http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBA_League_Pass
Blackout restrictions
See also: NBA blackout policy
If a local team is playing and the game is televised in the home market, the associated feed on League Pass is blacked out and unavailable for viewing.
Per the NBA.com website: “Games will also be blacked out when they are appearing on national television. This applies to games being televised on ABC, ESPN, Fox Sports, TNT and NBA TV. You may view these games simply by switching to the designated channel.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comcast_SportsNet_Northwest
Carriage controversies
As of August 2013, the channel is unavailable on DirecTV and Dish Network. DirecTV and Dish Network maintain that Comcast is negotiating in bad faith. For example, on one hand Comcast argues that the channel must be on a lower tier with the most customers.[9] At the same time, Comcast argues that non-Comcast-owned sports channels should be shown only on a sports tier.[10] The Trail Blazers are said to be frustrated and disappointed by the conduct of Comcast over their contract with CSN.[11]
The Consumer Protection Committee of the Oregon House of Representatives held a hearing on February 24, 2010 to help get the channel on DirecTV, Dish Network and Charter Communiations. No one from DirecTV, Dish Network, or the Trail Blazers attended.[12]
On June 21, 2010, the Trail Blazers asked the Federal Communications Commission to require Comcast to make Trail Blazers games available to competing multichannel programming distributors such as DirecTV and Dish Network.[13]
One Oregon cable company, Canby Telcom, has objected to the additional annual charge in excess of $32 being required to be charged per customer in 2012 and has announced plans to stop carrying the channel.[14] Canby Telcom President Keith Galitz is quoted as saying "That's just too steep an increase for us, and it's not in line with inflation or normal escalation of prices in the industry."[14] Canby Telcom had announced plans to discontinue the channel as Comcast had offered a non-negotiable fee increase that would bring the annual per subscriber charge to over $32.[14] Canby Telcom has accused Comcast of raising rates way beyond the rate of inflation and industry-wide increases.[14] Clear Creek Television, which carried the Trail Blazers for 15 years, was rebuffed when even attempting to negotiate the above-market rate Comcast pushed at Clear Creek.[14]
"Comcast clearly sees the public perception of its treatment of sports fans as a potential Achilles heel in efforts to acquire NBCU", said Sports Fan Coalition Executive Director Brian Frederick, discussing how Comcast sent senior staff members to Oregon when a member of the Sports Fan Coalition testified before the Oregon Legislature on Comcast's denial of access to hundreds of thousands of customers of DirecTV, Dish, and other cable operators.[15]
In a November 7, 2010 article, Blazers CEO Larry Miller continued to express frustration about the lack of availability.[16]
