History of the National Hockey League on United States television
Encyclopedia
The National Hockey League
has never fared as well on American television in comparison to the National Basketball Association
, Major League Baseball
, or the National Football League
, although that has begun to change, with NBC
's broadcast of the final game of the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals
scoring some of the best ratings ever enjoyed by the sport on American television.
In fact, hockey broadcasting on a national scale was spotty prior to 1981; NBC and CBS
held rights at various times, each network carrying weekend-afternoon games during the second half of the regular season and the playoffs, along with some (but not all) of the Stanley Cup Finals. From 1971–1995, there was no exclusive coverage of games in the United States.
Meanwhile, individual teams have long contracted to air their games on local channels, primarily on regional sports network
s and in a few cases on broadcast channels as well.
and Fred Cusick
handling the announcing duties, initially. Palmer served as the play-by-play man while Cusick did color commentary as well as interviews for the first three seasons. In , Cusick moved over to play-by-play while Brian McFarlane
came in to do the color commentary and interviews. The pregame and intermission interviews were done on the ice, with the interviewer on skates. No playoff games were televised during this period and all broadcasts took place in one of the four American arenas at the time.
As previously mentioned, CBS covered the season on Saturday afternoons, starting January 5. For the next three years, they aired continued airing games a Saturday afternoons starting on November 2, 1957, October 18, 1958 and January 9, 1960.
According to Sports Illustrated
, the NHL dropped CBS because the NHL owners didn't want the fledgling Players' Association to gain a financial cut of the TV deal. This was despite the fact that CBS was at least at one point, getting better ratings
than NBC's NBA package from around the same period, especially in cities with NHL, minor-league, or major college (division 1 level) hockey clubs.
NBC was the first United States television network to air a national broadcast of a Stanley Cup Playoff game. They provided coverage of four Sunday afternoon playoff games during the 1966 postseason. On April 10 and April 17, NBC aired semifinal games between the Chicago Blackhawks
and Detroit Red Wings
. On April 24 and May 1, NBC aired Games 1 and 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals
between the Montreal Canadiens
and the Detroit Red Wings respectively. Win Elliot
served as the play-by-play man while Bill Mazer
served as the color commentator for all four games.
NBC's coverage of the 1966 Stanley Cup Playoffs marked the first time that hockey games were televised on network television in color
, although a handful of local game telecasts in Boston WHDH-TV
, New York WOR-TV
, and Chicago WGN-TV
had been colorcast during the regular-season that year. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
would follow suit the following year. NBC's Stanley Cup coverage preempted a sports anthology series called NBC Sports in Action hosted by Jim Simpson
and Bill Cullen
, who were between-periods co-hosts for the four Stanley Cup broadcasts.
In the United States, the clinching game of the 1966 Stanley Cup Finals
on the Thursday evening of May 5 aired on RKO General
's affiliates (including WOR
in New York
). The commentators for RKO's coverage on that occasion were Bob Wolff
and Emile Francis
.
CBS had gained rights for an NHL "Game Of The week" for the 1966-67 regular-season; but could not accommodate the games on their schedule, so instead, regular-season Sunday-afternoon games were subleased to RKO General.
.
CBS started their weekly 1967–68 coverage with the opening game (the Philadelphia Flyers
vs. Los Angeles Kings
) at the Forum
in Inglewood, California
on December 30. Then after two more Saturday afternoons (because the network was tied-up with pro football on Sundays), CBS switched to Sunday afternoons beginning on January 28 for the next 10 weeks. Due to an AFTRA
strike
(which resulted in the cancellation of a New York Rangers
-Montreal
broadcast), CBS started their playoff coverage with a CBC
tape of the previous night's Boston
-Montreal game. On April 13, CBS started their three week long weekend afternoon Stanley Cup coverage. The last game of the series was St. Louis
-Montreal on May 11. For the playoffs, Jim Gordon worked play-by-play and Stu Nahan worked color. During the regular season, Gordon and Nahan alternated roles each week. For instance, Gordon did the worked play-by-play on December 30 while Nahan worked play-by-play the next week.
In the 1968–69 season, CBS broadcast 13 regular season afternoon games and five Stanley Cup playoff games. Dan Kelly
did play-by-play while Bill Mazer
did color and intermission interviews. Kelly had become the radio voice of the St. Louis Blues, whose games were covered by CBS-owned KMOX St. Louis; thus, Kelly was already part of CBS through his being on KMOX's payroll.
clincher on a Tuesday night and the 1972 Stanley Cup Finals
clincher on a Thursday night. In 1971
, CBS originally had not planned to broadcast Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals
, but showed the prime time
contest between the Montreal Canadiens
and Chicago Black Hawks
almost as a public service
after thousands of calls flooded network switchboards. While Dan Kelly once again all of the play-by-play work, Jim Gordon replaced Bill Mazer in 1970–71. For the CBS' Stanley Cup Finals coverage during this period, a third voice was added to the booth (Phil Esposito
in 1971 and Harry Howell in 1972).
), but also weekly regular season games on Sunday afternoons. NBC also aired several regular season and playoff games in prime time during this period (namely, during the 1972–1973 season). Tim Ryan
and Ted Lindsay
(with Brian McFarlane
as the intermission host) served as the commentators for NBC's NHL coverage during this period. Since most NHL teams still didn't have players' names on the backs of jerseys, NBC persuaded NHL commissioner Clarence Campbell
to make teams put on players' names on NBC telecasts beginning with the 1973–74 season to help viewers identify players.
NBC's NHL coverage during the 1970s was probably most notable for the introduction of the animated character Peter Puck
as a between-periods feature. Peter Puck, whose cartoon adventures (produced by Hanna-Barbera
) appeared on both NBC's Hockey Game of the Week and CBC's Hockey Night in Canada
, explained hockey rules to the home viewing audience.
