|
Major League Baseball blacks out certain teams' games throughout Iowa. The blackouts prevent Iowa viewers from seeing most games involving the Brewers, Twins, Cubs and White Sox when these teams play on ESPN, TBS or Versus. This season the St. Louis Cardinals are blacked out in Iowa when they play on TBS or Versus, but not when they play on ESPN. The blackout decisions are made by Major League Baseball, and they apply to ALL CABLE or SATELLITE TV PROVIDERS in Iowa, not just CFU! The blacked-out games are NOT included in the MLB pay-per-view package sold through cable companies and online, and are not shown in Iowa on the MLB network. The blacked-out games can only be seen on the regional sports network that carries the games of the team involved. For example, if a Cubs or White Sox game is blacked out on TBS, CFU viewers can almost always see the game on either Comcast SportsNet Chicago (31/HD431) or WGN (4/HD404). No teams are blacked out when they play on ESPN (27/HD 427) on Sunday night or on Fox (6/HD406) on Monday night. Why does Major League Baseball blackout games? It's got nothing to do with whether the game is sold out. The reason for the blackouts is to protect TV advertising revenue for the regional sports network or local broadcast station that's carrying the game.
|