Sports blackouts are local or regional restrictions set by the broadcasters, professional sports teams, and their respective leagues. Blackouts are set to promote loyalty and fan support that generates revenue for local teams.
Each league has different blackout rules that can change at any time. Sometimes,
- A local sports team blacks out a game in the city (and surrounding regions) to encourage fan attendance at a game, or;
- A game may only be available to local residents and is blacked out for the rest of the country.
Blackouts are usually set for city centres (usually within 50 km) or regions (may include provinces and territories.) It can also apply to pay per view sporting events.
When a game has been blacked out for your area, an on-screen message will appear saying “this game is under regional blackout.”