Blackout Restriction

Explanation

A blackout restriction is a broadcasting rule — enforced by sports leagues or content rights holders — that prevents a game or event from being shown on certain platforms in specific geographic markets. Sports blackouts were created to protect local TV station deals and encourage in-person game attendance. NFL games not sold out 72 hours before kickoff were subject to local TV blackouts until the league suspended the policy in 2015. MLB still enforces streaming blackouts through MLB.TV — games involving local teams are blacked out in that team's home market to protect regional sports network (RSN) deals. Streaming services enforce blackouts through IP geolocation, blocking viewers in the defined blackout zone from accessing the streamed content.