Why would U-Verse black out NFL Packer games in Illinois?

[aaelghat]

I have AT&T U-Verse, and paid extra to get a Fox Sports channel that carries Green Bay Packer games.

The problem is, those games are blacked out. If you go to the channel during the game it says, “Blacked Out”.

I can understand blacking out a game if you think home TV viewers will siphon off paid attendance of the actual live game, but why would the games be watchable in Wisconsin, but not over the border?

Thanks.

[Dewey_Finn]

Perhaps there is one feed for both Wisconsin and Illinois, so they can’t block it in Wisconsin and not in Illinois?

[Munch]

Because they abide by NFL blackout rules.

Furthermore, broadcasters with NFL contracts are required to show their markets’ road games, even if the secondary markets have substantial fanbases for other teams (like in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, officially a Baltimore Ravens secondary market, but home to a lot of Pittsburgh Steelers fans).

[aaelghat]

Thanks for the link, Munch, however the quote describes the games they are required to show.

The Fox Sports network feed out of Wisconsin broadcasts the Packers game in Wisconsin, so why black it out here? In addition, from the same article you linked to describing that sometimes games are blacked out if the stadioum hasn’t sold all the seats…

There are two exceptions to the rule. The first is for the Green Bay Packers, which have two overlapping 75-mile blackout zones—one surrounding the team’s stadium in Green Bay and another surrounding Milwaukee. The team’s radio flagship station is in Milwaukee, and the Packers played part of their home schedule in Milwaukee from 1953 through 1994. However, this policy has never been implemented in the Packers’ case, as they have sold out every home game in Green Bay since 1960 and have a decades-long season-ticket waiting list (games in Milwaukee also sold out during this period).

The game that was blacked out today was an Away game at the Carolina Panthers.

[kenobi_65]

The reason is that Fox (and CBS) are only allowed to carry one game at a time in any particular market (which, as you note, means that, normally, they won’t be able to show a Packer game here in Chicago if the Bears are playing at the same time, on the same network), and DirecTV has the exclusive rights from the NFL to offer additional games beyond those to their subscribers. If you want to watch games beyond what’s being offered by the local stations in your market, DirecTV is your only legal option.

[aaelghat]

Thank you for the response. I’ll see if I can get a HD over-the-air antenna and pick up the over-the-air broadcast from across the border.

Thanks again.

[Max_Torque]

@aaelghat

Thank you for the response. I’ll see if I can get a HD over-the-air antenna and pick up the over-the-air broadcast from across the border.

Thanks again.

Just a note: there’s really no such thing as an “HD antenna”. Any old-fashioned aluminum vane that picks up UHF will pick up digital broadcast signals, so long as your TV has the appropriate decoder. Technically, there are a few stations out there still broadcasting in VHF, but most have gone UHF. Don’t get suckered into paying too much because an antenna is marketed as “HD ready!!” or whatever.

[aaelghat]

After doing some research, I might try my hand at this coat hanger antenna which supposedly gets good results…

Coat Hanger HDTV Antenna!

[fiddlesticks]

So yeah, if the U-Verse salesman touted that you could get the Packers games by buying an extra tier, you should be pissed because that’s not how the NFL TV rules work. You’re stuck with what the local Chicago CBS & Fox stations choose to show each week (by the way, handy site for this stuff is The 506). Your only legal solution: get a DirecTV dish and pay for NFL Sunday Ticket.