For the first time (and hopefully the only time) this season, Red Sox fans won't find their favorite team on television Sunday night.
Due to inclement weather in Detroit, Saturday night's Sox-Tigers game was postponed to a day-night doubleheader on Sunday. While the 1:05 p.m. game can be seen on NESN, the 7:05 p.m. game will not be televised due to ESPN's exclusive television rights for Sunday Night Baseball.
Sunday's blackout will be the latest in a line of non-televised sporting events. Perhaps the most infamous game not seen was a contest between the New York Jets and Oakland Raiders on Nov. 17, 1968. With 1:05 remaining in the fourth quarter and the Jets leading 32-29, NBC affiliates in the Eastern and Central time zones ended the broadcast to show the made for TV film Heidi. Only West Coast viewers were able to see the Raiders score two touchdowns in the final minute to win 43-32. The debacle is known as The Heidi Game.
A similar incident occurred last February when NBC chose to end coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympics Closing Ceremony in order to show the debut of The Marriage Ref at 10:30 p.m. NBC returned to the ceremony at 11:35 p.m. following the conclusion of late local news broadcasts.
Even a Super Bowl once went untelevised in certain areas. When the Packers and Chiefs met in Super Bowl I at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, football fans in L.A. were unable to see the game due to NFL blackout policy that required games to be blacked out in the market of the game's location.
