So sick of these illogical (and seemingly arbitrary) hockey blackouts...

[ftaisawesome]

I can understand your local Fox channel not cutting away from your game. I just feel like if you have Sunday Ticket, you should be able to watch every second of every game. I could have sworn that was the day the Viking game got over but, then they went to the Tampa, Miami finish which then pushed it over the Cowboy game. I was upset because I'm not in the home market of Tampa or Miami.

Given that I don't have Sunday ticket, I couldn't be too upset. I'm at the mercy of my local Fox station.

So it's not like the other guys were saying where you can turn to the ST channel and get the start of all late games til your local Fox channel joins the game?

[cfb]

Never tried that, since if its on the local you're usually at the mercy of the local channels whims.

I do know that if the local station cuts away from a game, that it ends up getting turned on on the ST channel. Never timed it to see if its instant, a few minutes later or whenever someone notices and pushes a button. But dont know about lack of local coverage on the front end. I always watch sports time delayed to avoid the commercials.

[WhoRay85]

The thing I don't understand is this: I'm watching Sabres - Caps on 772 (CI) (Sabres feed), also have the telecast on MSG (638) (std def). Tonight it's not being offered on 638-1 (MSG-HD), however, when it is, the HD channel usually says the game is blacked out in my area, yet it's still coming in on 638. Makes no sense to me.

[ftaisawesome]

And no one at Dtv seems to give a crap or can even give a good explanation.

Whenever the Flyers play on NHLN, I'm blacked out. Last night the most recent instance. Game on NHLN and the Sharks' RSN. Both channels blacked out despite my local teams (according to the zip code checker on Dtv's website) are those based in Pittsburgh, Baltimore & DC.

I called in last night for the first time this season to try and get an explanation...the initial CSR really had no answer but claimed that someone unknown network (she said ESPN or Versus....blaming everything on Versus seems to be the CSR's go-to move these days) must have exclusive rights to show the game. She acknowledged that DirecTV was showing the game on NHLN and the Sharks' RSN but couldn't say why I was being blacked out other than the mysterious network with exclusive rights was the probable cause. She also said that just because it shows up in the guide, it doesn't mean they're actually showing the game. Huh? Really?

She did pass me on to a tech support guy and he really didn't have an explanation either. I was hoping that this guy might have been more logical in that you sorta need that ability to troubleshoot problems. Even after I explained that I am never blacked out when the Flyers are NOT on NHLN, yet am when they ARE, he still didn't have a decent explanation. He blamed it on the teams involved as well as the NHL for setting the blackout area. Somehow I didn't have this problem last season.

Fast forward to tonight....the Capitals (one of my local teams as determined by the zip code checker) are on NHLN. It's blacked out as you would expect....I flip over to the Caps' RSN and bingo, there's the game plain as day. Tonight the Flyers are playing the Coyotes in Phoenix. No local RSN in Phoenix is showing the game so guess what, the Flyers own Comcast Philly broadcast is being shown on a CI channel.

Now...the only thing I can figure out (and it still doesn't seem right) is that somehow Comcast Philly has the local rights for Flyers games in my area (even though that doesn't jive with the zip code checker), BUT since Dtv doesn't have Comcast Philly among their RSNs, I'm being blacked out on both the national provider (NHLN) and the opponent's provider (Sharks' RSN). This sorta makes sense but is not in any way fair to the subscriber, if for no other reason than my zip code does not put me in the Flyers' blackout area.

No one at DirecTV cares, that's the bottom line....they just want to pass the buck to the NHL, the teams and their favorite new boogeyman Comcast. If DirecTV didn't have Sunday Ticket, I would drop them in a heartbeat.

I just happened upon thisl


DirecTV + NHL Center Ice + ComcastSportsNet = No Hockey Games For You To Watch - The Consumerist

[shinner]

The thing I don't understand is this: I'm watching Sabres - Caps on 772 (CI) (Sabres feed), also have the telecast on MSG (638) (std def). Tonight it's not being offered on 638-1 (MSG-HD), however, when it is, the HD channel usually says the game is blacked out in my area, yet it's still coming in on 638. Makes no sense to me.

