TV blackouts hit record high as customers get screwed by industry squabbles

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Broadcast TV stations are being blacked out on cable and satellite TV systems in record numbers this year, with 230 blackouts so far in 2019.

That beats the record of 213 blackouts set in 2017, even though 2019 is just seven months old. The 230 figure represents a huge rise over the eight blackouts seen in 2010 and 42 in 2011, according to a pay-TV industry advocacy group.

Blackouts has mostly been trending up in the past decade, though the number frequently goes down one year before rising again the next. There were 90 blackouts in 2012, 119 in 2013, 94 in 2014, 193 in 2015, 104 in 2016, 213 in 2017, and 165 in 2018.

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