Besides Peter Puck, the 1970s version of The NHL on NBC had a between periods feature titled Showdown. The concept of Showdown involved with 20 (16 shooters and four goaltenders) of the NHL's greatest players going head-to-head in a taped penalty shot
competition. After the NHL left NBC in 1975, Showdown continued to be seen on Hockey Night in Canada and local television broadcasts of U.S.-based NHL teams.
Meanwhile, HBO's first sports broadcast was of a New York Rangers
/ Vancouver Canucks
game, transmitted to a CATV system in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania on November 8, 1972.
of independent stations (covering approximately, 55%
of the country). In cities, these games were usually, but not always, seen on the same stations that televised the local NHL team. For example, while WOR-TV
carried the Rangers and Islanders, it was WPIX-TV that aired the NHL package during the 1976/77 season.
During the 1975/76 season, this package consisted of four exhibition games between NHL clubs and the Soviet national hockey team, then playoff games including the Stanley Cup Finals.
Beginning with the 1976/77 season, games typically aired on Monday nights (beginning at 8:00 p.m. ET
) or Saturday afternoons. The package was offered to local stations free of charge. Profits would be derived from the advertising, which was about evenly split between the network and the local station. The Monday night games were often billed as The NHL Game of the Week. The league hoped that the habit millions of viewers had of watching sports on Monday nights during the National Football League
season would carry over to hockey in winter. Since ABC, which at that time carried Monday Night Football would also carry Monday-night Major League Baseball
games during the 1976 season, the league tried to market this package to ABC affiliates ibn the hopes they'd pick it up and establish a year-round sports franchise on Monday nights. However, not very many stations picked up the package, and only a couple were ABC affiliates.
During the 1975–76 season, the NHL Network showed selected games from the NHL Super Series as well as some playoff games. During the 1976–77 season, the NHL Network showed 12 regular season games on Monday nights plus the All-Star Game
. By 1978–79 (the final season of the NHL Network's existence), there would be 18 Monday night games and 12 Saturday afternoon games covered.
1979's Challenge Cup
replaced the All-Star Game
. It was a best of three series between the NHL All-Stars against the Soviet Union national squad
. In the United States, Game 2, which was on a Saturday afternoon, was shown on CBS
as part of The CBS Sports Spectacular. The network, the show, and their sponsors had a problem with the rink board advertising that the NHL sold at Madison Square Garden
, and refused to allow them to be shown on TV. As a result, CBS viewers were unable to see the far boards above the yellow kickplate, and could only see players skates when the play moved to that side of the ice. Games 1 and 3 were shown on the NHL Network
, where the advertising was no problem.
In 1979
, ABC was contracted to televise Game 7 of Stanley Cup Finals
. Since the Finals ended in five games, the contract was void. Had there been a seventh game, then Bob Wilson (play-by-play), Jim McKay
(intermission/postgame host, under the Wide World of Sports
umbrella), Bobby Clarke
(color commentator) and Frank Gifford
(rinkside reporter and postgame locker-room interviews) would've called it.
In 1979–80, the National Hockey League
replaced their syndicated coverage package The NHL Network with a package on USA. At the time, the USA Network was called UA
-Columbia
. As the immediate forerunner for the USA Network, UA-Columbia, served as the cable syndicated arm of the Madison Square Garden Network
in New York
, PRISM channel in Philadelphia
, and whatever pay/cable outlets were around in 1979
. USA's coverage begin as a Monday night series with Dan Kelly
doing play-by-play alongside a variety of commentators including Pete Stemkowski
, Lou Nanne
and Brian McFarlane
. Meanwhile, Scott Wahle was the intermission host on most games.
between the Philadelphia Flyers
and the New York Islanders
. The game was won in overtime by the host Islanders, who captured their first of their four consecutive Stanley Cup
s.
Between the end of regulation and the start of overtime, the network switched to a golf tournament, but rejoined hockey for the start of the overtime session.
For that game, Dan Kelly was joined by former NHL on NBC commentator, Tim Ryan
. Dan Kelly did play-by-play for the first and third periods as well as overtime
. Meanwhile, Tim Ryan did play-by-play only for the second period. Minnesota North Stars
GM Lou Nanne
was the color commentator throughout the game.
However, that turned out to be the last NHL game (to this date) to be televised on CBS. It was also the last NHL game on American network television for nearly ten years. The next time that an NHL game was broadcast on American network television was in 1990, when NBC televised the All-Star Game
.
also did play-by-play work on occasion. In addition, Don Cherry
was a commentator for at least one game. Meanwhile, Jim West was the host for most games.
In the mean time, ESPN enjoyed their first go around at NHL coverage during the and seasons. They had a rather limited slate of games, which were all broadcast from U.S. arenas: Hartford
, Washington
, Pittsburgh
, Buffalo
, Minnesota
, St. Louis
and Colorado in 1980–81 and the New York Islanders
(while deleting Hartford) in 1981–82.
In the season, Al Trautwig
took over as USA's studio host. Dan Kelly did play-by-play with
either Gary Green
or Rod Gilbert
on color commentary. For the playoffs, Dick Carlson and Al Albert were added as play-by-play voices of some games. Meanwhile, Jim Van Horne
hosted Stanley Cup Finals
games played in Vancouver.
In April 1982, USA outbid ESPN
for the NHL's American national television cable package with $
8 million (at least $2 more than what ESPN was offering).
Things pretty much the remained the same for USA during the season. Dan Kelly and Gary Green called most games, while Al Albert did play-by-play on several playoff games and hosted one game of the Stanley Cup Finals
.
