We are sorry that you may miss
your favorite team or a particular sporting event because
of black outs. However, blackouts are established by the
owners of the individual teams, the sports leagues
themselves and the regional sports channels. Blackouts on
any sporting event are totally out of our control. Click
on your favorite sport for an explanation of how
blackouts may affect your programming:
Major League
Baseball (MLB)
National
Basketball Association (NBA)
National
Hockey League (NHL)
NCAA
NFL Sunday
Ticket and network coverage of NFLMAJOR LEAGUE
BASEBALL (MLB)
Subscribers may only watch their home team
on their home regional sports network, or RSN.
Example: Subscribers residing in Dallas, TX,
receive home team coverage of the Texas Rangers
and the Houston Astros, which appear on FOX
Sports Southwest. If the Rangers or the Astros
games appear on any other RSN / MLB Extra Innings
those subscribers would be blacked out and would
not receive that game.
If an O.T.A. (Over-the-Air) Station is
broadcasting a game, the entire team territory
will be blacked out. Example: WBFS in Miami
is airing the Florida Marlins vs. New York Mets
game, and SportsChannel New York / MLB Extra
Innings is covering the same game. Only the
subscribers in the WBFS viewing area will receive
that game, via WBFS local signal. All others
viewers in the state of Florida would be blacked
out for that telecast.
Certain time periods are reserved for
national rights holders ESPN (Wednesday &
Sunday nights) and FOX (Saturday) afternoons.
Broadcasts will only be available in the
territory of the team / network covering the
game. Example: MSG is carrying a NY
Yankees-Baltimore Orioles game on Wednesday
night. Since ESPN owns the exclusive national
time slot on Wednesday nights, MSG will be
allowed to show that game in the Yankees
territory, only.
NATIONAL
BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION (NBA)
Subscribers may only watch their home team
on their home regional sports network, or RSN.
Example: Subscribers residing in Dallas, TX,
receive home team coverage of the Dallas
Mavericks, which appears on FOX Sports Southwest.
If the Mavericks games appear on any other RSN,
those subscribers would be blacked out and would
not be able to receive that game.
If an O.T.A. (Over-the-Air) Station is
broadcasting a game, the signal will be blacked
out within 75 miles from the arena or the Grade B
contour of that signal. Example: MSG (Madison
Square Garden) is carrying a New York Knicks-
Orlando Magic game, while WKCF, the local
over-the-air station in Orlando, is also
broadcasting the same game. Therefore, a 75 mile
radius around the Orlando’s arena is blacked
out. Anyone living inside this radius or the
Grade B contour of WKCF’s signal must watch
the game on that station, and anyone outside the
area can watch the game on MSG.
NBA games will only be available in the
territory of the team / network covering the game
when National rights holder (TNT/TBS) owns
out-of-market rights. Example: Sunshine is
carrying an Orlando Magic game and TNT is also
covering the same game. Therefore, Sunshine will
only show that game in northern Florida, and
would black out to the rest of the country.
Whereas TNT is just the opposite: TNT would be
blacked out in Orlando, but shown to the rest of
the country.
NATIONAL
HOCKEY LEAGUE (NHL)
Subscribers may only watch their home team
on their home regional sports network, or RSN.
Example: Subscribers residing in Denver, CO,
receive home team coverage of the Colorado
Avalanche, which appears on FOX Sports Rocky
Mountain. If the Avalanche games are available on
any other RSN those subscribers would be blacked
out and would not be able to receive that game.
If an O.T.A. (Over-the-Air) Station is
broadcasting a game, the signal will be blacked
out within 50 mile radius of the arena.
Example: FOX Sports Detroit is carrying a Detroit
Red Wings vs. Dallas Stars. In Dallas, the local
over-the-air station, KDFI is also broadcasting
the game. Therefore, a 50 mile radius around the
Dallas Stars arena is blacked-out. Subscribers
residing inside this radius must watch the game
on KDFI, and subscribers outside the area may
watch the game on FOX Sports Detroit.
NHL games will only be available in the
territory of the team / network covering the game
when national rights holder (ESPN/ESPN2) owns
out-of-market rights covering the game.
Example: The Detroit Red Wings are being shown on
FOX Sports Detroit, while ESPN is also covering
the same game. Therefore FOX Sports Detroit may
only show the game in the Red Wings territory,
Michigan and Northern Ohio, and would black out
the rest of the country. Whereas ESPN is just the
opposite, ESPN would be blacked out in Detroit,
but shown to the rest of the country.
NCAA
Certain college games are not available
nationwide to all subscribers. In these
instances, broadcasts will only be seen in
territory of the network covering the game.
Conferences most often affected are Big 10, Big
East and Atlantic 10. Example: A Big East
basketball game between Georgetown and Syracuse
is being carried by MSG and HTS. Since the
Regional Sports Networks do not have national
rights to certain Big East games, this broadcast
will only be available in the territories of the
regional sports networks, or RSNs, covering the
game.
NFL
Sunday Ticket & network coverage of NFL
NFL games are blacked out in a specific
area around a stadium if the game is not sold out
at least 72 hours in advance of the scheduled
kickoff. These blackout areas are determined by
zip codes. Example: The Kansas City Chiefs do
not sell out a home game 72 hours prior to the
scheduled kick off. Therefore, the game will be
blacked out on the NFL Sunday Ticket within a 75
mile radius of the stadium.
To order
sports channels and packages as well as exciting
pay per view events, call Orbit Communications
toll free, 1-800-57-ORBIT
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