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

[shinner]

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.

[yorktown]

The DIRECTV CSRs aren't program directors.

[shinner]

Then she shouldn't be fielding questions about blackouts....

[Big Dawg 23]

Then she shouldn't be fielding questions about blackouts....

I have given up on figuring out Blackout rules. One week I can see 230 College football games on ESPN and ESPN2 plus my local ABC then the next week can not. Then following week I can see the 230 College games on the West Coast ABC Feed. In the end college football is just as screwed up.

When it comes to hockey I never have an issue because I get the Wild and that is it. However, one game against the Blues was on Fox Sports Midwest in HD and only Standard def on a local channel so I was lucky.

I don't think any one will give you the correct answer or figure it out. This comes down to Direct will blame the Sport it effects and vice versus. They just need to find a way to eliminate blackouts when you pay for sports package.

I wish for NFLST the any games on in my local channels would not be blacked out in the NFLST package.

[iwc5893]

Then she shouldn't be fielding questions about blackouts....

What's she supposed to do when you call her asking about it, instead of contacting the NHL who is ultimately responsible for blackouts?

[cfb]

Silly blackout rules are why I gave up on the sports package. Whenever one of the regional sports networks was running a scrimmage or preseason football game for a team I was interested in, it'd be blacked out.

How a california viewer watching an east coast preseason football game could cause a contractual or revenue problem for the networks or the league still mystifies me.

[Iceberg]

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).

BINGO!! we have a winner

When a game is on NHL Net, it is blacked out in the 2 teams "home" market and forces you to watch it on local TV. Since CSN Philly is not available to sat companies, you get double screwed and can't see it. The Sharks feed is blacked out because you are outside of the Sharks "home" area.

Its pretty simple...unless its on Versus or NBC, you are forced to see it on your "home" RSN which for Philly doesnt exist on satellite.

[shinner]

What's she supposed to do when you call her asking about it, instead of contacting the NHL who is ultimately responsible for blackouts?

She could direct me to someone who does have a decent explanation instead of spitting out complete BS that's not even relevant to the question. She throws out ESPN and Versus as possible reasons for the problem when neither one is broadcasting the game (which she knows as she looked it up). I mean, ESPN? They broadcast no professional hockey.

Maybe I'll give the NHL offices in NYC a call and see what they have to say.

BINGO!! we have a winner

When a game is on NHL Net, it is blacked out in the 2 teams "home" market and forces you to watch it on local TV.

Thanks man, lemme throw this at ya....my "home" RSNs are Pittsburgh and Balt/Wash.

Since CSN Philly is not available to sat companies, you get double screwed and can't see it. The Sharks feed is blacked out because you are outside of the Sharks "home" area.

Comcast Philly shows virtually every Flyers game and when not on NHLN, I get the games on the opponents RSN, no problem. If I'm truly in the Flyers' "local market", shouldn't I also be blacked out when the Flyers aren't on NHLN? That's what I'm not understanding. It doesn't seem logical at all. How did it change from last year to this?

How can I be in the Philly blackout area when they're on NHLN but not when they aren't? Doesn't make sense.

Its pretty simple...unless its on Versus or NBC, you are forced to see it on your "home" RSN which for Philly doesnt exist on satellite.

Guess I'm looking at losing 13 games this season between Versus and NHLN. Possibly the NBC games too which looks to be another 5. I'm assuming the Winter Classic won't be blacked out unless Comcast has found a way to weasel local rights on that one

Awesome.

[cfb]

Whats worse is that like my situation, you cant just say "I'd like to buy my way out of this problem...how much?" And get a reasonable number. Or any solution at all.

Even while paying ~$400 for NFL sunday ticket, I still need to run interference between local blackouts, local stations having the game which forces an NFL ST blackout, and local stations that force the blackout but then leave my team beating the snot out of another team (which I like) to go to a 'more competitive game'.

Considering this is the most successful and profitable sport in the US, I'm surprised that you're getting worse coverage with the sport thats most likely to commercially fail in the next 5 years. You'd think they'd be working harder to get the game in front of the fans as much as they could.

Spoken as a hard core NHL fan in the 60's and 70's who mostly gave up due to over expansion and diluted expertise in the 80's and completely gave up in the 90's.

I still salute the Bruins of Bobby Orr, Johnny Bucyk, Phil Esposito, Pie MacKenzie, Teddy Green, Derek Sanderson, Kenny Hodge, Wayne Cashman, and Gerry Cheevers, among many others.

Wish there were guys like them in the NHL now, and that we could all watch them whenever they played, because thats what sports is all about.

[yorktown]

She could direct me to someone who does have a decent explanation instead of spitting out complete BS that's not even relevant to the question.

I'm guessing that no matter whom she directed you to you'd say the answer they gave you was complete BS.