What is a blackout game?

Answer 1

I don't know if this is an issue anymore, but... If there are not enough tickets sold for a game, the team will not allow the game to be shown on TV, in the local market only. When this happens, the only way for local fans to see the game is to go to the stadium. Of course, by that point, it's too late for the fans to get to the stadium before kickoff, tipoff, first pitch, etc., so they just have to miss the game. So it really doesn't help ticket sales for the game in question. And it seriously hurts TV revenue. So, in the short run, this is a bad deal for the team. But, in the long run, fans will realize that they won't get to see the game on TV if there are not enough tickets purchased. So, next week, there's a sellout. At least in theory.