Blackout Games

[Egghead1999]

Welcome to the world of corporate greed.

Don't think it is Greed, I think it is stupidity. I watched leafs vs EMD on SNP (no blackout for me), then it was Canucks vs MTL on SNP.

 

[TD Charlie]

Local sports networks are literally the only reason i have cable. If say, Disney plus added all nhl games to their network i would pay double what they charge now and ditch cable.

 

[Shakey Rustie]

I thought this thread was about drinking at games

 

[Rhaegar Targaryen]

Last night I went to tune into Canucks/Canadiens...blacked out. Instead we got Vegas/Coyotes, which nobody cares about.

Even more confusing was I thought Wednesday/Saturday was a national TV day for Sportsnet. Perhaps they decided to make the Vegas game the National game which is...why? Especially in the North division this year.

 

[Big Daddy Cane]

It's actually real simple. If you and others watching local games on Center Ice, Cable companies don't get nothing. The NHL doesn't get the big TV contracts. All leagues need the big contracts to survive. NHL Center Ice, MLB TV etc. were designed to give you more games at a decent cost but not replace local TV.

Bingo. As a cable subscriber interested in watching the local teams, it's not only you that pays for it. The 9 households around you that don't watch subsidize it for you. The same holds true the other way when it comes to news/lifestyle/entertainment channels. What happens to the value of the local sports channel, in terms of a bargaining position at contract renewal, if a chunk of the audience is stripped away?

I get the desire for it, but $199 or so for a blackout-free NHL.tv is unrealistic. You can't expect to get what you want and not subsidize the viewing habits of those around you.

 

[Sol]

The blackouts are just antiquated at this point.

Especially when it comes to Center Ice. I live in NJ and I can't get Devils/Rangers/Islanders games unless I subscribe to a cable service, DirecTV or Fubo. I'm done with cable service, don't want to toss a dish on my house and Fubo TV flat out sucks. I'd gladly pay to have center ice to watch my team, but that's just not an option as all those games are blacked out. So, I find another way to watch without giving the league money.

Go on reddit. They have an app that some users made that's free, and have the game on 720p.

 

[kingsholygrail]

I thought this thread was about drinking at games

You gotta story you want to share with the thread?

 

[GoBuds14]

I thought this thread was about drinking at games

Haha sounds like a brilliant idea for a new thread though

 

[the4thlinegrinder]

Last night I went to tune into Canucks/Canadiens...blacked out. Instead we got Vegas/Coyotes, which nobody cares about.

Even more confusing was I thought Wednesday/Saturday was a national TV day for Sportsnet. Perhaps they decided to make the Vegas game the National game which is...why? Especially in the North division this year.

Edmonton vs Toronto was the national Wednesday game last night

 

[SenzZen]

You gotta story you want to share with the thread?

He would, but he can’t remember.

 

[Bounces R Way]

It's stupid in the best of times to make your product harder to access. When Canadian teams are exclusively playing Canadian teams for an entire season it's extra moronic. Time for the NHL to stop catering to telecom giants and provide functional alternatives to its loyal fans.

 

[LeafsNation75]

They don’t own any of the regional TSN rights. 4 teams have TSN regional rights. Rogers owns the National rights, and some regionals.

Maybe it's because they are the only Canadian team in the NBA, but I found it interesting how besides TSN4 which is in the Toronto region will always show the Toronto Raptors games on the other TSN channels at the same time. For example on January 25, 2021 TSN4 is showing the Raptors vs Pacers game and it's also on TSN5 which is in the Ottawa region.

However when Montreal, Ottawa, or Winnipeg have regional games on TSN1, 2, 3 or 5 they are blacked out if you live in the Toronto region.

 

[RalphKing]

In Alberta and the Vancouver and Montreal game was blacked out last night. I thought I could get every Vancouver game as I'm out of market. Anyone know why this happened?

 

[Sol]

Great android app out there use phone version to Chromecast to tv. Now just use web or app version on fire tab. Some people used to just set NHL tv to a fake address and set team to Arizona or another team years back. They paid with cc so was legit just setup so blackout games didn't really matter. Not sure if that works anymore. Most people should just try the VPN way and I am sure it would work.

That's smart. But since I don't support blacking out of games, I don't want to pay to watch NHL games when there's a good free app on my Pc that has all the games with home and away broadcasts, with 720p60. I implore people to really look for other ways.