In the season, USA covered over 40 games including the playoffs. While Gary Green did all the games, Dan Kelly and Al Albert did roughly 20 games each. Meanwhile, Jiggs McDonald helped broadcast one game.
For USA's final season of NHL coverage in , Dan Kelly and Gary Green once again, did most games, while Al Albert and Green called the rest. Also, Mike Liut
was added as an intermission analyst for the Stanley Cup Finals
.
season, then Sundays, both evenings at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time
), nationally televised (albeit, subject to blackout
) regular season games a year (as well as the All-Star Game and entire Stanley Cup Finals
). Sam Rosen
, Mike Emrick
, and Ken Wilson, served as the play-by-play men while Mickey Redmond and Bill Clement were the color commentators. Tom Mees
meanwhile, was the studio host. ESPN would ultimately go on another hiatus (lasting through the end of the season) from the National Hockey League following the season, when SportsChannel America outbid them.
, SportsChannel's contract paid $
51 million ($17 million per year) over three years, more than double what ESPN had paid ($24 million) for the previous three years. SportsChannel America managed to get a fourth NHL season for just $5 million.
Unfortunately, SportsChannel America
was only available in a few major markets, and reached only a 1/3 of the households that ESPN
did at the time. SportsChannel America was seen in fewer than 10 million households. In comparison, by the 1991–92 season, ESPN was available in 60.5 million homes whereas SportsChannel America was available in only 25 million. Since SportsChannel Philadelphia
did not air until January 1990
, PRISM (owned by Rainbow Media, the owners of SportsChannel, at the time) picked up the 1989 Stanley Cup Finals
.
SportsChannel America would televise about 80–100 games a season (whereas ESPN aired about 33 in the 1987–88 season). Whereas the previous deal with ESPN called for only one nationally televised game a week, SportsChannel America televised hockey two nights a week in NHL cities and three nights a week elsewhere.
In 1989
, SportsChannel America provided the first ever American coverage of the NHL Draft
.
In September 1989, SportsChannel America covered the Washington Capitals
training camp in Sweden
and pre-season
tour of the Soviet Union
. The Capitals were joined by the Stanley Cup champion Calgary Flames
, who held training camp in Prague, Czechoslovakia and then ventured to the Soviet Union. Each team played four games against Soviet National League clubs. Games were played in Moscow
, Leningrad
, Kiev
and Riga
. The NHL clubs finished with a combined 6–2 record against the top Soviet teams, including the Red Army
club and Dynamo Moscow
. Five of the eight contests were televised by SportsChannel America.
SportsChannel America was the exclusive broadcaster of the 1989 All-Star Game
.
Many regular-season games were actually simulcasts of games produced for local telecast by regional cable sports networks that carried the broadcasts.
, SportsChannel America covered the first ever NHL Skills Competition and Heroes of Hockey game. To accommodate the altered activities, the game itself was played on a Sunday afternoon instead of a Tuesday night, as was the case in previous years. This allowed American broadcaster NBC to air the game live across the United States - marking (surprisingly) the first time that a national audience would see Wayne Gretzky
and Mario Lemieux
play. Referees and other officials were also wired with microphones in this game, as were the two head coaches. Finally, NBC also was allowed to conduct interviews with players during stoppages in play, to the chagrin of the Hockey Night in Canada crew, whose attempts to do likewise were repeatedly denied by the league in past years.
From 1990–1994, NBC only televised the National Hockey League All-Star Game
. Marv Albert
and John Davidson
called the action, while Mike Emrick
served as an ice-level reporter in 1990
. Meanwhile, Bill Clement served as an ice-level reporter in 1991
, 1992
and 1994
. Hockey Night in Canadas Ron MacLean
also served as an ice-level reporter, and was the lone correspondent for NBC for the 44th National Hockey League All-Star Game
in 1993.
In 1991
, NBC broke away from the telecast in the third period to televise a briefing from the Pentagon
involving the Gulf War
. SportsChannnel America included the missing coverage in a replay of NBC's telecast.
There were reports about NBC making an arrangement to air four to eight regular season games for the 1992-1993 season but nothing materialized. NHL officials had arranged a 4-8 game, time-buy package on NBC, but that fell through when the NHL wanted assurance that all NBC affiliates would carry the games. (Since 2006, NBC has generally gotten all but a couple of affiliates in the Top-50 markets to carry the games.) For instance, in 1990, NBC's affiliates in Atlanta
, Charlotte
, Memphis
, New Orleans
, Indianapolis
and Phoenix
didn't clear the game. As a matter of fact, roughly 15% of the nation didn't clear the game. More to the point, NBC's coverage of the 1992 All-Star Game aired on the independent station
WTLK in Atlanta.
and baseball
seasons), Wednesdays, and Fridays, and were titled Sunday/Wednesday/Friday Night Hockey. Prior to the 1999, these telecasts were non-exclusive, meaning they were blacked out in the regions of the competing teams, and an alternate game was shown in these affected areas.
From the 1992–1993 season to the 1993–1994 season, ABC televised six weekly regional telecasts on Sunday afternoons beginning in March (or the last three Sundays of the regular season). This marked the first time that regular season broadcasts of National Hockey League games were aired on American network television since 1975 (when NBC was the NHL's American broadcast television partner). ABC would then televise three weeks worth of playoff games (or the first three Sundays of the playoffs). They didn't televise the Stanley Cup Finals
which instead, were televised nationally by ESPN
and locally by Prime Ticket
in Los Angeles
(1993
) and MSG
in New York
(1994
). Games televised on ABC were not subject to blackout
.
These broadcasts (just as the case was with the 1999–2004 package) were essentially, time buys
by ESPN. The main difference is that the graphics were ABC Sports' instead of the ones seen on ESPN National Hockey Night
. In later years, the roles would be reversed as ESPN's graphical style would be used with the exception of intermission reports. ABC even used ESPN's theme music for the 1992–1994 coverage.
