BYU’s Game Against UMass Will Cost Cougar Fans Serious Amount Of Money

SALT LAKE CITY – Remember when BYU was on ESPN+ to take on Toledo back in September and it cost a measly $4.99 to sign up? Well, Cougar fans prepare to pony up a lot more money this week to watch BYU take on the worst team in college football.

BYU’s game this Saturday at UMass will be televised on FloFootball.

Wait, what? Yes, you read that right, FloFootball. FloFootball.com to be exact.

Will you be spending $20 to watch #BYUFootball take on UMass this Saturday on @FloFootball? 💵 #BYUhttps://t.co/i1678UiJdx

— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) November 18, 2019

Don’t be ashamed if you haven’t heard of it. Until researching for this article, I hadn’t heard of it either. Even college football junkie Phil Steele had issues finding a UMass game on FloFootball last month.

On the FloFootball website, there’s a landing page for the BYU-UMass game coming up this weekend. There you’ll see a link that leads to a signup page with pricing options on how to watch the game.

FloFootball is a subscription-based service so you have two choices. One, sign up for an annual subscription to FloFootball at a $150 price tag. Or you can sign up for the monthly option at $19.99 per month.

.@FloFootball are you guys really trying to charge $20 for us to watch BYU vs UMass? pic.twitter.com/ZovcI2ycW6

— Jonny Linehan (@jlinehan9) November 18, 2019

So unless you want to spend $150 for an annual service to watch FloFootball broadcasts, you’ll probably want to pick the monthly option that costs $19.99.

After spending that $20, you’ll be rewarded with the opportunity to watch BYU take on a 1-9 UMass team.

FloFootball’s FAQ page on their website says you can cancel your monthly plan at any time.

Why is this game not on BYUtv?

This is the second year in a row that BYU is traveling to play UMass.

In BYU’s trip to face UMass last year, the Minutemen had a television partnership with a New England based television station called Eleven Sports. It was a regional network that had no reach nationally. To help bring the game to a wider audience, BYU Broadcasting was able to pick up the Eleven Sports feed and simulcast via BYUtv and on the BYUtv apps.

We’re excited to announce our new broadcast partnership with @FloSports, the continuation of our partnership with @NESN and our kickoff times for all 6 home games!

Read more ⤵️https://t.co/HWKHYR8dqL#Flagship 🚩 pic.twitter.com/QSibqmTLQu

— UMass Football (@UMassFootball) August 5, 2019

That won’t be the case this year when BYU plays UMass in Amherst this Saturday.

Back in August, UMass announced a two-year contract with FloFootball.com to carry their home football games. Home teams always control the broadcasting rights, so once the Minutemen signed their new deal with FloFootball, that was final. Nothing else BYU can do in this matter.

According to Jarom Jordan from BYUtv, BYU Broadcasting tried to pick up this weekend’s game with no success.

This week's BYU at UMass game is on FloFootball. It's a website.

It'll cost $20 for a one time fee to watch the game.

Trust, me BYUtv tried to simulcast this. No go.

Of course, @byuradio has every BYU Football game on its air, including this Saturday.

— Jarom Jordan (@jaromjordan) November 18, 2019

Are there any satellite or cable options for this game?

You can watch BYU take on UMass on a linear network called NESN (New England Sports Network).

NESN is available on both DirecTV (channel 628) and Dish (434). But unless you live in the New England area, you’ll have to add the sports pack option to your satellite provider lineup. For DirecTV, the Sports Pack costs $13.99 per month, on Dish, it’s $13 every month.

There was no option for NESN on Comcast Xfinity here in Salt Lake City. NESN is only available on Comcast for residents living in Boston or the surrounding New England areas.

On-Demand Options

This game won’t be available on BYUtv.org for on-demand viewing. If you do sign up for the FloFootball.com monthly service at $19.99 per month, you’ll be able to rewatch BYU’s game against UMass whenever you wish.

Radio is available

If paying $20 for BYU against UMass isn’t your thing, you can always listen to the game on your legacy home of the BYU Cougars, KSL Newsradio 102.7 FM, 1160 AM, and the KSL Newsradio app.

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12-3 pm) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.