With the easing of restrictions and the resumption of sporting events, this year is bound to be an exciting year for all the sports fans out there. Thanks to streaming, sports news, documentaries, and live events can be watched practically anytime and anywhere.
Here are the 5 best streaming services where you can watch the latest and greatest games as they come.
Netflix
Sports fans and newbies can count on captivating sports documentaries. Netflix is the most obvious—and arguably, the most popular—streaming service. But to date, there are no live sports shows available. Still, as Netflix boasts captivating sports documentaries, don’t let that derail you. There’s Formula 1: Drive to Survive, now on its third season, revealing the behind-the-scenes plays on heated rivalries between teams like Red Bull and the Mercedes, or the Italian Grand Prix, which is under extreme pressure to keep its global audience. The ferocity, resilience, and ingenuity of players, managers, and events producers alike keep the spirit of this international racing show just roaring.
Basketball fans should not miss The Last Dance, the award-winning documentary on the rise of superstar Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. The series raked in more than 23 million viewers worldwide during its first month when it first aired in 2020. There’s also Tony Parker: The Final Shot, where the titular real-life character is pulling all stops to become the greatest French basketball player of all time; One in a Billion, showing India-born Satnam Singh Bhamara’s determination to enter the National Basketball Association (NBA); and Meeting the Giant, where an “outsider” Chinese team makes its mark in the highly competitive Singapore sports circuits.
Check out other sports documentaries as varied as soccer and golf. After all, they were made possible by sports associations and leaders themselves partnering with the streaming giant whose 220-million-subscriber base (to date) is just hard to ignore.
Netflix offers multiple plans ranging from P149 to P549 a month. You can also watch with Netflix on us through Smart Signature Plans+ that comes with a Netflix subscription.
GigaPlay
Gigaplay, available to Smart subscribers, might be the mobile streaming service to beat in live sports. You get the best of all worlds as you can watch both the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup tournaments and future NBA seasons. Another forthcoming must-watch: the intense, highly competitive University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) games.
Beyond basketball, the all-women Premier Volleyball League (PVL) is another fan favorite. Once in a while, the milestone events or breaking news in certain sports are highlighted through refreshing content such as the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers, the Olympic Qualifying Tournament, the PVL Open Conference, and the Olympics Qualifying Tournament.
These live-streamed and on-demand games are accessible to Smart subscribers 24/7.
iWantTFC
Fans of Philippine sports will watch iWantTFC with its Pinoy-centric streaming service. TFC (The Filipino Channel) built its entire programming on local content targeted at Filipinos abroad.
iWantTFC subscribers can treat themselves to a wide range of sports choices. The most prominent are college sports, with men’s volleyball, women’s volleyball, and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men’s basketball games available as video on demand (VOD).
Sports lifestyle show University Town highlights the uniqueness of each sports team and the motivation of these college players. Teams from Adamson University, Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University, Far Eastern University, National University, University of the East, University of the Philippines, and University of Sto. Tomas have all been featured.
The Star Magic All-Star Games is where celebrities play basketball against each other. The streaming service covers up to the 2019 season.
Now, if the patriot in you wants something more inspirational, iWantTFC obliges by showing its docuseries on legends like Efren “Bata” Reyes. The aptly titled Legendary is an up-and-close personal look at how he rose from tough challenges to the top of his sport, bringing pride and global recognition to the Philippines.
iWantTFC comes free if your cable provider carries it.
Cignal Play
Cignal Play, the streaming service of TV network Cignal, also covers a few sports shows like the more well-known PVL, PBA Philippine Cup, the FIBA World Basketball, and Tokyo 2020. This part of the service and its repertoire are free. All you need to do is download the app at Google Play and register.
Classified under its Premium category are collegiate sports, Asian women’s volleyball championship tournaments, the Philippine Golf Association (PGA) tour, and WWE Smackdown.
Premium costs P75 a month.
NBA TV
Now, if you’re a hardcore NBA fan and can do without the other sports, this is your streaming service. It covers live NBA games, shows you their schedules, brings you current and breaking news, and has a tracker on the status of teams and players. Experienced sports analysts will also give you the rundown on where each team is, how they will fare against the competition in the next game, and their chances of winning.
Exclusivity does come with a cost. After a 7-day free trial, you can choose among the following season-long plans if you want to continue: the P2,600 League Pass gives you access to watch ONLY your favorite team’s live games; the P4,700 League Pass enables you to stream live and on-demand ALL the team games, not just your favorites’; and the P5,400 League Pass which provides you all content along with the privilege to stream live on two devices at the same time. All plans, however, let you watch all the NBA TV studio shows.
A day pass that lets you watch all live and on-demand shows for 24 hours costs P100.
Never miss a game-winning moment with Smart’s fast and reliable 5G network. Download the GigaLife app to avail of exciting data promos or subscribe to a Smart Signature plan with mobile data.
