What are NBA Blackouts and how can I remove them?

For Basketball fans in the USA and Canada, being able to watch your local team is the holy grail of Basketball streaming. But unfortunately, the NBA prevents you from being able to watch your local team games live through the NBA League Pass due to local restrictions. These restrictions exist in 28 cities that host the 30 NBA franchises as Local sports networks carry exclusive rights to broadcast games in local regions. Now, this is a huge problem if you’re someone like me who loves sitting in the comfort of my own home watching my local basketball team without wanting to spend loads of money on cable TV. Like me, you’ve probably asked yourself what are these NBA Blackouts? and how can I remove them? In this post, I’m going to answer the basic questions and tell you an easy way of removing these blackouts so you can enjoy your NBA League Pass subscription to its fullest.

What is the NBA blackout policy and how do they blackout a game in my area?

According to NBA.com FAQ Blackout restrictions include your local NBA team(s) and all nationally televised games. Blacked-out games will be available for viewing after the game has concluded.

Blackouts are specific to your current location, so if your location changes, your blackout restrictions for live, locally televised games will also change. Your location is determined by the IP address or location services (if turned on). Within the US and Canada, a zip code is used to determine what teams are covered by your local broadcaster.

Why are their NBA Blackouts?

Blackouts in the US and Canada are put in place to make customers purchase expensive cable packages. They do this by blacking out the teams you want to watch in your local region. For example, the Charlotte Hornets are blacked out on every digital service including NBA League Pass, Hulu Live TV, Fubo etc for everyone in North Carolina. The only way fans can enjoy their local Charlotte Hornets team is to buy a subscription cable package.

Where to view Blacked out games?

You should be able to view games that are blacked out on NBA League Pass through a paid cable subscription on a regional sports network in your area or a national TV network such as NBA TV, TNT, ESPN, ABC, Sportsnet or TSN.

Blacked out games are available for viewing on-demand as soon as they are moved to the NBA League Pass Archives. Nationally broadcast games are available to view in archives three hours after they have aired. In the US, locally telecast games are archived three days after they have aired.

In addition to local and national broadcast blackouts, Canadian and US fans cannot access All-Star Weekend or the Playoffs, as these events will be shown on TV in local markets.

So what does this mean for me?

For example, in the USA if you are a LA Lakers fan living in Los Angeles and you want to watch the Lakers play through your NBA League pass the system will not allow you to. This is because your IP address with your location is being sent back to the NBA League Pass which in turn blocks you from being able to stream the game you so desperately wanted to watch. And it’s not good news for fans in Canada too. NBA Blackouts are determined by using the same technique explained above in the USA. So if you’re a fan of the Toronto Raptors the only Canadian NBA team playing in Canada, you too will be blocked from watching the game through your NBA League Pass.

So is it just USA and Canada that’s affected?

Unfortunately,  yes. The International version of the NBA League Pass is completely unaffected by these blackouts. Countries like the United Kingdom and India can watch all the games shown live without being affected by any blackout at all.

So is there a way for me to bypass these restrictions?

The good news is yes! Using a device like the StreamLocator Hub will allow you to purchase the international version of the NBA League Pass and more importantly, it will allow you to purchase the service in India at an incredibly reduced price compared with the US or Canada.

What’s so good about the NBA League Pass India? and How does StreamLocator allow me to bypass the restrictions?

Good question! Not only does NBA League Pass India have no NBA blackout restrictions it can also be the cheapest way to purchase the NBA League Pass. In the US and Canada currently, the price for the NBA League Pass for the year is USD 199.99 or CAD 119.99 depending on your location. In India, the NBA League Pass costs  ₹1499.00 for the year which in comparison at the moment is equivalent to USD 19.99 and CAD 24.70. As you can see this is a huge price difference and gives you more live content!

StreamLocator hub uses advanced techniques to change your IP address location so your location shows you using the NBA League Pass in India instead of the USA or Canada. This allows you to purchase the NBA League Pass in India and sidestep those pesky NBA Blackouts.

As you can see in the photo below. When I’m not connected to the StreamLocator hub and I try to purchase the NBA League Pass it shows me the price in the USA:

Whereas when I am connected to my StreamLocator hub it shows me the Indian price (displayed in USD) as shown below:

Once you’ve signed up you can then access the NBA League Pass without any NBA blackouts!

The Step by Step guide to bypassing NBA League Pass Blackouts:

Step 1: Purchase a StreamLocator Hub:

Rather than relying on VPN services, which make your streaming more complicated for you to install and use, we suggest ordering a StreamLocator Hub. Our service provides access to many sports services including DAZN US, CA and Germany, NHL Live, MLB TV and EPSN +. This altogether gets you every MLB, NFL, NBA and NHL game without any blackouts or restrictions for a fraction of the price of cable TV. StreamLocator is also a better alternative than a VPN as the StreamLocator Hub does not slow down your internet speed when streaming. Low latency and fast download speeds are especially important for streaming live sports!

Step 2: Connecting your devices

Once receiving the StreamLocator hub, you can set up and connect your devices to the “StreamLocator” WiFi network. After connecting, sign in to your StreamLocator account and change the NBA League Pass to India.

Step 3: Sign up for NBA League Pass

After connecting your devices to the StreamLocator wifi network, visit watch.nba.com and sign up using your current credit card and billing details.

Step 4: Install NBA League Pass apps for your devices

The most effective way to use the NBA League Pass streaming service is to install the app on streaming devices like your Fire TV, Apple TV, Smart TV or mobile devices such as Android/iOS phones and tablets.

Ask our experts at support@streamlocator.com for instructions for your devices.

Step 5: Watch NBA League Pass without any NBA blackouts!

The StreamLocator hub allows you to access every single NBA game throughout the season without having to worry about the NBA Blackouts. By signing up for the StreamLocator subscription service, you will be able to watch everything available to the NBA League Pass with ease.

StreamLocator technology is unique compared to using a VPN because it doesn’t slow down your internet speeds as a VPN does. This is very important when streaming live sports where speed can make a huge difference. This will eliminate buffering giving you a more enjoyable experience.

Well, there you go! Hopefully, by now you will have an understanding of what NBA blackouts are and how you can get around them with the StreamLocator hub.