UPDATE: Big State Sports Now Available on Roku and Fire TV
October 2, 2026: Big State Sports has expanded its new streaming platform and is now available on Roku and Amazon Fire TV, giving HERD fans even more ways to watch Mountain Lakes Football for free.
In addition to watching online at Watch.BigStateSports.com, viewers can now access Big State Sports directly from compatible Roku and Fire TV devices.
This is an important next step in Big State Sports’ transition to its own streaming platform and makes it easier for alumni, families, and fans to enjoy HERD Football on their television.
As always, HERD Football broadcasts produced by Big State Sports remain FREE to watch, with no paywall. 🦬🏈
The HERD Alumni Foundation wants to share an important update regarding our broadcast partnership with Big State Sports and how fans will watch Mountain Lakes Football moving forward.
Big State Sports recently experienced unexpected changes involving its YouTube channels. While the circumstances have required a change in how broadcasts are distributed, the most important parts of the HERD viewing experience are not changing.
HERD Football broadcasts will continue as scheduled, and they will remain free for alumni, families, fans, and the Mountain Lakes community to watch.
What Happened?
Over the summer, YouTube implemented a restriction limiting channels to 10 simultaneous live streams. Because Big State Sports regularly produces more than 10 games at the same time, particularly on busy Friday nights, the company created additional channels to accommodate those broadcasts.
YouTube subsequently removed those additional channels and later removed the original Big State Sports channel as well. Big State Sports has appealed those decisions and continues to work with YouTube, but rather than allow the situation to disrupt scheduled broadcasts, the company accelerated plans to launch its own streaming platform.
Beginning September 24, Big State Sports began hosting live broadcasts directly through its own platform.
What This Means for HERD Football
For the HERD Alumni Community, the key points are straightforward:
- HERD Football broadcasts will continue as scheduled.
- Every broadcast will remain FREE to watch, with no paywall.
- The same professional Big State Sports production will continue, including announcers, graphics, scoreboards, instant replay, and other broadcast features.
- Sponsor recognition and advertising included in HERD broadcasts will continue as planned.
- Previously broadcast games have been preserved by Big State Sports and are expected to become available again as its online archive is rebuilt.
- YouTube will still play a role in Big State Sports content, including archives, clips, highlights, and promotional material.
Initially, viewers will access live games through the Big State Sports website. Big State Sports also plans to expand the platform to Smart TV applications and mobile apps for iOS and Android.
How to Watch the HERD
The HERD Alumni Foundation will continue to make finding each broadcast as easy as possible.
For every Mountain Lakes Football game covered by Big State Sports, we will publish a Watch the HERD game post with that game’s viewing information. The latest broadcast will also be accessible through the HERD Alumni Foundation homepage at herdalumni.org.
Our game-day social posts will continue to direct fans to the appropriate broadcast as well.
So while the underlying streaming platform is changing, the process for the HERD community remains largely the same: look for the game information from the HERD Alumni Foundation, follow the link, and watch the HERD.
A Note to Our Broadcast Sponsors and Supporters
We also want to reassure the businesses, alumni, families, and other supporters who contribute to the HERD Football Broadcast Fund.
Your support continues to make it possible for the HERD Alumni Foundation to provide professional coverage of Mountain Lakes Football to viewers near and far at no cost to them.
Sponsor visibility within the broadcasts will continue as planned, and the move to Big State Sports’ own platform does not change the Foundation’s commitment to recognizing the organizations and individuals who help make these broadcasts possible.
We are grateful to everyone who has contributed and helped us expand access to HERD Football.
Looking Ahead
Changing streaming platforms during the football season was not something Big State Sports or the HERD Alumni Foundation anticipated. However, Big State Sports’ decision to operate its own streaming platform should ultimately give it greater control over the reliability, availability, and presentation of its broadcasts.
Most importantly, there is no interruption to our Mountain Lakes Football coverage.
We appreciate Big State Sports’ efforts to keep the broadcasts moving forward, and we appreciate the continued support of the entire HERD Alumni Community.
We’ll continue to share viewing information for each game through herdalumni.org and our regular game-day communications.
🦬🏈