For Fox's coverage of the All-Star Game, Conference Finals, and Stanley Cup Finals, the games (which were national telecasts) were hosted from the arena. The 1996 and 1997 All-Star Games were televised in prime time
.
Fox had put much effort into trying to stimulate American interests in the game, but had achieved little success. One of their schemes was to make the hockey puck
more visible by highlighting it on television with a blue comet, using FoxTrax
. When a slapshot
over 70 miles per hour was made, the puck would leave a red comet
trail on the television. This idea was met with great derision in Canada, especially to diehard hockey fans, and also met with little success in the United States.
The main broadcast team for Fox was Mike Emrick
and John Davidson, while regionally distributed games were handled by a variety of announcers. In the first four years of the deal, James Brown
and Dave Maloney
hosted the show from the Fox studio in Los Angeles
. In the final year, it was Suzy Kolber
and Terry Crisp.
Fox split coverage of the Stanley Cup Finals
with ESPN
. Game 1 of the 1995 Stanley Cup Finals
was the first Finals game shown on network television since 1980 and the first in prime time
since 1973. Games 1, 5, and 7 were usually scheduled to be televised by Fox; Games 2, 3, 4, and 6 by ESPN. However from 1995 to 1998, the Finals were all four game sweeps; 1999 ended in six games. The consequence was that - except for 1995, when Fox did televise Game 4 - the decisive game was never on network television. Perhaps in recognition of this, Games 3–7 were always televised by ABC
in the succeeding broadcast agreement between the NHL and ABC Sports/ESPN
.
The deal between Fox and the league ended when the NHL announced a new TV deal with ESPN
that also called for ABC
to become the new network TV
partner. Fox challenged that it had not been given a chance to match the network component of the deal, but ABC ultimately prevailed (perhaps barring a large NHL ratings
increase).
signed a five year deal worth a total of approximately $
600 million (or $120 million per year).
This time around, ABC televised four to five weeks worth of regional games on Saturday afternoons beginning in January. ABC also televised the National Hockey League All-Star Game
and Games 3–7 of the Stanley Cup Finals in prime time
.
Following the 2003–04 season, ABC/ESPN was only willing to renew for two years at $60 million per year. ABC executives later conceded that they overpaid for the 1999–2004 deal, so their offer to renew the TV rights was lower in 2004.
ESPN had a two year deal that they opted out of after the lockout, leaving the NHL without a cable partner. In August 2005, Comcast
(who owns the Philadelphia Flyers
) paid $70 million a year for three years to put games (54 or more NHL games each season under the agreement, generally on Monday and Tuesday nights) on the OLN network, now known as Versus
. Due to the abbreviated off-season, the 2005–06 schedule did not offer OLN exclusivity, which they received in 2006–07. Versus also covers many playoff games and exclusively airs two games of the Stanley Cup Finals.
Included Versus' schedule is a "Game of the Week" for selected dates. In this "Exclusive" time period, which was created in 2006–07, no other National Hockey League
game may be broadcast in the United States and, in most cases, no other game is scheduled unless it involves two Canadian teams.
Regional carriers are allowed to air games outside Versus' exclusive window. This is usually for about 2 hours and 30 minutes.
Like NBC, games aired on The NHL on Versus usually feature teams based in the United States, with the exception of playoffs. In the case of playoffs, Versus will occasionally simulcast TSN or CBC
, although this mostly occurred in 2005–06; Versus has since made a greater commitment to offering its own production whenever possible. In 2010 they still used a few Comcast SportsNet
feeds.
The selection of teams for The NHL on Versus is somewhat more diverse (possibly due to there being more game slots to air) than its broadcast partner, NBC. Because of inordinately high ratings in the Buffalo
and Pittsburgh
markets, Versus has made note to air a significant number of games featuring the Buffalo Sabres
and Pittsburgh Penguins
. The New York Rangers
, Philadelphia Flyers
, Detroit Red Wings
, and Boston Bruins
also get selected regularly, frequently at or near the maximum of nine appearances per team during the regular season.
Any regular season game selected by Versus airs exclusively on that network. During the playoffs, Versus' first-round and second-round games may be subject to blackout in the participating teams' regional markets (although they have exclusivity for two second-round games per series). Versus regains full national coverage for its Conference and Stanley Cup Final telecasts.
In 2006
, NBC televised Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Sabres
and the Carolina Hurricanes
on the same day as the Preakness. Before the game, Bill Clement advised the audience that in the event that the game went into overtime, it would be televised on Versus, or OLN as it was known at the time. The Sabres won the game in regulation.
For the 2006–07 season, NBC broadcast three regional games per weekend of coverage during the regular season. They also scheduled ten coverage windows during the playoffs (not including Stanley Cup Finals). The additional broadcasts were expected to replace the Arena Football League, which NBC dropped after the 2006 season
as previously mentioned. NBC also produced two games per week in high definition, up from one in 2005–06.
vs. STL
, BOS
vs. NYR
, PIT
vs. PHI
) at 2:00 p.m. ET
. Games started at various times, ranging from 12:30 to 3:30 during the season (this variation primarily resulted from NBC's commitments to the PGA Tour
and other programming).
It was also rumored that the league wanted to stage (and for NBC to broadcast) an annual outdoor game (specifically, the New York Rangers
vs. the New York Islanders
at Yankee Stadium
). Having lost rights to the Gator Bowl
on New Year's Day
to CBS
, the possibility of doing a New Year's Day game increased, assuming that NBC would renew its broadcast contract. An outdoor game (instead involving the Buffalo Sabres
and Pittsburgh Penguins
) did end up being added for the 2007–2008 season.
