Wimbledon 2016 kicks off on Monday, June 27th and as always it is expected to be an incredibly exciting tournament. The third Grand Slam tournament of the year always offers some great matchups and the historic Wimbledon venue brings both casual and avid fans of the game to the TV. Last year, Novak Djokovic won the tournament on the men’s side and Serena Williams won on the women’s side.
Both winners from last year received the number one seed in their respective draws. Djokovic is certainly a strong favorite, considering he has been nearly unstoppable this season. Serena, on the other hand has not performed up to her normal standard and comes into Wimbledon with no Grand Slam tournament win this season.
Over at CutCableToday, we want to make sure all tennis fans can watch the tournament even if they decided to stop paying for a cable subscription. We put together our Wimbledon guide for cable cutters and we reviewed all the possible options to watch. Below are some highlights.
Wimbledon 2016 Online Streaming
With the cable cutting trend taking off in the last few years there have been more and more ways to watch live sports online or even with an antenna. Sometimes the hardest part is figuring out which sites are legal and then figuring out which paid service would be the best fit for you. Below are a couple of the best options for watching online during Wimbledon.
Sling TV
Dish Network started offering Sling TV early last year and it quickly gained popularity since it allowed people to watch their favorite shows and plenty of sports live. It is not an on-demand option like many other services, but actually lets you live stream cable TV channels. Plus, all of the live streams can be either watched online, on the Sling TV mobile apps, or on your TV by using connected devices like Chromecast and Roku.
It will be ideal during Wimbledon since the two main channels broadcasting the matches, ESPN and ESPN2, are included in the starting package of Sling TV. The package only costs $20 per month and you can even get it free for a week with a 7-day trial. Other channels featured on Sling TV included TNT, TBS, CNN, AMC, A&E, and almost twenty others. ESPN3 is also available, because Sling TV lets you sign into WatchESPN with your Sling TV login.
One of the best parts about Sling TV and cable cutting in general is not only can you watch live sports, but there is tons of other content like popular TV shows and news available as well via live streaming.
PlayStation Vue
In response to more and more people cutting cable, Sony entered the market last year with PlayStation Vue. It only recently expanded into a nationwide offering and has a similar setup to Sling TV. Once again, ESPN and ESPN2 are included in the starting package.
The biggest differences for PlayStation Vue is you pay a little more each month, $29.99 per month, and you get almost thirty more channels with your subscription. The package includes TBS, TNT, ESPN, ESPN2, FX, FS1, FS2, and about 50 more live streaming cable channels. In some locations the service does jump up to $39.99 per month and with that comes the ability to live stream network channels like ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC (which is potentially helpful, albeit more costly, for folks who live out of range for over-the-air broadcasts).
Can I Watch Wimbledon with an Antenna?
Unfortunately, since ESPN has broadcast rights to Wimbledon, you won’t be able to watch on network TV. However, either of the services mentioned above will allow you to watch some of the action for free, since they both offer 7-day trials (14 days for Sling if you sign up through your Roku device).
There are clearly some great options out there to watch Wimbledon, so feel free to cut the cord and not miss any of the action!
