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NHL Live blocks out the wrong region.

CooperMichaels
I'm here a lot

I live in Ottawa. I purchased NHL Live and stream it through my Teksavvy DSL internet. It should block local Ottawa games. It does not. Instead it blocks Toronto games. For some reason the streaming service thinks I am in Toronto. I talked to Teksavvy and they say the problem is not on their end. The Rogers online chat person had no idea. Phoning Rogers, the menu says push 1 to give a phone number, 2 to give an account number or star if you are a new customer. I have no other Rogers services so it does not recognize my phone number and I have no account number. If I press star it puts me in an endless loop of menus.  I imagine if I use a VPN I can get around the blackouts, but I would just like the service to work properly.  Any idea what is going on here Or how to talk to the right person at Rogers? Interestingly the blackouts are applied correctly on my tablet. It must have a different way of determining location.  Thanks for any hep you can provide.

 

 

 

***Edited Labels***

14 REPLIES 14

Re: NHL Live blocks out the wrong region.

Datalink
Resident Expert
Resident Expert

This happens every year and even within that year, complaints such as yours keep coming up.  If you were on Rogers cable, I'd tell you that it boils down to your IP address.  Rogers moves IP address blocks around and as a result, the Geolocation companies lose track of where those blocks are actually situated.  Businesses and sports enterprises use those Geolocation companies to locate your home location and home city, in some cases in order to validate subscriptions to various sports events.  

 

Now, given that you use DSL, you should have still have an IP address that shows a location near your actual address.  Tecksavvy appears to be washing their hands of this when in fact they or Bell (?) are the only company that can provide the geolocation companies with the IP block to geolocation data.   The question here is whether your IP address belongs to Teksavvy or Bell or other host carrier.  Whom ever is responsible for that IP address is also responsible for promulgating that IP address to geolocation association.  No other company can do that as no other company will hold that information. 

 

This is an ongoing problem with Rogers as there appears to be no mechanism in place to update IP address to geolocation data with the various geolocation companies.  It would appear that Tecksavvy also has this problem.  I doubt that they're the only TPIA with this problem. 

 

As an offshoot to this, if the NHL, or any other sport franchise is going to depend on those geolocation companies to validate the subscription holders actual location, then perhaps the NHL should be pressuring the geolocation companies and ISPs to get their act together to provide accurate data.  Without that data, there's probably no point in any subscriber wanting to subscribe for the purpose of watching the games.  Thats a direct hit to the NHLs revenue.  Money talks as they say......

 

Can you do anything beyond taking Teksavvy to task.  Maybe.  If you're running a router via that DSL connection and have an android or maybe Apple phone or tablet connected via wifi, turn on location services so that its fed via GPS, bring up a map or web browser and just leave that running for a day.  See if Google for example catches on to the fact that you live where you do and that your IP address is parked where the GPS says it is.  That might resolve the issue in the short term.  No guarantees but I seem to recall reading this somewhere else in the forum.  

Re: NHL Live blocks out the wrong region.

Thanks a lot for your help. I will give your tablet idea a try, and have another, better informed, call with Teksavvy.

Re: NHL Live blocks out the wrong region.

Ask Teksavvy who owns your IP address, Teksavvy, Bell, or some other company?  Whom ever owns the IP address block is responsible for it.  That company will be the only company that holds the current, up to date IP address to geolocation data. 

Re: NHL Live blocks out the wrong region.

I have talked to TekSavvy.  Their servers are in Toronto, and they don't think they can fix the problem.  They suggested I try disconnecting and reconnecting to get different IP addresses, but this has not helped.  I always get connected through Toronto.  Their next suggestion is a VPN.

 

I am having another problem.  I originally bought NHL Live through the Apple TV.  I had to register it, which allowed me to use the NHL Live app on my tablet.  (Geolocation services use the GPS on the tablet and get my location correctly.)  I wanted to try on my PC as well.  When I log on at this site

 

https://secure.nhllive.com/signin?destination_url=selfserve?

 

it recognizes my account.  But it does not seem to know that I have already purchased NHL Live.  It keeps prompting me to buy it.  Any idea what is going on?

Re: NHL Live blocks out the wrong region.

Hello, @CooperMichaels.

 

I appreciate you sharing your NHL Live concerns in the Community. Based on the information provided in the previous post, you should have access to Toronto games. We can look into whitelisting your IP address, you can send us a private message at @CommunityHelps. You can find details about our private messaging in this blog.

 

As for the second issue, did you link your in-app purchase with your NHL Live account? You need to link your purchase to an NHL LIVE account in order to watch hockey games across any other device. Check out the instructions here.

 

Cheers,

RogersMoin

Re: NHL Live blocks out the wrong region.

Thanks RogerMoin

For problem 1, I have sent a private message to CommunityHelps as you have instructed.