The NHL on NBC moved to Sundays after its season premiere for the final eight dates of the season. NBC's nine games amounted to the league's most extensive U.S. broadcast television coverage since 1998, during Fox's tenure.
On May 19, 2007, during the Stanley Cup playoffs
, NBC angered many fans and journalists when it pre-empted coverage of the overtime period of the tied Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Ottawa Senators
and Buffalo Sabres
, instead going directly to pre-race coverage of the 2007 Preakness Stakes
(a horse racing broadcast generally contains about two hours of pre-race coverage, with the actual races lasting two or three minutes). Coverage of the overtime period was shunted to Versus
, the league's cable partner, although viewers in the Buffalo and Rochester markets were able to continue watching the game on WGRZ
and WHEC
, their local NBC affiliates.
The move was originally seen not only as a snub of small-market teams (such as the Sabres), but of hockey in general. However, NBC and the NHL later revealed that the Preakness deal had been made several years before and contained mandatory advertising commitments during the pre-race build-up. Both sides could have agreed that the entire game would air only on Versus or begin earlier in the day, but the NHL wanted at least one Eastern Conference Finals game to air on NBC, and said that it does not schedule with the assumption that games will go into overtime. Moreover, an earlier start time could not be arranged because the broadcast window was fixed in advance, and both the NHL and NBC needed the flexibility to pick the Western Conference Finals for that window if they so desired.
On March 27, 2007, NBC Sports and the NHL agreed to a one-year contract extension with a network option for a second year.
Beginning in 2007–08, NBC has "Flex Scheduling", similar to NFL broadcasts
. The league selects at least three potential games at the start of the season for most of NBC's regular-season coverage dates. Thirteen days prior to the game, NBC selects one to air as its Game of the Week. The other two games move outside of NBC's broadcast window and return to teams' regional carriers. Since the league made network coverage a priority in the 1990s, regionalized coverage had been the norm; NBC is the first network to try regularly presenting one game to the entire nation. Additionally, studio segments now originate from the game site instead of 30 Rockefeller Center. All games are produced in high definition.
and Pittsburgh Penguins
at Ralph Wilson Stadium
. The game went head to head with some of the New Year's Day college football bowl games, but none of the feature Bowl Championship Series
games. While never expected to beat or directly compete with football ratings the timing was designed to take advantage of the large audience flipping between channels to watch the different bowl games. It was the first such game to be televised live by an American network and the NHL's first outdoor regular season game since the Edmonton Oilers
and Montreal Canadiens
played the Heritage Classic
, which aired on CBC
. CBC also showed the 2008 outdoor game. Although originally maligned as a mere publicity stunt by some in the media, the 2008 Winter Classic drew a 2.6 Nielsen rating in the U.S. (or about 2.9 million viewers), the highest rating for a regular-season contest since February 1996, when Fox was the league's network partner. By comparison, CBS received a 2.7 rating for the Gator Bowl, which also had a 1 p.m. start.
Except for New Year's Day and a day-after-Thanbksgiving broadcast beginning in 2011, all regular-season telecasts now air on Sunday afternoons.
In April 2008, NBC announced the activation of its option to retain broadcasting rights for the 2008–2009 season. NBC's scheduling will be similar to the 2007–2008 season (flex scheduling for regular-season games, games three through seven of the Stanley Cup Finals, etc.) except that all (or nearly all) of the Sunday-afternoon games will begin at 12:30 p.m. Eastern time. Coverage again included an outdoor game, which was between the Detroit Red Wings
and the Chicago Blackhawks
at Wrigley Field
on January 1, 2009.
The NHL on NBC usually only features U.S.-based teams, except during the Stanley Cup playoffs
when broadcasting a game involving a Canadian team might be unavoidable. NBC has the first choice of games and times on its scheduled broadcast dates. CBC and TSN are required to adjust accordingly during the playoffs, even though both pay the league substantial rights fees.
In 2008, this changed as the Montreal Canadiens
was the first Canadian team featured on the NHL on NBC during the regular-season (NBC Sports' Dick Ebersol
is rumored to have specifically wanted to do a game from Montreal at some point). They played the New York Rangers on February 3.
Like its predecessors, NBC frequently chooses games with a focus on about five teams (New York Rangers
, Detroit Red Wings
, Philadelphia Flyers
, Pittsburgh Penguins
, and Boston Bruins
). The relation has very little correlation with team success; for instance, the Anaheim Ducks
won the Stanley Cup
in 2007
, and the Buffalo Sabres
made it to the conference finals in both 2006 and 2007. Those teams received one and two potential games respectively in the 2008 season, compared to the seven potential games given to the Rangers and the four games which could include the Flyers. However, no team can air more than four times during the regular-season.
The most frequently cited reasons for this relative lack of diversity are low ratings in a market (such as for Anaheim, which competes with the older Los Angeles Kings
in its market) and market size (such as for Buffalo, where hockey ratings are the highest in the league, but the market itself is the smallest of any American NHL team).
NBC did also televise the 2011 NHL Winter Classic
between the Pittsburgh Penguins
and Washington Capitals
on January 1, 2011 from Pittsburgh. The Penguins become the first NHL team ever to play more than one outdoor game.
On April 19, 2011, NBC Sports and Versus announced they had reached a ten-year extension (through 2020-2021) to the television contract with the National Hockey League worth nearly 2 billion dollars over the life of the contract. As part of the announcement, the chairman of NBC Sports, Dick Ebersol
announced that the Versus channel
would be renamed "within 90 days," in order to reflect the synergy of the two networks after the Universal
-Comcast
merger. Under this new contract, the NHL would get the following from NBC:
While Canadian-based teams seldom are seen on NBC druing the regular-season, it is expected that a Saturday matinee on January 7, 2012 involving the Vancouver Canucks
meeting the defending Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins
in Boston will be on NBC, given that it is a 2011 Finals rematch.
