Utah Jazz announce new streaming service Jazz+

The Utah Jazz announced their very own streaming service today, Jazz+. It’s something Jazz fans have been hoping for, and now it’s finally here!

As you can see, it comes with options to get a monthly cost or an annual cost. The annual cost comes with some fun perks, like two tickets to a Jazz home game and a Jazz t-shirt and hat. We’ll see what that hat and shirt look like, but it’ll be fun to find out.

The annual pass is also interesting because I assume it covers a calendar year like League Pass. It says there will be exclusive Jazz content with “A variety of exclusive team content that promises to get you excited about what’s ahead!” We’ll see what that means and how this grows but that should be fun. This also brings the question of whether this will cover Summer League games in Las Vegas or just Salt Lake City Summer League. It says that nationally broadcast games won’t be on there so I assume it will just be SLC Summer league, so we’ll see.

With that said, let’s look at some of the pros and cons of the new Jazz+

The Pros

The Jazz have a streaming service (!!!) that pairs with the already free games that will play on KJZZ TV. Instead of having to get a monthly subscription to one of the different cable/satellite companies, going for the extra sports package you inevitably have to, and then deal with a monstrous cable package, all Jazz fans have to do is get an antenna or buy the new Jazz+.

There are options! You can get the annual pass or pay monthly pass and it comes at a decent price too. League pass has recently gone down to $100 for the annual pass, so this is slightly more, but the Jazz have included different items to make up for that difference with two Jazz tickets and a Jazz t-shirt and hat. All in all, it’s a good deal and saves Jazz fans from having to pay for a lot of things they don’t want just to watch Jazz games.

It comes with full-recorded games. This is nice for fans who can’t catch the game, or maybe there’s a game you want to re-watch because it was a classic. We’ll see what that looks like, but we’ll get access soon and can see.

Being able to stream is huge! The antenna option is great, but maybe you aren’t at home, or maybe you missed the game and want to watch it later. Sometimes I like to go on walks in the evening or get on the treadmill at the gym, being able to watch games anywhere, anytime is a big deal.

The Jazz provided a great FAQ about Jazz+, and they answered a lot of the streaming questions. We’ll talk in the next section about the DVR option not being available, but will the full game have fast-forward and rewind options? We’ll see. Maybe you just want to watch the fourth quarter, or maybe Jordan Clarkson squared up with somebody in the third quarter and you want to watch what led up to it. I assume there will be functionality like that, but we’ll see.

The Cons

In all honesty, there aren’t a ton of these, but there are a few things to consider. The Jazz will likely continue to work on as this new service evolves.

As I mentioned, there’s no DVR option, and hopefully, they bring this at some point. Maybe you’re getting home late from work and want to watch from the beginning, and then you fast forward until you catch up. That’s a nice thing for those who don’t want to wait until 60 minutes after the post-game show to watch. The full games on demand are definitely great, and maybe there’s a fast-forward option if you want to fast-forward through free throws and things late at night, but missing that DVR option is one thing I hope they bring at some point.

If you’re in Idaho or any other area that’s in a league pass blackout area, you may be out of luck. Here is the map showing the areas of coverage.

Utah Jazz

Here’s some of the areas that are in the blackout area for Jazz games.

One thing I know is that the Utah Jazz worked through the NBA with this, and this was probably something out of their control. That said, it’s still tough for fans in those areas to catch games. The best option for these fans is either to get an antenna, and hopefully, they can get KJZZ that way, or they may have to find a cable provider that can get them KJZZ. This might also be possible with options like FUBO and YouTube TV.

All in all, it’s fantastic to see the services and changes that come with Ryan Smith and this new era of the Utah Jazz. I have a hard time seeing all these things happen without Ryan Smith, who has been willing to make tough decisions, and they’ve worked out in great ways for fans. Just like this Jazz team, I’m sure Jazz+ will continue to evolve with coverage and exclusive content. We’ll all be watching together now!