Stadium is a sports network that focuses on lesser broadcast sports and college conferences.
In a hurry? Stadium is not offered by that many streaming services but you do have a few good choices:
- FuboTV: This sports-oriented streaming service offers Stadium in its Fubo Extra add-on. Fubo allows you to try out its service with a free trial.
Table Of Contents
“Stadium is a multi-platform sports network that brings together exclusive live games, extensive highlights and daily studio programming. Welcome to the Game.”
When it comes to sports news and highlights, the vast majority of sports fans turn to ESPN for their information, but that’s slowly changing.
In the quest for a better cable TV alternative, cord cutters have searched for or created their own apps and services that provide the sports news that you desire.
One such app that’s trying to disrupt that paradigm is Stadium, a digital broadcast network dedicated to sports commentary and news; which officially launched on June 25, 2014.
What’s on Stadium
Backed by an amalgam of different companies (Time Inc, Sports Illustrated, MLBAM, the NHL, the PGA TOUR, Campus Insiders and Silver Chalice, 120 Sports), Stadium has various deals with the different professional sports leagues; which allows it to have access to the highly copyrighted footage that comes from all of America’s favorite games.
While Stadium styles itself as somewhat of a digital ESPN, there are some stark differences. To start, there are no actual games on Stadium. It’s all news and highlights for the time being, which is not necessarily bad. Instead of trying to produce 24 hours worth of content, Stadium creates about 76 hours of content a week; split up into two-minute videos.
The extensive lineup of daily programming includes:
- 8 hours of live evening coverage, seven days a week
- Morning Run (Live morning show) – 8-10 am ET
- Football Fix: 12-1 pm ET
- Fantasy Lunch Hour: 1-2 pm ET
- Library of always-accessible on-demand sports videos
With each video, you can scroll down and see social media comments related to the video. It’s a nice little addition that makes each story feel a bit more like a conversation; adding a nice social aspect to the platform. You can join in as well just by clicking a button and signing into Twitter.
Site and App Navigation
With thousands of small videos, you might think it would be difficult to navigate through the app but it’s not. There are several different ways you can search for videos. You can follow specific stories by clicking on the tags associated with each video, and related content will show up in a section called “Following.”
This is great if you’re trying to follow a specific sport or athlete, but you don’t want to wade through thousands of unrelated videos. The feature works surprisingly well, and it’s just as easy to unfollow something as it is to follow it; which is something I appreciate.
If you’re not sure what you’re looking for, you can always check out the Live Events section, and mark your calendar for upcoming broadcasts. If you’ve missed out on the some of the bigger news stories of the week, then simply go to the home page and check out the “Latest News” section.
If you’re curious as to the hot topics of the day, you can check out the Trending section. In the Trending section, you’ll be able to sort through various popular topics and find related videos. You also have the option of following the topics as well.
Where to Watch
You can watch Stadium here:
- WatchStadium.com
- WatchStadium.Twitter.com
- PlutoTV- Channel 207
- Social channels including Facebook, and Instagram.
- Select distribution partners including MSN.com, Yahoo, SlingTV and Verizon go90
- Stadium app in the App Store, Android mobile app in the Google Store, as well as on Apple TV
- Coming soon: Roku, Amazon Fire TV
Stadium Sports Roadmap
Looking forward, Stadium is hoping to start adding original shows in addition to sports commentary. Earlier this month, the company signed a content deal with Spark SMG to help expand its access to sports content and certain brands.
According to Media Post, the first show in development “involves a Bass Pro Shops branded interview series featuring UFC starfighters, Chad Mendes and Jeremy Stephens, and St Louis Rams Pro-Bowl Punter, Johnny Hekker to highlight their offseason routines,” and will “explore how these competitors enjoy spending their free time and seek adventures off the playing field.”
Conclusion: Great, But Not a Compete ESPN Alternative
Depending on how this show is handled, Stadium’s content expansion could be a boom or bust to the network. Hopefully, they’ll pull it off because I would like to see a free online sports broadcaster rise up and finally provide a true cable TV alternative for sports.
If you’re curious about Stadium, I’d suggest you give it a try. It won’t replace ESPN but it’s a great addition to your cord cutting toolbox. And given the big potential for this little network, it’s definitely worth the look.
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My expertise in sports coverage, particularly for out-of-market games and regional sports networks, stems from years of hands-on experience as an early adopter of streaming services and my work addressing fans' viewing challenges. As a longtime cord-cutter and subscriber to multiple streaming platforms, I combine my technical knowledge with practical user experience, making me a leading expert in the field of sports streaming and entertainment technology.
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