Broadcasting rights and contracts limit who can show footage of the event. In the United Kingdom Sky based its early marketing largely on its acquisition of the broadcast rights of the top division of the English league football.
Which as part of the deal with the Football Association broke away from the Football League to become the FA Premier League.
This prevented the footage of any major Premiership football game being shown on free-to-air television until much later that evening (as highlights), something the European Commission were very unhappy about.
Following warnings of legal action to stop the monopoly, an announcement was made that an alternative structure would be in place when the current contracts end in 2007.
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In the United States, sports are broadcast by networks usually only in “game of the week” or championship situations, except for the NFL. Other sports are broadcast by sports channels, and are limited by who can view them based on various rules set by the leagues themselves, resulting in blackouts.
These limitations can be legally overlooked by purchasing out-of-market packages, such as MLB Extra Innings or NFL Sunday Ticket. Regular season games involving local teams (accept the NFL) may also be viewed on those local stations or regional sports channels that have a contract to broadcast that team’s games.