{"id":575310,"date":"2026-04-01T14:37:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T14:37:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/575310\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T14:37:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T14:37:09","slug":"oilers-to-blackout-playoff-games-until-50-50-pot-reaches-1-million","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/575310\/","title":{"rendered":"Oilers to blackout playoff games until 50\/50 pot reaches $1 million"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a statement on Wednesday morning, the Edmonton Oilers<\/a> announced they are blacking out playoff games on television \u2013 but there\u2019s a catch.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The game telecast will start once the Oilers Community Foundation\u2019s 50\/50 pot reaches a minimum of $1 million. If the pot doesn\u2019t hit the mark, no Oilers hockey will be seen on Sportsnet.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Instead, the broadcast will feature a loop of Gene Principe interviewing various 50\/50 winners. Despite each and every Edmonton Oilers game intermission featuring 50\/50 related content, the team reassures fans that they have several hours of unseen footage.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know we have the best fans in the entire National Hockey League,\u201d the team said in a statement. \u201cHowever, we know some have not yet contributed to the 50\/50 pot. We feel this is one way to remind fans that watching Oilers\u2019 playoff hockey is a privilege \u2013 not a right.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlus, we have hours of behind-the-scenes footage, including visits to 50\/50 winners\u2019 new homes. It won\u2019t be limited to this year\u2019s winners either. This is a way to celebrate how life-changing our 50\/50 is to Oil Country, something that is bigger than the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is a one-of-a-kind pilot project in sports broadcasting, which may shape the future of how fans consume hockey content in Edmonton. While it\u2019s expected to take some fans some time to get used to this decision, some analysts are suggesting that it doesn\u2019t go far enough.<\/p>\n

Sports media expert Jacques Strapp says if technology continues to improve, individual screens may be blacked out if those spectators haven\u2019t contributed to the pot.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe could also see AI replace the game on their telecasts if they haven\u2019t bought a 50\/50 slip. Instead of watching Connor McDavid, you\u2019d only be allowed to watch AI Connor McDavid,\u201d said Strapp.<\/p>\n

So, be ready. With the first round of the playoffs just a couple of weeks ago, it\u2019s best to set aside a couple dollars for the \u201cprivilege.\u201d<\/p>\n

April Fools!\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In a statement on Wednesday morning, the Edmonton Oilers announced they are blacking out playoff games on television…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":575311,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[433],"tags":[49,48,448,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-575310","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-nhl","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575310","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=575310"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575310\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/575311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=575310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=575310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=575310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}