National Football League (NFL)
Pre-season
While select pre-season games might appear exclusively on the national networks (CBS, FOX, NBC and ESPN), most pre-season games are televised live only on local broadcast stations or regional cable networks. Out-of-market pre-season games on Thursday night are exclusively available on Amazon Prime Video and won’t be broadcast on any local channel, regional sports network or on the
NFL Network.
NFL Network (available in the Xfinity Digital Preferred tier of service or the More Sports & Entertainment Package, depending on where you live) carries most pre-season games on either a live or delayed basis. On occasion, Xfinity may be required by the NFL or a local team to black out the NFL Network's feed of a pre-season game because a local broadcast station is airing the same game. In this case, you may just need to change the channel to find the game you're looking for.
Regular Season
Regular season games on local stations are decided by the NFL. Typically, games where the road team is from the National Football Conference (NFC) airs on FOX, while games where the road team is from the American Football Conference (AFC) airs on CBS. Normally, the local team game airs on the home team's local FOX or CBS affiliate station whether they're playing at home or away. A local NFL team can also enforce a blackout of its home games under the NFL's blackout policy if the game is not sold out. This generally occurs in very few areas.
In addition, six teams play stand-alone, nationally televised prime time games on Thursdays (Amazon Prime Video), Sundays (NBC) and Mondays (ESPN). The Monday night games on ESPN and the NFL Network also air on a local station in the home markets of the participating teams.
Out-of-market games on Thursday night are exclusively available on Amazon Prime Video and won’t be broadcast on any local channel, regional sports network or on the NFL Network. Thursday night NFL games are available at no additional cost to Prime members and include pre- and post-game shows.
Major League Baseball (MLB)
Pre-season
Few Spring Training games are televised locally or nationally. In the event that the same pre-season game is televised nationally and locally, the national network is blacked out because the game will air on another channel in the local market.
Regular Season
Over the course of the MLB's season, nationally televised games may air on FOX, ESPN, FS1, FS2, TBS and the MLB Network. Local blackouts of national networks are common because virtually all games are televised in each team's local market either on a local broadcast station or regional cable network. These local/regional airings are never blacked out. This means you'll rarely miss your home team games. You may just need to change the channel to find the game you're looking for.
For an additional fee, you can purchase the MLB EXTRA INNINGS pay per view (PPV) package, a collection of most of the televised games from other markets. Most games in the MLB EXTRA INNINGS package that are subject to blackout are those also carried by your local station/regional cable network.
Post-season
All MLB Playoff games are televised nationally, and they are not subject to any blackouts. Sometimes the schedule isn't determined until the last minute, as one day's television schedule sometimes depends on the outcome of the previous day's game(s).
National Basketball Association (NBA)
Pre-season
Very few pre-season games are televised locally or nationally, and none are subject to blackouts.
Regular Season
Over the course of the NBA's season, nationally televised games may air on ABC, ESPN, TNT and NBA TV. All games on ABC won't air on any other local broadcast station or regional cable network and aren't subject to blackouts. Only some games airing on ESPN and TNT are exclusive to those networks, while others are subject to blackouts because they'll air on a local station or regional network instead. In addition, all games on NBA TV are subject to blackouts.
Note: Local and regional airings are rarely blacked out. Usually, you may just need to change the channel to find the game you're looking for.
For an additional fee, you can purchase the NBA LEAGUE PASS pay per view (PPV) package, a collection of most of the televised games from other markets. Most games in the NBA LEAGUE PASS package that are subject to blackout are those also carried on a local station or regional cable network.
Post-season
The NBA Playoffs consists of four rounds of games. Games during the first two rounds may be televised locally, regionally or nationally. During these first two rounds, games televised nationally may be blacked out on the national network and air on a local station or regional network. Games during the third round air exclusively on ESPN or TNT, and the NBA Finals air exclusively on ABC. Games in the final two rounds aren't subject to any blackouts. Sometimes the schedule isn't determined until the last minute, as one day's schedule sometimes depends on the outcome of the previous day's game(s).
National Hockey League (NHL)
Pre-season
Very few pre-season games are televised locally or nationally, and none are subject to blackouts.
Regular Season
Over the course of the NHL's season, nationally televised games may air on NBC, NBC Sports Network (NBCSN), TNT or NHL Network. No games on NBC are subject to blackouts, and they won't air on any other local broadcast station or regional cable network. However, only some games on NBCSN are exclusive, which means that others are subject to blackouts when aired on local stations or regional networks. In addition, all games on NHL Network are similarly subject to blackouts.
Note: These local/regional airings are never blacked out. You'll just need to change the channel to find the game you're looking for.
For an additional fee, you can purchase the NHL Center Ice pay per view (PPV) package, a collection of most of the televised games from other markets. Most games in the NHL Center Ice package that are subject to blackout are those also carried on a local station/regional cable network.
Post-season
The NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs consists of four rounds of games. Games during the first round may be televised locally, regionally or nationally. National television coverage includes the same networks as the regular season with the addition of CNBC, NBCU and USA. During this opening round, games televised nationally may be blacked out on the national network when they are aired by a local station or regional network. Games during the second, third and final rounds are air exclusively on NBC, NBCSN and CNBC and aren't subject to any blackouts. Sometimes the schedule isn't determined until the last minute, as one day's schedule sometimes depends on the outcome of the previous day's game(s).
College Sports
In recent years, specific schools and college conferences have established their own networks (e.g., Pac 12 Networks, Big 10 Network (BTN) and the Southeastern Conference's SEC Network). The University of Texas and the University of Notre Dame also have established their own unique television presence on the Longhorn Network and NBC/NBCSN, respectively. The three conference networks experience a logjam of football games on certain Saturdays, and may require an overflow channel in order to accommodate simultaneous live games.
More About Finding Your Favorite Sports Games and Teams
- Overflow Channels– In many larger markets, the number of games being played at the same time frequently exceeds the number of available channels/networks. When this occurs, the second (or third) simultaneous game will be televised on a part-time, extra channel.
- To find out what channel a particular game is going to be on or when and where to catch coverage of your favorite team, we recommend that you check the local listings on your on-screen guide or visit team, league, school and conference websites for the most up-to-date information (weather and post-season scheduling can change frequently). Or you can simply say “Sports” into your Xfinity Voice Remote to go to theX1 Sports app.
- Get more information onaccessing sporting events online.
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