B1G+: Watch College Sports

Review by eFreeware

B1G+ is the Big Ten Network's own streaming service. It carries live coverage of conference sports that do not make it onto national television, along with next-day replays and studio programming. For a fan of Big Ten athletics who has cut the cord, that combination is the main reason to consider it.

The service has been on Google Play since June 2012 and now sits at a 2.4 average from 7,091 ratings, with more than a million installs. Those numbers suggest a large audience that is not entirely happy, and the subscription model is the obvious place to start when working out why. Still, the catalog itself is substantial, and for the right viewer the value is straightforward.

Built for the sports that rarely make national TV

The pitch is volume: close to 3,000 live events a year spread across more than 20 sports. Volleyball, wrestling, softball, baseball and basketball all feature, and the list of schools covers the full conference, from Illinois and Indiana through Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington. If your interest runs to a sport that gets a couple of national broadcasts a season, this is where the rest of the schedule lives.

The important limit is stated plainly by the developer: live football and other nationally televised events are not part of the package. That is not a small exclusion, and it shapes who the service is for. Someone whose Saturdays revolve around football will not find what they want here, while a wrestling or softball follower gets a season's worth of coverage that is otherwise hard to watch.

Subscription is direct, with no TV provider required, which is the point for cord cutters. The service is available in the United States and Canada only. Anyone outside those two countries cannot sign up, regardless of which teams they follow.

Live games, replays and the archive

Live streaming is the core of it. Events appear as they happen, and the breadth of the schedule means there is usually something on during the academic year. The developer describes the total as nearly 3,000 events annually, a figure that covers the hundreds of games across the 20-plus sports on offer.

Replays arrive the following day. The developer says these include both full-length versions of televised games, free of commercial breaks, and condensed edits for when you want the result without the whole broadcast. For anyone who cannot watch live, or who wants to revisit a game that mattered, that next-day layer is a meaningful part of the subscription.

Beyond live and replay coverage, there is original programming. Shows such as The Journey, The B1G Story and B1G Moment sit alongside classic games, historic rivalries, buzzer-beaters and championship matchups. It is the kind of archive material that appeals between seasons, when the live calendar is quiet.

Multiview is available for watching up to four events at the same time, which is useful on crowded game days. The developer notes it works on web, Fire TV and Apple TV, so it is not something every viewer will be able to use. A small cosmetic extra: you can tint the home screen icon in a favorite school's Big Ten colors.

What the subscription costs

The app itself is free to download. In-app purchases are present, with a Monthly Pass at $12.99 and an Annual Pass at $89.99. The annual plan is pitched as saving over 40 percent compared with paying monthly, which works out to roughly seven and a half months of the monthly rate.

That pricing puts B1G+ in the same territory as a dedicated sports streaming service, and it is worth weighing against how much of the schedule you would actually watch. A fan who follows one team across a full season has a clear case for the annual pass. Someone curious about a single weekend of volleyball is paying a monthly rate for a narrow slice.

The 2.4 rating across 7,091 ratings is worth keeping in mind alongside the price. A score that low usually reflects frustration with something beyond the catalog, and a subscription service is judged on whether the streams, the app and the billing all behave.

In-app purchases are part of the package, so the total outlay is not just the download. The annual option is the cheaper route if you intend to stay for a full season.

How it compares with the alternatives

The obvious comparison is a general sports streaming service, which typically bundles national broadcasts and a wider range of leagues. B1G+ goes the other way, concentrating on one conference and the events that fall outside national coverage. If your viewing is mostly the games everyone else is watching, a broader service covers that ground.

A traditional cable or satellite package remains the other option, and it is the one B1G+ is explicitly built to replace, since no TV provider is needed. The trade is straightforward: you drop the bundle and its football coverage, and in return you get the non-televised schedule, the replays and the archive without a contract.

Conference-specific streaming is a narrower proposition than either. It suits someone whose loyalties are already settled, and it is hard to justify for a casual viewer who dips into college sports a few times a year. The annual price makes most sense when the subscription runs alongside a full season rather than a single event.

A subscription for committed Big Ten followers

B1G+ is a good fit for a specific viewer: someone who follows Big Ten volleyball, wrestling, softball, baseball or basketball closely enough to want the games that never reach national television, and who is willing to pay a monthly or annual fee for them. The next-day replays and the original shows add real value across a full year, and the no-provider requirement keeps the setup simple.

Live football and nationally televised events are excluded, the service works only in the United States and Canada, and the subscription is the price of entry. The 2.4 rating is a reminder that a large group of users has not been satisfied, whatever the reason.

If the schedule matches your interests, the annual pass at $89.99 is the sensible choice over $12.99 a month. If you are mainly after football or the marquee matchups, the service is not built for that, and the money is better spent on a broader sports package. For the committed follower of the less-televised sports, it is the most direct way to watch.

What's new

B1G+ is your go-to streaming service for 3,000+ Big Ten sporting events every year. Stream live games, next-day replays, and original Big Ten Network content — all without a TV provider. Whether you’re following volleyball, basketball, wrestling, softball, or baseball, B1G+ brings you closer to the teams and matchups you care about most.