ESPN Doesn't Black Out HD College Football Games, It Just Withholds Them

Responding to a post earlier this week in which college football fan Matt complained about not being able to watch certain college football games in HD on an ESPN channel due to programming decisions, Mike from ESPN’s communications department wrote in to clear the air:

We do not black out HD feeds of our college football games. As has always been the case with reverse mirrors, we can only offer one of our reverse mirror games in HD due to technical capacity. The game on ESPN or ESPN2 (depending on which network is offering the reverse mirror) in HD is the game that goes to most of the nation.

So if you live outside the area that ESPN deems will be more interested in a certain game it’s broadcasting, you’re out of luck. Count Hank, who wrote in to commiserate with Matt, among those huddled masses. He writes:

Just as a quick follow up to your post on Monday about the strange ESPN HD Blackouts; they have released the coverage maps for this weekend and they are at it again. For the 3:30 PM ET slate of games, most of the Southeast United States will be forced to watch the Michigan State-Michigan game (combined record: 10-0) on ESPN Standard Definition. Meanwhile, I’ll personally be stuck with the Clemson-North Carolina game (combined record: 4-4) on ABC HD, and nothing on ESPN HD.

Previously: ESPN Drives Football Fans Crazy With Arbitrary HD Blackouts

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