 

[Justshootmore]

It's actually real simple. If you and others watching local games on Center Ice, Cable companies don't get nothing. The NHL doesn't get the big TV contracts. All leagues need the big contracts to survive. NHL Center Ice, MLB TV etc. were designed to give you more games at a decent cost but not replace local TV.

I get your point, but actually I don’t think it would change a lot. I don’t think people would start canceling their cable contracts just because NHL tv suddenly has no blackouts.

 

[LeafsNation75]

 

[Canadian Game]

For those with Rogers or Cogeco cable, the Super Sports Pack broadcasts all games that SN and TSN doesn’t broadcast, including blackouts. We’ve watched a wide variety of games and no issues. This is the third year we’ve had it and I have zero complaints.

 

[GOilers88]

It's crazy isn't it? I live in the metro Vancouver area and I can't watch any of the Jets/Sens/Leafs/Habs games unless it's on HNIC or they play the Canucks.

Oilers are playing in Montreal? Let's black that out for all you fans on the west coast because we want to promote....what exactly?

 

[GJB]

In Vancouver and a Canucks fan.

Paid $180 for NHL Live this season to get all games except Vancouver games that aren't "national" broadcast. Use Roku for NHL Live.

Would need to pay $20/month more for Sportsnet Now. But I don't believe they have an app for Roku or my smart TV and I don't have gaming consoles.
And having to stream from your phone to TV for something you're paying for is a joke.
Anyways, $20/month * 6 mths (this season to end early July) = $120

So to watch all games is 180 + 120 / 7 = $42.85
It's not horrible when you factor in not paying cable and maybe I would consider it if they had easier ways to connect to SN Now.

 

[LeafsNation75]

For those with Rogers or Cogeco cable, the Super Sports Pack broadcasts all games that SN and TSN doesn’t broadcast, including blackouts. We’ve watched a wide variety of games and no issues. This is the third year we’ve had it and I have zero complaints.

I have Rogers and like they have done for a few years when every NHL season starts they were giving a free preview of NHL Center Ice for 1 week. Anyway one of the games I could have watched was the Leafs vs Senators which was blacked out for me on TSN5, however it was available through the free preview with the TSN5 broadcast. Although the weird thing is that was also on TSN4 in the Toronto and both broadcasts were using Gord Miller and Ray Ferraro.

The only difference was on TSN4 they called it Molson Canadian Leafs Hockey and on TSN5 it was called Canadian Tire Senators Hockey.

 

[Frenchy]

The Habs game is blackout on RDS tonight , it's the first time ever that i see this on RDS

 

[Anglesmith]

It's crazy isn't it? I live in the metro Vancouver area and I can't watch any of the Jets/Sens/Leafs/Habs games unless it's on HNIC or they play the Canucks.

Oilers are playing in Montreal? Let's black that out for all you fans on the west coast because we want to promote....what exactly?

Like they say, the idea is to "protect home markets." That means that the Vancouver Canucks want fans in their viewing region to grow up with easier access to Vancouver Canucks games so that more people in the region end up being Vancouver Canucks fans and spend their money on the Vancouver Canucks. The Calgary Flames want fans in their viewing region to grow up with easier access to Calgary Flames games so that more people in the region end up being Calgary Flames fans and spend their money on the Calgary Flames.

It may seem silly and minor, but I suppose that the concern is that if you can treat any team as your home team in terms of watching the games, why would a kid become a Canucks fan if the current most trendy Canadian team is the Leafs?

That is my understanding, anyway. This is not aimed at adults who are established in their fandom. It is to make sure the supply of those adults is retained for each market.

 

[cliffclaven]

For those with Rogers or Cogeco cable, the Super Sports Pack broadcasts all games that SN and TSN doesn’t broadcast, including blackouts. We’ve watched a wide variety of games and no issues. This is the third year we’ve had it and I have zero complaints.

And how much is that a month?

 

[Ducer]

It's the Canada Cup division why would I want to watch Philly and Bruins when Canucks and Habs are playing when I pay for sportnet's in Ontario? I'm closer to montreal than boston why the blackout?

 

[Anglesmith]

It's the Canada Cup division why would I want to watch Philly and Bruins when Canucks and Habs are playing when I pay for sportnet's in Ontario? I'm closer to montreal than boston why the blackout?

The rights to show Boston game nationally in Canada are easier for Sportsnet to obtain due to regional broadcasting rules.