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
has never fared as well on American television in comparison to the National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
, Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
, or the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
, although that has begun to change, with NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's broadcast of the final game of the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals
2009 Stanley Cup Finals
The Red Wings took Game 1, 3–1, as three different Detroit players scored goals off of unusual bounces. The first period featured back and forth action, with each team having a variety of chances...
scoring some of the best ratings ever enjoyed by the sport on American television.
In fact, hockey broadcasting on a national scale was spotty prior to 1981; NBC and CBS
NHL on CBS
NHL on CBS is a former television program that broadcast National Hockey League games on CBS Sports. CBS was the first American television network to broadcast NHL games.-1956–1960 version:...
held rights at various times, each network carrying weekend-afternoon games during the second half of the regular season and the playoffs, along with some (but not all) of the Stanley Cup Finals. From 1971–1995, there was no exclusive coverage of games in the United States.
Meanwhile, individual teams have long contracted to air their games on local channels, primarily on regional sports network
Regional sports network
In the United States of America and Canada, a regional sports network, or RSN, is a cable television station that presents sports programming to a local market. The most important programming on an RSN consists of live broadcasts of professional and college sporting events, as those games generate...
s and in a few cases on broadcast channels as well.
1950s (CBS)
CBS first broadcast National Hockey League games for four seasons from –. CBS aired games on Saturday afternoons with Bud PalmerBud Palmer
John S. "Bud" Palmer is a former pro basketball player. He was a member of the original New York Knickerbockers, and was their leading scorer in their inaugural season 1946/47...
and Fred Cusick
Fred Cusick
Frederick Michael Cusick was an American ice hockey broadcaster who served as the Boston Bruins play-by-play announcer from 1971 until 1997 on WSBK-TV in Boston, and from 1984 until 1995 on NESN...
handling the announcing duties, initially. Palmer served as the play-by-play man while Cusick did color commentary as well as interviews for the first three seasons. In , Cusick moved over to play-by-play while Brian McFarlane
Brian McFarlane
Brian McFarlane is a Canadian television sportscaster and author. He is also the Honorary President of the Society for International Hockey Research. He is the son of the prolific writer Leslie McFarlane who wrote many of the early Hardy Boys books.-Early life and career:Brian McFarlane attended St...
came in to do the color commentary and interviews. The pregame and intermission interviews were done on the ice, with the interviewer on skates. No playoff games were televised during this period and all broadcasts took place in one of the four American arenas at the time.
As previously mentioned, CBS covered the season on Saturday afternoons, starting January 5. For the next three years, they aired continued airing games a Saturday afternoons starting on November 2, 1957, October 18, 1958 and January 9, 1960.
According to Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
, the NHL dropped CBS because the NHL owners didn't want the fledgling Players' Association to gain a financial cut of the TV deal. This was despite the fact that CBS was at least at one point, getting better ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
than NBC's NBA package from around the same period, especially in cities with NHL, minor-league, or major college (division 1 level) hockey clubs.
1966 (NBC and RKO General)
The NHL did not return to national television in the United States until the 1966 playoffs.NBC was the first United States television network to air a national broadcast of a Stanley Cup Playoff game. They provided coverage of four Sunday afternoon playoff games during the 1966 postseason. On April 10 and April 17, NBC aired semifinal games between the Chicago Blackhawks
1965–66 Chicago Black Hawks season
The 1965–66 Chicago Black Hawks season was the Hawks' fortieth season in the NHL, and the club was coming off a third place finish in 1964-65, as Chicago had a record of 34-28-8, earning 76 points, which was their lowest point total since 1961-62...
and Detroit Red Wings
1965–66 Detroit Red Wings season
The 1965–66 Detroit Red Wings season saw the Red Wings finish in fourth place in the National Hockey League with a record of 31 wins, 27 losses, and 12 ties for 74 points. They defeated the Chicago Black Hawks in six games in the semi-finals before falling to the Montreal Canadiens in the Stanley...
. On April 24 and May 1, NBC aired Games 1 and 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals
1966 Stanley Cup Finals
The 1966 Stanley Cup Final was contested by the Detroit Red Wings and the defending champion Montreal Canadiens. The Canadiens would win the best-of-seven series four games to two to win the Stanley Cup for the seventh time in eleven years.-Paths to the final:...
between the Montreal Canadiens
1965–66 Montreal Canadiens season
The 1965–66 Montreal Canadiens season was the team's 57th season of play. The Canadiens won the Stanley Cup for the second consecutive season, and the 14th time in their history. Bobby Rousseau registered 78 points and tied with Stan Mikita for second in the overall 1965-66 NHL scoring race...
and the Detroit Red Wings respectively. Win Elliot
Win Elliot
Win Elliot, was an American television and radio sportscaster and game show host who was best-known for his long tenures as a play-by-play broadcaster of NHL New York Rangers and NBA New York Knicks games and host of Sports Central USA on the CBS Radio Network.Born Irwin Elliot Shalek in Chelsea,...
served as the play-by-play man while Bill Mazer
Bill Mazer
Bill Mazer is an Jewish American television and radio personality.Winning numerous awards and citations, including three Sportscaster of the Year awards for New York from 1964–66....
served as the color commentator for all four games.
NBC's coverage of the 1966 Stanley Cup Playoffs marked the first time that hockey games were televised on network television in color
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, although a handful of local game telecasts in Boston WHDH-TV
WCVB-TV
WCVB-TV, channel 5, is a television station located in Boston, Massachusetts, owned by Hearst Television and affiliated with the ABC Television Network. WCVB-TV's studios and transmitter are co-located in Needham, Massachusetts. WCVB is also one of six Boston television stations seen in Canada by...
