Notre Dame at Duke, unfortunately for some cable/dish subscribers, will be on the ACC Network, effectively blacking out some Irish fans. While I would certainly encourage you to connect with a local alumni clubs or hit up a sports bar, I understand the desire to want to watch in the comfort in your own home.
So with that in mind, I wanted to throw something together as a resource for folks that haven’t jumped into the cord-cutting world. The big bonus is that pretty much everyone has a free trial period, meaning you don’t have to shell out a single penny (if you remember to cancel after the trial!).
I also want to note that HLS doesn’t have affiliate agreements with any of the below providers. So this isn’t a chance for us to shill. Everything below is just good ‘ol free information (if you’d like to toss us something, check out the sidebar and visit our partners).
Equipment Needed
Can you read this post? Great, you have all the equipment that you need. Seriously. For a more detailed answer, Smart TVs, Apple TV, Roku, Fire Sticks, smart phones/tablets, and even game consoles can use the below services.
As far as your connection speed, if you are able to watch other services like Netflix without issues you will be fine. That being said, using a wired connection (Ethernet) is always superior to WiFi. That also being said, I’ve been a PS Vue subscriber all year and have used WiFi as my primary connection method with very little issues.
If You’re Serious About Cutting the Cord…
Go with YouTube TV. I know I said I’m a PS Vue subscriber, but this is your true long term play.
Feature for feature it beats pretty much any other cord-cutting TV service on the market. Unlimited DVR, three simultaneous streams, and just about every channel you’d want.
Trust me on this and don’t over-think it. I’m going to be a YouTube TV subscriber come January because…
If You Might Forget to Cancel the Trial OR Want the Best Game Day Features…
PS Vue is, sadly, dying in January. So if you’re one of those people that tends to sign up for stuff and forget you’re about to get charged, your mistake will be short-lived.
However, signing up for the free trial, gets you what is, in my opinion, the best features for a football die-hard if you happen to have an Apple TV or PlayStation 4. With that hardware, you are able to stream multiple channels on the same stream at once (four with Apple TV, three with PS4). On top of that, you can opt in to the sports package which includes NFL RedZone.
I’m going to miss this flexibility, but YouTube TV is a bit friendlier with the DVR UI, so I won’t mourn it for long (especially once I rig up a mini-PC to try and get this back next season!).
If You Don’t Want to Burn a Free Trial and Need a Lot of Options…
Here’s the rest of the streaming services that I’ve found that will offer the ACC Network:
Sling also has ACCN, but I couldn’t find a free trial option, just a discounted first month. Which, nah, that ain’t what we’re here for.
If You Need to Blame Something for Notre Dame Ending Up on ACCN…
Don’t use this year’s performance as the reason. This was ordained before the season started and ND was coming off a playoff run. Even Clemson has been on the ACCN (multiple times in fact!).
So, if you want to make that angry internet post, you need to blame our relationship with the ACC as a whole. Because if you’re hot-taking, you should at least hot-take in truth!
Texan by birth, Irish by choice.
First-generation Domer and a former student manager, HLS podcast host, HLS Sim creator, Extra Life streamer, and technical problem haver. You can find more non-Notre Dame related writing on his Patreon.
- Epilogue - January 3, 2022
- HLS Podcast Finale - January 2, 2022
- The Final Fiesta: Notre Dame vs Oklahoma State NCAA ’14 Sim - December 31, 2021
