season (which begin in mid-December), which usually feature several Saturday double- or triple-headers (contractually considered to be part of the aforementioned Thursday Night Football package prior to 2022, but now branded as NFL Network Special) to satisfy NFL Network carriage agreements requiring it to televise a minimum number of exclusive games per-season. Indianapolis 500 To encourage local attendance, the live television broadcast of the Indianapolis 500 is blacked out on the Indianapolis affiliate of its broadcaster (currently NBC station WTHR, and previously ABC station WRTV) if the race is not a sell-out. The station carries the race tape-delayed in primetime. The blackout has only been lifted three times since live flag-to-flag coverage of the 500 officially began in 1986: 2016 (due to a sellout) 2020 (due to the race being held behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic) 2021 (due to a sellout with capacity limited to 40% due to the COVID-19 pandemic) Prior to 1986, ABC had aired an edited broadcast of the race in primetime. Blackouts based on racial prejudice A 1963 episode of the CBS television drama series East Side/West Side, focusing on an African-American couple in Harlem, was blacked out by network affiliates in Shreveport, Louisiana and Atlanta, Georgia. References Broadcasting Broadcast law Television terminology Sports terminology Sports television in the United States Sports television in Canada History of television