When Portland Trail Blazers fans re-arranged for their televisions for the last two seeding games of the NBA, they were filled with a discovery of the eyebrows.
The popular TNT television feeds, with transmitters on the ground in the Disney World bubble, were burned in the Portland market, a very irregular – if not unusual – reality.
For those with access to NBC Sports Northwest, it was no big deal. They just blew channels and stood in on the local broadcast, enjoying two dramatic and entertaining Blazers victories. But for those without access to the regional network, it was a crushing reality.
That what happened?
It turns out, according to a team source, the rare national blackout was the result of broadcast negotiations that preceded the return of the NBA bubble and contractual obligations with NBC Sports Northwest.
When the NBA season was halted on March 11 due to the coronavirus crisis, the NBA and its teams had scrambled several games to complete regional and national television contracts. As the sides worked to meet these deals with bubble broadcasts, the sides decided to allow rare exclusive games to NBC Sports Northwest at the end of the seeding round. That led to Blazers’ national blackouts Tuesday and Thursday wins over the Dallas Mavericks and Brooklyn Nets.
The good news for those without access to NBC Sports Northwest? That agreement has now been fulfilled and – apart from a standard NBATV blackout – it will not be a problem going forward.
This weekend’s play-off games against the Memphis Grizzlies will be aired exclusively on ABC (Saturday) and ESPN (Sunday), with no regional broadcasts. And as the Blazers advance to the top-seeded Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs, the games will air nationally and on NBC Sports Northwest, giving fans the option to feed to view their choice.
– Joe Freeman | [email protected] | 503-294-5183 | @BlazerFreeman | Subscribe to Oregonian / OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories
