For the record, the Calgary Stampeders lifted the blackout for Thursday night’s game against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Judging by some reaction we’ve received since 7 p.m. on Thursday, it seems fans who watch CFL football on Bell Express Vu were unable to view our game against Hamilton.

This had nothing to do with the football club because the decision to lift a blackout leaves the door open for cable and satellite providers to broadcast the game. As far as we can tell, Thursday’s problem was solely an issue with the satellite provider. A similar scenario occurred earlier this season with a cable provider.

Under current Stampeders ownership, blackouts have been lifted for approximately 80 per cent of our home games. This is a far greater percentage than any other CFL West Division team.

League rules require teams to lift blackouts for any sellout, any long-weekend game and two other mandatory lifts per season (the club chooses the games). That usually leaves five-to-seven games at the club’s discretion and other CFL West teams rarely choose to lift the blackout in these situations.

We’ve received a lot of emails since last night and felt the need to clarify this matter for our fans.

Thank you.