Mike DiMauro: Why can't some Connecticut Sun fans watch their team play?

Jun. 17—MOHEGAN — There are few other endeavors more vexing, other than perhaps the tax code and differential equations, than understanding and explaining television blackout rules. The guess here is that they're purposely arcane, encouraging viewers to throw up their hands and plunk down another $13.99 per month for some other sports package that purports to be the blackout buster.

And so it was with equal parts empathy and bemusement that I read Dave Rogerson's recent email. Rogerson, a reader from Niantic and fan of the Connecticut Sun, is the latest victim of the ongoing Do-si-do among DIRECTV, WNBA, NBA and residents of southeastern Connecticut.

The two-minute drill version: The NBA/WNBA blames DIRECTV and DIRECTV blames the WNBA/NBA for blacking out NBC Sports Boston during Celtics and Sun games, even if subscribers pay extra for the channel. For reasons never explained other than the blame game, DIRECTV and the WNBA/NBA have benignly neglected somebody's decision to designate the Brooklyn Nets and New York Liberty as southeastern Connecticut's "home" teams, despite common sense suggesting otherwise.

That means that southeastern Connecticut residents who subscribe to DIRECTV may watch the Nets and Liberty on YES free of blackout restrictions, but cannot watch the Celts or Sun on NBC Sports Boston.

Note: There is no official demarcation line, meaning that somewhere north of Norwich, DIRECTV customers in northeastern Connecticut aren't bound by the same lunacy. But for the bulk of the fan base in and around the casino property, DIRECTV subscribers can watch the Liberty (100 miles away) but not the Sun (in our backyard). The height of absurdity.

And yet here we are.

"First off," Rogerson wrote, "I never understood why we received YES, SNY and NESN with the normal DirecTV package, but not NBC Sports Boston. I had to buy a 'sports package' for $13.99 a month. Wouldn't you know, on the night of the first Sun broadcast, the game was blacked out.

"NBC Sports Boston still lists Sun games as being on their channel even while it's blacked out. DirecTV didn't warn me of this fact before I signed up for their package. I'll have to sign up for WNBA League Pass (the league's on-demand streaming service)."

This issue began a decade ago with an e-mail from DirecTV subscriber, Sun fan and Simsbury resident Steve Levin, who was home one night and wanted to watch the Sun play in Minnesota.

CPTV Sports, the network that broadcasted the Sun locally at the time, was not offered on DirecTV. Levin flipped to Fox Sports Northwest, a channel to which he subscribes with the sports package, only to find the game blacked out.

Spokespersons for DirecTV, all of whom sound (and still do) as though they are reading from a script, say DirecTV follows the blackout parameters established by the league. A WNBA spokesman said he talked to league officials and wrote in an email, "local broadcast rights are for the team's territory, not national."

Hence, it was at the discretion of the Sun and CPTV Sports to either impose or lift local blackout rights. Bob Yalen, who ran CPTV Sports at the time, sent a letter to the WNBA before the season began lifting blackout rights in Connecticut because he knew it wouldn't be fair to Sun fans. Despite Yalen's letter, blackout rules were never lifted.

And so I sent an inquiry through the Sun's communications office to speak with Sun president Jen Rizzotti about the ridiculousness of all this. Rizzotti was quoted in a press release at the time the Sun agreed to a two-year deal with NBC Sports Boston as saying, "This partnership will bring the Sun opportunities to showcase our players through in-depth player profiles, guest analyst appearances, and social collaborations. Most importantly, the NBC Sports Boston team is committed to helping us make an impact in communities that demand and deserve greater access to women's professional sports."

This is what I received from Sun communications director Alexandra Maund: "Jen declined to speak with you about the situation, but we are working on it, as we are also very invested in making sure our games are accessible as possible to fans."

Swell. A more cynical fellow might stoop to sarcasm to congratulate Rizzotti for the "let them eat cake" attitude here. But perhaps Rogerson had it right when he wrote, "How does Rizzotti expect to spread the word about how great the WNBA is if you can't see the games you are paying extra for? Not her problem I guess."

Oh, but it is. And it should be. It's one thing if random subscribers call DIRECTV and ask questions. They're easily dismissed/lied to. It's one thing for some shmo like yours truly to call the WNBA/NBA and be a pest. Easily dismissed/lied to. But someone with Rizzotti's name recognition might actually move the needle.

Note to Rizzotti: There were but 4,316 fans inside Mohegan Sun Arena for Thursday's game against Atlanta. Seems you need to enliven your fan base. And it starts by doing your best to ensure that some of your most loyal and local fans get to watch the games.

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro