The Root of the Blackout

The television and streaming rights for these games are dictated by decades old territorial maps. Some of the some of the people that live in states like Tennessee are on the map for more than one team to be considered a part of their local broadcast. These regional sports networks sell the rights to their network to streaming services or your cable or satellite providers with the concept that subscribers will have to pay to get access to these games through those services. That prohibits you through MLB and you pay the subscription fee for it or you get it free somehow from something else you're part of forces the blackout because baseball doesn't want to give up all the money that people are paying for regional rights for the games.