Thought I remember some issue with MSG not allowing DTV to show games on their HD networks. The other night Philly played the Islanders. Was blacked out on MSG-HD but no problems on the SD channel.

I just happened upon thisl


DirecTV + NHL Center Ice + ComcastSportsNet = No Hockey Games For You To Watch - The Consumerist

From what I understand (this coming from a friend here who had relatives in Harrisburg), the cable company there has had Philly games via Comcast (and it's previous incarnations in Philly) going back at least 12-15 years (how long I've lived here and knew the guy who told me this). Could very well have been much longer than that. For this same time period, we could not get Philly sports on our local cable in my town. In all this time (most of which I've had DTV and subbed to NFL ST and NHL CI), I never had any blackout issues. Comcast buys our cableco four or five years ago...doesn't offer CSN8 initially, but now does either this year or last for the first time. My blackout issues start.

Now the question I have, is....as Comcast acquires cable companies in outlying areas that never before were in the Philly region, are they being allowed to expand the area that they can now claim as their region once they make CSN8 available? Looking at how things have changed in my case, I'm guessing they are....and that's a crock of shit.

[ETS]

Im not A NHL fan, but after watchin "3 Wide Life" on SportSouth 649 I left the TV on that channel and watched a show I taped ealier. After I watched the show, the Hurricanes/Thrashers game was on and it was not Blacked Out and im in NY. I dont have the hockey package or nothing. So was that a one time thing or a mistake on *D's part?

[shinner]

Another good example tonight.....no Atlanta network so DTV has the Comcast Philly feed for the Flyers game and I'm NOT blacked out. So...why doesn't DTV get the Comcast Philly feed to show when the Flyers play on NHLN?

Think I know why....when the Flyers are on NHLN, all out of area people can watch it on NHLN and don't need a RSN to show it...and us "locals" (whether we're local or not), are forced to see it on Comcast Philly (which DTV obviously doesn't carry). But DirecTV doesn't really give a crap about the so-called locals to the Philly area (I say, "so-called" because it's obvious I'm not in the Philly area even though I get blacked out when they play on NHLN). We're not that important....better to screw us, a relatively small amount of subs, instead of the rest of the country, iow, the majority of their subs.

[obxflyers]

Shinner, I can understand your frustration. When I first moved to York they had Suscom cable, they offered CSN Mid-Atlantic (because the Orioles were on then) & FSN Pitt. So I figured I'd get center ice through them to watch the Flyers, well turns out they were blacked out on center ice on cable because York (or at least some part of it) is considered Flyers & Penguins territory (unfortunately, the blackout rules don't go by what channels are actually available to you, just where you fall on the map). So I could see Penguins & Caps games on regular channels, but only the Penguins & Flyers were blacked out on Center Ice, not the Caps (makes alot of sense, huh?)

Thankfully after Comcast took over (can't believe I'm saying that) they added CSN Philly a couple years ago. So now we at least have the channel in SD (don't know if we'll ever see it offered in HD around here). The whole not available on satellite-terrestrial loophole thing just makes the situation that much worse. Belive me, if they ever offered it on satellite (and in HD) I'd be in heaven.

[shinner]

I hear ya but I can't afford to have local Comcast to get CSN-P (and presumably Extra Innings) and then keep Dtv for Sunday Ticket. What really boggles my mind is the way Comcast is turning their noses up at all the extra money they could be getting by allowing Dtv to carry CSN-P for those not local to Philly.

[Iceberg]

What really boggles my mind is the way Comcast is turning their noses up at all the extra money they could be getting by allowing Dtv to carry CSN-P for those not local to Philly.

easy
M-O-N-O-P-O-L-Y

Until the FCC steps in and forces the loophole shut you wont see CSN Philly on Satellite