With a new broadcast deal for D.C. United also comes new blackout rules. Major League Soccer runs MLS Live, which is the best sports streaming service out there, but TV agreements both with national and regional partners require that certain games not be aired on the service to protect the investment that that these partners have made. However, it also makes life more difficult for cord-cutters
National blackouts occur whenever a game is aired on ESPN/ESPN2, FS1/FS2, or Unimas. Regional blackouts are negotiated by the individual teams with their media partners, and D.