For problem 2, I registered my purchase as is explained at the link you gave me.  It partially worked.  I first bought the subscription through my Apple TV.  Registering it allowed me to access my subscription through my Android tablet.  I also can access it through my Roku, although I have logged out of that because I do not want to exceed the max number of devices.  It has not worked to allow me to access NHL Live through a browser on my PC, as I have described. 

 

My problem 3 is that I cannot get anyone from Rogers on the phone to help.  The online chat agents you can get on nhllive.com/en/support really know very little and cannot help.  If you call 1-844-764-6459 you are given three options: 1 to enter a phone number, 2 to enter an account number and * if you are a new customer.  Since I have no other Roger's services it does not recognize my phone number and I don't have an account number, so I have to select *.  When you do that, it just puts you back to the main Roger's menu, an endless loop.  Because of all the problems I am thinking of cancelling my service and getting my money back, but I can't even get someone on the phone to do that!  If you know of an alternative phone number where I could actually get someone who could support me with NHL Live it would be much appreciated.

 

Thanks again for taking the time to answer my post.

Re: NHL Live blocks out the wrong region.

Uklamen
I've been here awhile
This is happening to me again this year!

I did chat last week.. they said they opened a ticket.

Waited a week.. tried again.. they said no ticket in my account.

Tonight I've been bounced all over to different people. It seems like no one understands when I tell them its a geo location issue. One even questioned why I am watching from two locations since I gave my two postal codes!!

I live in Ottawa and have Fido Internet. Only my devices with GPS work.

In Brockville Im on the cogeco network.

Very frustrating again.. especially since we miss near 10% of the season but still pay full price.

My only option is to pay for a vpn to trick it into thinking I live in the city I actually live in.

Re: NHL Live blocks out the wrong region.

Hello @Uklamen,

 

I see you've reached out via @CommunityHelps . We'll be happy to continue the conversation in the PM :).

 

 

RogersZia

Re: NHL Live blocks out the wrong region.

This is an ongoing problem with Rogers as there appears to be no mechanism in place to update IP address to geolocation data with the various geolocation companies. KFC Experience It would appear that Tecksavvy also has this problem.  I doubt that they're the only TPIA with this problem. 

 

As an offshoot to this, if the NHL, or any other sport franchise is going to depend on those geolocation companies to validate the subscription holders actual location, then perhaps the NHL should be pressuring the geolocation companies and ISPs to get their act together to provide accurate data.  Without that data, there's probably no point in any subscriber wanting to subscribe for the purpose of watching the games.  Thats a direct hit to the NHLs revenue.

Re: NHL Live blocks out the wrong region.

Didn't I already say most of this in a previous post?

 

https://communityforums.rogers.com/t5/MyRogers-Rogers-Apps/NHL-Live-blocks-out-the-wrong-region/m-p/...

 

Its unfortunate that this keeps coming up, year after year.  Don't know why someone at Rogers doesn't take the bull by the horns and finds some way to hash this out with the sports franchises and geolocation companies, and the group that sells subscriptions for Rogers.  Lets see, crystal ball prediction, we'll see similar posts next year, and the year beyond, and beyond, etc, etc. 

 

 

Re: NHL Live blocks out the wrong region.

Uklamen
I've been here awhile
Every year same issue here.

Hoping someone sees this and can help.

Resorting to "free" streams right now.

Trying to watch Toronto games from Ottawa region and it shows I'm blacked out on my network unless I use my phone.

Re: NHL Live blocks out the wrong region.

mozoman
I've been around

Can someone please help. It’s a pandemic and we are stuck at home and we spend our hard earned dollars on NHL live. I am just north of Toronto and wanted to watch a Montreal Vancouver game tonight. It said I was blacked out. So I tried every other game that was on and they are all blacked out. When I finally got through to customer service, they said it was my IP address. My IP address? So I called bell and my geolocation is accurate. I am in a region that can get any of the games I tried. I certainly don’t live in Columbus or Dallas. I have had many issues with the NHL live app which I won’t get into... but for now I just want to watch hockey games I am entitled to and have pre paid for. Please I begging someone at Rogers/NHL to help! And yes, I reloaded the app, tried from my Rogers cell phone and rebooted the modem etc etc

Re: NHL Live blocks out the wrong region.

RRF1
I plan to stick around

All three of the hockey games were blacked out on the evening of Feb. 2 2021.

Why?

It certainly cannot be to protect ticket sales, as there are no fans due to COVID.

 

What is the point of paying for a service when it is does not deliver a product?

Re: NHL Live blocks out the wrong region.

Uklamen
I've been here awhile
Still blacked out for me. They have been trying to fix or allow access to my IP since the start of the season. 1/5th in and I still can't watch Toronto play which is the only reason I got this.
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