
  • Reply 13 of 24
    rotateleftbyterotateleftbyte Posts: 1,630member
    krreagan2 said:
    This has the potential to bring the Internets to its knees!
    Only in places where people actually want to watch this Advertising Festival with what some call a sport in the bits between the adverts.
    i.e. The USA.
    So it won't bring the Internet to its knees.

    edited February 2017
  • Reply 14 of 24
    bigpicsbigpics Posts: 1,397member
    Uhhhh, AI..... ....according the app description on the Google Play Store (which applies to all phones): "**Due to league restrictions, NFL games are not available in FOX Sports GO on phones. However Super Bowl LI streaming is available on Android TV and Tablets." [and so I'm assuming on iPads and Apple TV's.] I read your article twice. One of you is wrong about this (but I've already been convinced the experience wouldn't be worth it anyway, so jus' sayin' at this point...)
    edited February 2017
  • Reply 15 of 24
    rigormortisrigormortis Posts: 59member
    with t-mobile , you can use cellular ipads to make and receive calls, they do not need to be connected to wifi at all
    cali said:
    I have DirecTV Now and hate the fact it doesn't count as a "provider" so I can't use any app other than the horrendous DirecTV Now app that constantly kicks me off live TV.  
    direct tv now counts as a subscriber for HBO
  • Reply 16 of 24
    rigormortisrigormortis Posts: 59member
    as far as i know if you have an iPhone you absolutely have to be a verizon customer or you are blacked out. if you want to watch the sueprbowl it must be an iPad or apple tv
    edited February 2017
  • Reply 17 of 24
    loquiturloquitur Posts: 137member
    For those who own an Apple TV, I'm fairly sure it hooks up to actual TVs,
    not bare monitors.
    If that's the case, the tuner within likely receives big events like this over-the-air, digitally, even.
    What percentage of the US can't receive OTA TV?   What fraction of local OTA markets
    don't include the Fox network?
    edited February 2017
  • Reply 18 of 24
    calicali Posts: 3,494member
    rigormortis said:
    with t-mobile , you can use cellular ipads to make and receive calls, they do not need to be connected to wifi at all
    cali said:
    I have DirecTV Now and hate the fact it doesn't count as a "provider" so I can't use any app other than the horrendous DirecTV Now app that constantly kicks me off live TV.  
    direct tv now counts as a subscriber for HBO
    I have the highest tier and it doesn't come with HBO, it is an add-on though. 
  • Reply 19 of 24
    andrewmacmasterandrewmacmaster Posts: 24member
    mwhite said:
    cali said:
    I have DirecTV Now and hate the fact it doesn't count as a "provider" so I can't use any app other than the horrendous DirecTV Now app that constantly kicks me off live TV.  
    2 more weeks and my 3 months will be up with DirecTV Now and I will be ending my subscription.  I enjoy the free AppleTV but hardly ever use the DirectTV Now app because it is the worst, I do use the ABC app though...
    The service has improved recently in my area, Central PA. No streaming local channels here yet. During my free trial back in december there was a lot of buffering in some prime time popular programs. Been using Comcast's regular performance internet tier. Subscribed two weeks ago. Also noticed they updated the App once if not more. Hardly buffers at all now. Its a keeper in this house. Love it the HD programming,  better choices than others IMO.  Watching NFL super bowl pre game shows on Fox Sports now App right now.  Nice.
    edited February 2017
  • Reply 20 of 24
    polymniapolymnia Posts: 1,080member
    Vergilius said:
    eightzero said:
    The FoxSportsGo app is the worst one for authentication: it has to be done daily.

    And the "live" streams aren't. They have a minimum 30s delay. Much better to watch OTA if possible.
    I agree.  If the Super Bowl is important to you, you won't rely on Fox Sports Go.  I tried watching Cincinnati Reds' games with it last summer and never managed to actually watch a single game, though I tried numerous times.  Authentication didn't work right and I never got more than 30 minutes into a game before I'd get a message saying that technical difficulties prevented continuing with the streaming, please try another time.
    The app is working fine for me. Better picture than OTA, which is my alternative. 
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