Fans have options ahead of Purdue-Alabama game Thursday, despite YouTube TV, ESPN blackout
Purdue basketball fans used to tuning into YouTube TV to watch games on ESPN have a decision to make Thursday night.
Because of a prolonged contract dispute between the sports network and YouTube’s subscription streaming platform, all Disney-owned content has been removed from YouTube TV since Halloween. Fans have already missed two weekends of college and pro sports, and now the No. 2-ranked Purdue mens’ game against No. 8 Alabama is in the crosshairs.
To avoid missing the Nov. 13 game, YouTube TV subscribers could buy home access via a number of other streaming services that carry ESPN (Fubo offers a free trial for new users, and Sling sells a $5 day pass). Or they could take the blackout as an opportunity to watch at a local bar or restaurant.
Don Kirby, co-owner of his namesake DT Kirby’s bar on Main Street, prefers they do the latter.
“It’s OK to watch it at home, but let’s face it, it’s better to watch it on a big screen and eat a burger or a dog,” he said. “Most people who really dig sports want to come together, hang out with other people who dig sports.”
Bars and restaurants aren’t facing the conundrum of regular fans during the dispute, because they are prohibited from internet streaming anyway by the Federal Communications Commission, Kirby said. DT Kirby’s shows sports mostly via DirecTV, including soccer and hockey packages.
The Tap, in West Lafayette on Chauncey Avenue, will also show Thursday night’s game.
Neither bar is immune to the rising cost of sports consumption, though, as streaming giants split the pie with legacy networks. Each establishment bought Peacock to gain access to Purdue sports two years ago, when the Big Ten conference negotiated a deal with NBC’s streaming service.
Because retailers pay a special, per-seat rate for television packages, the price was in the thousands of dollars for a number of Purdue men’s basketball and football games not likely to eclipse 10.
“It gets expensive,” Kirby said. “But when you build yourself around what we call street food and a sports atmosphere, that’s part of what we do. Peacock was an expensive add-on, but it’s Purdue country — gotta have it.”
Purdue’s basketball success the last few years has helped offset the cost.
“Certainly, we’ve found in the last two years,” said Chris Martin, owner of the Tap, “that as we get into the tournament, people are going to try to show up to The Tap at 1 p.m. for an 8 p.m. tournament game just for a seat.”
Kirby and Martin say sports bars in the area have going for them the social aspect of watching a game away from home — “You’re bringing people together,” Kirby said — and the high cost for fans to buy widespread access to live sports. Purdue basketball, for instance, is on eight different networks this year.
“To watch everything you want to watch, you might have to have multiple providers at home,” Martin said. “That’s just a pain in the butt and an added expense.”
For families and those younger than 21 years old who want to get out for Thursday’s game, DT Kirby’s and The Tap are open to all ages (until 9 p.m. in The Tap’s case).
“The bar is wide open, but we have a divider in between where the kids can’t come on this side,” Kirby said. “If your kid wants to watch a game with Dad, Dad can drink a beer and the kid can have a hot dog or a burger.”
Purdue’s matchup with Alabama, starting at 7 p.m., includes the Boilermakers’ highest-ranked, non-conference road opponent since Matt Painter’s first season, a 90-70 loss to Memphis in 2005.
Contact Israel Schuman at ischuman@gannett.com or on X @ischumanwrites.
