NHL Centre Ice does not black out any game based on attendance or mileage to said arena. All home teams are blacked out in their designated TV markets. For example, customers in
Toronto cannot see
Toronto Maple Leafs games on NHL Centre Ice; these local games are instead available on a local Toronto station. This creates a significant problem in areas that lie within the blackout zone but are not served by the NHL team's
regional sports network.
Erie, Pennsylvania is an American example of this: Erie is in the
Buffalo Sabres' blackout zone, but
MSG Network is not carried in that section of Pennsylvania, thus resulting in a total blackout of all Sabres games not carried on a national provider. (When
Empire Sports Network existed, that outlet did serve Erie.) Blackouts can be lifted if one team is not televising the game and the other is, provided the non-broadcasting team grants permission. On some systems, WGN-TV Blackhawks games are not blacked out on WGN-TV in Canada even when they are playing a Canadian team even when it's the local team. ==Availability==