, New York WOR-TV
WWOR-TV
WWOR-TV, virtual channel 9 , is the flagship station of the MyNetworkTV programming service, licensed to Secaucus, New Jersey and serving the Tri-State metropolitan area. WWOR is owned by Fox Television Stations, a division of the News Corporation, and is a sister station to Fox network flagship...
, and Chicago WGN-TV
WGN-TV
WGN-TV, virtual channel 9 , is the CW-affiliated television station in Chicago, Illinois built, signed on, and owned by the Tribune Company. WGN-TV's studios and offices are located at 2501 W...
had been colorcast during the regular-season that year. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Hockey Night in Canada
Hockey Night in Canada is the branding used for CBC Sports' presentations of the National Hockey League...
would follow suit the following year. NBC's Stanley Cup coverage preempted a sports anthology series called NBC Sports in Action hosted by Jim Simpson
Jim Simpson (sportscaster)
Jim Simpson is a retired American sportscaster, known for his smooth delivery as a play-by-play man and his versatility in covering many different sports. In 1997, he won the Sports Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 2000 he was inducted into the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters...
and Bill Cullen
Bill Cullen
William Lawrence Francis "Bill" Cullen was an American radio and television personality whose career spanned five decades...
, who were between-periods co-hosts for the four Stanley Cup broadcasts.
In the United States, the clinching game of the 1966 Stanley Cup Finals
1966 Stanley Cup Finals
The 1966 Stanley Cup Final was contested by the Detroit Red Wings and the defending champion Montreal Canadiens. The Canadiens would win the best-of-seven series four games to two to win the Stanley Cup for the seventh time in eleven years.-Paths to the final:...
on the Thursday evening of May 5 aired on RKO General
NHL on RKO General
NHL on RKO General relates to a small, syndicated network of RKO General affiliates broadcasting National Hockey League games.-Background:...
's affiliates (including WOR
WWOR-TV
WWOR-TV, virtual channel 9 , is the flagship station of the MyNetworkTV programming service, licensed to Secaucus, New Jersey and serving the Tri-State metropolitan area. WWOR is owned by Fox Television Stations, a division of the News Corporation, and is a sister station to Fox network flagship...
in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
). The commentators for RKO's coverage on that occasion were Bob Wolff
Bob Wolff
Robert "Bob" Wolff , in New York City, New York is an American sportscaster. He was the radio and TV voice of the Washington Senators from 1947 to 1960, continuing with the team when they relocated and became the Minnesota Twins in 1961. In 1962, he joined NBC-TV...
and Emile Francis
Emile Francis
Emile "The Cat" Francis is a former player, coach, and general manager in the National Hockey League, most notably with the New York Rangers....
.
CBS had gained rights for an NHL "Game Of The week" for the 1966-67 regular-season; but could not accommodate the games on their schedule, so instead, regular-season Sunday-afternoon games were subleased to RKO General.
1966–69 (CBS)
In 1967, CBS carried weekend-afternoon games of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. For the next five seasons, from 1968 through 1972, CBS aired a game each week between mid-January until early-mid May in each of those seasons, mainly on a Sunday afternoon, including playoffs. From 1968-69 through 1971–72, the intermission studio was called "CBS Control", as was the case with other sports coverage, including the NFL coverageNFL on CBS
The NFL on CBS is the brand name of the CBS television network's coverage of the National Football League's American Football Conference games, produced by CBS Sports.-Market coverage and television policies:...
.
CBS started their weekly 1967–68 coverage with the opening game (the Philadelphia Flyers
1967–68 Philadelphia Flyers season
The 1967–68 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Philadelphia Flyers' inaugural season and the first National Hockey League season in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania since the Philadelphia Quakers' 1930–31 season....
vs. Los Angeles Kings
1967–68 Los Angeles Kings season
The 1967–68 Los Angeles Kings season was the first season for the Kings in the National Hockey League.-Offseason:The Kings were one of six expansion teams, which doubled the size of the league from six to twelve...
) at the Forum
The Forum (Inglewood, California)
The Forum is an indoor arena, in Inglewood, California, a suburb of Los Angeles. From 2000 to 2010, it was owned by the Faithful Central Bible Church, which occasionally used it for church services, while also leasing the building for sporting events, concerts and other events.Along with Madison...
in Inglewood, California
Inglewood, California
Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, southwest of downtown Los Angeles. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. Its population stood at 109,673 as of the 2010 Census...
on December 30. Then after two more Saturday afternoons (because the network was tied-up with pro football on Sundays), CBS switched to Sunday afternoons beginning on January 28 for the next 10 weeks. Due to an AFTRA
American Federation of Television and Radio Artists
The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists is a performers' union that represents a wide variety of talent, including actors in radio and television, as well as radio and television announcers and newspersons, singers and recording artists , promo and voice-over announcers and other...
strike
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
(which resulted in the cancellation of a New York Rangers
1967–68 New York Rangers season
The 1967–68 New York Rangers season was the 42nd season for the team.-Schedule and Results:The 1967–68 New York Rangers season was the 42nd season for the team.-Schedule and Results:...
-Montreal
1967–68 Montreal Canadiens season
The 1967–68 Montreal Canadiens season was the club's 59th season of play. The Canadiens won their 15th Stanley Cup in club history.-Expansion draft:...
broadcast), CBS started their playoff coverage with a CBC
Hockey Night in Canada
Hockey Night in Canada is the branding used for CBC Sports' presentations of the National Hockey League...
tape of the previous night's Boston
1967–68 Boston Bruins season
The 1967–68 Boston Bruins season was the Bruins' 43rd season in the NHL.-Offseason:In 1967, the Black Hawks made a trade with the Boston Bruins that turned out to be one of the most one-sided in the history of the sport...
