Channels & viewing

[sdanelson]

I purchased ESPN+ and can watch local NHL games via my Xfinity cable box.  When I try the same on my TV with a Roku stick a message that the game is blacked out comes up.  Why can I watch on my cable box and not Roku stick.

[DBDukes]

@sdanelson 

This is odd. One thing could be your IP address is actually identified as being in an area where the event is blacked out. Your cable company knows your physical address, but the ESPN app doesn't depend on your cable address. ESPN apps can be used on a variety of devices in a variety of locations. You can't drag along a cable from your house. Using your cable means you are home, and they know where you are. If you used the app on your phone, for instance, and you traveled to a blackout area, it would be expected that you would not be able to view, as you would be in the blackout area. 

Apps depend on different information to tell them where you are. Sometimes, the ISP will give you an IP address that doesn't match where you actually are. For example, my IP address could show my actual home town, or it could show Savannah GA, Jacksonville FL, or a variety of other locations, depending on what IP address Comcast/Xfinity gives me.

Were I to want to watch something that is blacked out in Florida, I may be blacked out too if my IP address shows north Florida. Heck, it could even show something very unexpected. I just checked mine, and it says Springfield IL. According to Google Maps, I'd have to drive 851 miles for 13½ hours to get to Springfield IL. So, Comcast is being extra weird today.

Now, I don't know that's what's going on with you, but you can check that and see if perhaps they're picking up from your ISP that you are in a blacked out area.

It's not a Roku thing. It's an app thing. And it can get it wrong sometimes.

[HDMIGuy]

ESPN+ games are blacked out in local markets when the game is available on another channel.  If you are able to stream the channel you are using on your Xfinity cable box the game would be available on your Roku device.  For example tonight's game between the Kraken and the Jets is on NHL network.  That game will be blacked out in the Kraken and Jets local markets tonight on ESPN+.  If you had a streaming service that carried the NHL network the Kraken vs Jets game would be available to stream tonight in both the Kraken and Jets local markets.

[sdanelson]

I have Xfinity and live in the NY market.  I purchased ESPN+ to watch the Ranger games because comcast no longer carries MSG.  I can view the games streaming ESPN+ through my cable box but if I walk out to the garage I can't watch the game on my Roku stick, but it's on inside my house.  Perhaps an earlier post suggesting the IP from Comcast is not showing as being in the local market.