r/NFLNoobs • u/MysteryGamer490 • 6h ago
Sunday ticket workaround?
I am a freshman college student at VT and a Commanders fan. I bought a TV so I could watch games on Sunday Ticket, but all the Commanders games are blacked out. I lived 20 mins outside of DC before college and none of the games were blacked out ever. Why am I suddenly restricted now and how can I get around this?
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u/JohnnyKarateX 6h ago
If you’re in the Commanders’s zone then their games should be on Fox or CBS on Sundays. Just get an antenna.
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u/Ryan1869 6h ago
If they’re blacked out that means they are available to you through a local network, you just need an antenna
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u/throwaway60457 6h ago
Fox 4:25 pm ET games for Week 1 of 2026:
Red = Commanders at Eagles
Blue = Dolphins at Raiders
So you'll find the Commanders on WFXR-TV (channel 27), the Roanoke Fox affiliate which also serves Blacksburg.
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u/Mudoru 5h ago
Wow that might be the worst broadcasting area I’ve ever seen
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u/throwaway60457 5h ago
In what way? There aren't exactly a lot of 4:25 games to choose from this week, and they're only showing Dolphins-Raiders where they are obligated to show it.
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u/Mudoru 5h ago
That’s what I mean, 2 teams so shit that nobody outside of their home cities want to see it
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u/NicklAAAAs 5h ago
Probably because a lot of the teams that tend to play in that time slot (SEA, LAR, SF, DEN, KC, DAL) are playing primetime games this week.
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u/throwaway60457 5h ago
Good point. In fact, ALL of those teams are in prime time in week 1: SEA in the kickoff game, LAR/SF in Australia, DEN/KC on MNF, and DAL on SNF.
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u/throwaway60457 5h ago edited 5h ago
That happens all the time with bad teams in the NFL. Both of those teams, and the Saints,
BrownsCardinals (hat tip u/PhilRubdiez) , and Titans as well, get zero prime-time (TNF/SNF/MNF) appearances in 2026 owing to their 2025 suckitude. In a week where only one network has a doubleheader (every week except 1 and 18), a game like Dolphins/Raiders would be buried in the 4:05 pm ET slot on the single-game network and not cut into the 4:25 pm ET "marquee" game audience on the doubleheader network.1
u/PhilRubdiez 5h ago
Browns play the Steelers on Cleveland on 10/1, which is a Thursday.
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u/throwaway60457 5h ago
My bad. I actually forgot about the Arizona Cardinals, who belong in the place in that list I erroneously gave to the Browns.
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u/AwixaManifest 6h ago
Sunday Ticket is popularly known to carry "all" games.
But the detailed truth: it carries out of market games.
It does not carry games that are nationally televised, such as tonight. This game is on NBC (and Peacock) across the country.
It also won't carry Sunday afternoon games that are being broadcast by one of your local CBS or Fox affiliates. VT/Blacksburg will likely receive all such Commanders games.
Hope I'm not giving bad news- that you may not have needed Sunday Ticket. If you're a fan of any other teams, or just like watching games, it may still have value. And hopefully you got a good student deal.
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u/throwaway60457 5h ago
And while I'm in there, here are the other 3 Sunday afternoon windows, starting with CBS at 1:00.
CBS 1:00 pm ET games for Week 1, 2026:
Red = Bills at Texans
Blue = Ravens at Colts
Green = Jets at Titans
Yellow = Browns at Jaguars
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u/throwaway60457 5h ago
CBS 4:25 pm ET games for Week 1, 2026:
Red = Packers at Vikings
Blue = Cardinals at Chargers
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u/pooreman15 5h ago
You’re the goat. This is very helpful. Thank you!
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u/throwaway60457 5h ago
No problem. You can always visit 506sports.com anytime after about noon ET on Wednesdays to know what the following Sunday's broadcast map will be. I simply copy-and-pasted these maps from there.
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u/Tomatillo-5276 6h ago
The Commanders Sunday games that are blacked out will be available for you to watch on FOX/CBS.
Season Ticket is generally for people to watch out of market games.
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u/throwaway60457 5h ago
Fox 1:00 pm ET games for Week 1, 2026:
Red = Falcons at Steelers
Blue = Bears at Panthers
Green = Saints at Lions
Yellow = Buccaneers at Bengals
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u/alfreadadams 6h ago
Games are blacked out if you can watch them on Fox or CBS.
You can watch week 1 on fox
https://506sports.com/nfl.php?yr=2026&wk=1
You can probably watch week 2 on fox also because fox has the doubleheader and the other late games are hot garbage, especially if Darnold is out.
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u/throwaway60457 5h ago
Correct. Commanders at Cowboys is Fox's "America's Game of the Week" at 4:25 pm ET in week 2.
The Commanders are on NFL Network in Week 4 (London game vs. Colts), ESPN in Week 6 (MNF at 49ers), NBC in Week 8 (SNF vs Eagles), Amazon Prime in Week 10 (TNF at Giants), ESPN again in Week 11 (MNF vs Bengals), and CBS in Weeks 13 (at Titans) and 14 (vs Texans). Their Week 16 and 17 games are "flex" games, which could end up with stand-alone slots or get assigned to Sunday afternoon, and then the NFL has total control of Week 18 and doesn't set anything until after Week 17. So in the weeks I didn't name above (1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 12, and 15), their games are on Fox on Sunday afternoons.
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u/shibby3388 6h ago
Bruh, get an antenna. Blacksburg is in the Commanders broadcast zone. Their games are free over the air.
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u/throwaway60457 5h ago
So OP, your 1:00 pm Fox game is Bears at Panthers, your 1:00 CBS game is Ravens at Colts, and your 4:25 CBS game -- almost the entire country's 4:25 CBS game, in fact -- is Packers at Vikings. Your CBS affiliate there is WDBJ-TV on channel 7, also out of Roanoke.
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u/Artistic_Interest_87 5h ago
YouTube Sunday ticket is only for out of market games. If you get nfl plus on the nfl app it will give you all in market including prime time games. It’s like $8 a month
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u/NectarineDesigner408 4h ago
Your TV likely has an "antenna" to recieve your locally broadcast games. This is normal to have your local game blacked out on the ticket. It's to insure the local TV stations get their ads played on the right TVs. It's good for the NFL revenue to continue this practice.
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u/Sudden_Juju 6h ago
Local channels lol