What are blackouts?
A blackout is a restriction on a live broadcast to comply with broadcasting agreements.
- Regional Rights: TSN holds regional English-language broadcast rights for select Winnipeg Jets, Toronto Maple Leafs, Ottawa Senators, and Montreal Canadiens regular-season games. These games are aired only within each team’s designated broadcast region, as defined by the NHL.
- Regional Blackouts: These occur when a game is broadcast in one region but restricted in another due to these rights. If you are subject to a regional blackout, you will typically see a “Global blackout” image on the app.
- Example: A Toronto resident is eligible to watch Toronto Maple Leafs games when they are in the Toronto broadcast region. However, if they travel to Vancouver, they will be blacked out because Vancouver falls outside the designated broadcast region for that game.
- Global Blackouts: These apply to all users across all platforms nationwide, regardless of location. This occurs when TSN does not possess the rights to broadcast a particular program, game, or special event.
Why am I getting a blackout message for a live game?
This means you are currently physically located outside your team’s local broadcast territory, or you are outside of Canada.
- Outside Your Territory: If you are traveling or located outside your team’s region, the stream is restricted. If you believe your physical postal code should have access, check your eligibility via the NHL Blackout Checker Tool.
- Outside of Canada (Geo-Restrictions): TSN’s broadcast rights are generally limited to Canada. If you attempt to access content from outside the country, you will encounter geo-restrictions and see the message: “Sorry, the video you have selected is not available for viewing in this region.” Because this message can look similar to a regional blackout, always consider your physical location when troubleshooting.