TSN Blackout policy

Can anyone explain this to me?

I live in Toronto; watched the pregame show on TSN HD. Then, as the game was about to start, up came an announcement saying the game is blacked out "in your area". Toronto? A blackout? Last time I looked at a map, Toronto was not in Calgary's area...So up came a (yawwwwn) poker game.

So I switched over to regular TSN, and lo and behold there was the game.

Can someone explain why TSN HD was blacked out in Toronto but the game was NOT blacked out on regular TSN?

That has happend to me me a few times with HD and got poker as well!

I have no idea why. If it ever happens during a Mtl. game Expressvu is gonna get an earfull!!

In order to get games in HD you need a TV that is HD ready, and a HD converter(set-top box as TSN calls it) to get those games. Also, your cable service provider has to subscribe to TSN HD in order for you to watch the games.

Yes I realise that and have both. It has happened where I am watching the pregame show and when they start the game TSN starts showing poker.

However I just realized that last nights game was not broadcast in HD although it has happened to me in games that were!

MY question is , why would anyone want to watch poker in HD?

.....lol, I wondered that too!...I guess just to monitor the sweat production coming out of a guy's nose pores.....

.......IMO, poker and spelling bees should not be on any sports channels....

Same thing happened to me, I couldn't get the game on HD(and this is the first time I couldn't!). So I had to switch over to the regular tsn feed, what the hell is going on?

I dont think the Calgary-Hamilton game was available in HD

I'm not sure but blackout policy is determined by teams, league and broadcaster. Since teams obtain most of their revenue from attending fans, local blackouts are needed. Otherwise no one would pay to attend. Now internet pay-per-view is available. Of course, there are no blackouts for viewers located from 8 CFL cities.

"there are no blackouts for viewers located from 8 CFL cities."

This error should corrected as follows. "There are no blackouts for viewers far outside 8 CFL cities."

that is because you still have to pay to see the webcast

Neither should those fishing magazine shows. That’s the thing I don’t get: the most famous road cycling race in the world (Tour de France, with this year’s edition starting Saturday) is on a “fringe” channel like OLN, while other “fringe sports” (i.e. poker, spelling bees, and DOG SHOWS) take up valuable airtime on the normal sports channels like TSN, Sportsnet, or ESPN for our American neighbours.

easy mongo, I like the fishing shows....however I am completely pissed off as well that there was no HD transmission for this game and the price they are charging for those webcast games......everyone repeat after me....I will not purchase the webcast.....will not purchase the webcast....if no one buys, they will have drop the price in line.......

I agree that the cost of a webcast is atrocious, but if memory serves me right, its comparative pricing to a sports broadcast (read: World Cup qualifying matches to book a team’s spot in Germany) on Viewer’s Choice.

But here’s my proposal for possibly the best and most logical solution for us fans within Canada:

Since Rogers is a sponsor (sure its only the wireless division, but bear with me on this), why not link some, if not all, of the games to their Video On Demand service. Charge a small nominal fee (a couple bucks) to offset licencing fees, then fans can select the previously-played game they want to see, and have all the bells and whistles VOD offers (pause, rewind, etc.).

Rogers (or Shaw or any other cable companies that offer this service to digital cable box subscribers) wins, the CFL wins, the fans win. What could go wrong with that?