Unless the process has radically changed since I was in the biz, the responsible party for blacking out something is not the programmer (FOX Sports North in this instance) but the multichannel provider carrying the programming (in this case, DTV, or DISH, or a cable TV service). FOX Sports North purchased from ESPN the rights to carry this programming. In addition to a dollar amount, ESPN can certainly negotiate all sorts of additional items in exchange for allowing FOX Sports North to carry the programming. One of those things can certainly be a limit of the coverage to a "local" footprint. I didn't sit in on the conference call when the contract was drawn up and agreed upon, but I know enough about the animosity between FOX sports and all sorts of entities, including ESPN. And ESPN is not exactly a favorite of everyone THEY do business with. It is completely within belief that the contracts NESN or Altitude signed for the right to syndicate a game are quite different than the one FOX signed.