mcchickenmommy t1_ja49w1l wrote on February 26, 2023 at 7:03 PM

why would a cable provider block a whole streaming service?

[deleted] t1_ja4g86e wrote on February 26, 2023 at 7:45 PM

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mcchickenmommy t1_ja4h28r wrote on February 26, 2023 at 7:51 PM

ahhhh makes sense

Silentjosh37 t1_ja4nbxs wrote on February 26, 2023 at 8:33 PM

Not really something they can do. A provider can't block streaming apps to force you to buy it through them. They do need to adhere to the local blackout restrictions. But that shouldn't be the case here.

You are not required to use a provider for content in place of a linear channel on their service.

macdaddyold OP t1_ja7xia8 wrote on February 27, 2023 at 2:48 PM

Oddly enough on any device on my cox wifi, signing up for ESPN+ causes a spinning wheel that never loads the screen. If I disable wifi and use cellular, no issues at. Tried this with a couple PCs, android TV, etc. Cox is without a doubt blocking the espn app on wifi.

Silentjosh37 t1_jaa50ls wrote on February 27, 2023 at 11:23 PM

Depending on what router you are using, especially panoramic there might be ad blocking turned on and that might be blocking the site because it has an adserver running with it. Common on mesh networks.

I had the same issue with another provider when I was trying to use Paramount+ turned off the ad block on my network and it started loading as normal.

Just a suggestion as there would be much more info on that if Cox was straight up blocking the app and I couldn't find this through an quick (even though not through) Google search. Seems like something a lot of people would have an issue with.

Could always bypass the router and go direct to modem to test that.

[deleted] t1_ja4noo7 wrote on February 26, 2023 at 8:35 PM

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Silentjosh37 t1_ja4pni7 wrote on February 26, 2023 at 8:48 PM

That wouldn't be a "bandwidth limitation" and is against Net neutrality rules. Also none of the providers in the state have any throttling or data caps especially the ones who offer video services. That may be different with cell providers but they don't tend to offer video services.

This sounds like there might be something else going on. Especially if they are trying to cast to a TV and they have adblocking setup on their WiFi and it is causing an issue with the stream since it can't load an ad or something. Happens all the time if you have advanced features on your WiFi.