-Montreal game. On April 13, CBS started their three week long weekend afternoon Stanley Cup coverage. The last game of the series was St. Louis
1967–68 St. Louis Blues season
The 1967–68 season was the inaugural season for the St. Louis Blues. The Blues were one of the six new teams added to the NHL in the 1967 expansion. The other franchises were the Minnesota North Stars, Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and California Seals. The league...
-Montreal on May 11. For the playoffs, Jim Gordon worked play-by-play and Stu Nahan worked color. During the regular season, Gordon and Nahan alternated roles each week. For instance, Gordon did the worked play-by-play on December 30 while Nahan worked play-by-play the next week.
In the 1968–69 season, CBS broadcast 13 regular season afternoon games and five Stanley Cup playoff games. Dan Kelly
Dan Kelly (sportscaster)
Patrick Daniel "Dan" Kelly was a Canadian-born sportscaster best known for his radio play-by-play coverage of the St...
did play-by-play while Bill Mazer
Bill Mazer
Bill Mazer is an Jewish American television and radio personality.Winning numerous awards and citations, including three Sportscaster of the Year awards for New York from 1964–66....
did color and intermission interviews. Kelly had become the radio voice of the St. Louis Blues, whose games were covered by CBS-owned KMOX St. Louis; thus, Kelly was already part of CBS through his being on KMOX's payroll.
1971–72
The same pattern continued through the 1971–72 season for CBS. CBS did manage to televise the 1971 Stanley Cup Finals1971 Stanley Cup Finals
-References:...
clincher on a Tuesday night and the 1972 Stanley Cup Finals
1972 Stanley Cup Finals
-Boston Bruins 1972 Stanley Cup champions:-See also:* List of Stanley Cup champions* 1971–72 Boston Bruins season* 1971–72 NHL season* 1971–72 New York Rangers season-References:...
clincher on a Thursday night. In 1971
1971 in television
The year 1971 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1971.For the American TV schedule, see: 1971-72 American network television schedule.-Events:...
, CBS originally had not planned to broadcast Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals
1971 Stanley Cup Finals
-References:...
, but showed the prime time
Prime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
contest between the Montreal Canadiens
1970–71 Montreal Canadiens season
The 1970–71 Montreal Canadiens season was the club's 62nd season. After missing the playoffs in the previous season, the team rebounded to place third in the East Division, qualifying for the playoffs...
and Chicago Black Hawks
1970–71 Chicago Black Hawks season
The 1970–71 Chicago Black Hawks season was the Hawks' forty-fifth season in the NHL, and the club was coming off a first place finish in the East Division in 1968-69, as they had a team record 45 victories and 99 points...
almost as a public service
Public service announcement
A public service announcement or public service ad is a type of advertisement featured on television, radio, print or other media...
after thousands of calls flooded network switchboards. While Dan Kelly once again all of the play-by-play work, Jim Gordon replaced Bill Mazer in 1970–71. For the CBS' Stanley Cup Finals coverage during this period, a third voice was added to the booth (Phil Esposito
Phil Esposito
Philip Anthony Esposito, OC is a former Canadian professional ice hockey centre who played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Chicago Black Hawks, Boston Bruins and New York Rangers. He is an Honoured Member of the Hockey Hall of Fame and is considered to be one of the best to have...
in 1971 and Harry Howell in 1972).
1972–75 (NBC)
From 1972–1975, NBC not only televised the Stanley Cup Finals (in actuality, a couple of games in prime timePrime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
), but also weekly regular season games on Sunday afternoons. NBC also aired several regular season and playoff games in prime time during this period (namely, during the 1972–1973 season). Tim Ryan
Tim Ryan (sportscaster)
Tim Ryan is an American sportscaster, currently a resident of Ketchum, Idaho.-Early life and career:Raised in Canada, Ryan graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1960, and took a job the newly-formed CFTO as an assistant sports director...
and Ted Lindsay
Ted Lindsay
Robert Blake Theodore Lindsay is a former professional ice hockey player, a forward for the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Black Hawks of the National Hockey League . He scored over 800 points in his Hockey Hall of Fame career, won the Art Ross Trophy in 1950, and won the Stanley Cup four times...
(with Brian McFarlane
Brian McFarlane
Brian McFarlane is a Canadian television sportscaster and author. He is also the Honorary President of the Society for International Hockey Research. He is the son of the prolific writer Leslie McFarlane who wrote many of the early Hardy Boys books.-Early life and career:Brian McFarlane attended St...
as the intermission host) served as the commentators for NBC's NHL coverage during this period. Since most NHL teams still didn't have players' names on the backs of jerseys, NBC persuaded NHL commissioner Clarence Campbell
Clarence Campbell
Clarence Sutherland Campbell OBE, QC was the third president of the National Hockey League from 1946 to 1977.-Early life and career:...
to make teams put on players' names on NBC telecasts beginning with the 1973–74 season to help viewers identify players.
NBC's NHL coverage during the 1970s was probably most notable for the introduction of the animated character Peter Puck
Peter Puck
Peter Puck is a hockey puck-shaped cartoon character. The puck, whose animated adventures appeared on both NBC's Hockey Game of the Week and CBC's Hockey Night in Canada during the 1970s, explained ice hockey rules, equipment and the sport's history to the home viewing audience...
as a between-periods feature. Peter Puck, whose cartoon adventures (produced by Hanna-Barbera
Cartoon Network Studios
Cartoon Network Studios is an American animation studio. A subsidiary of the Turner Broadcasting System , Cartoon Network Studios focuses on producing and developing animated programs only for and related to Cartoon Network...
) appeared on both NBC's Hockey Game of the Week and CBC's Hockey Night in Canada
Hockey Night in Canada
Hockey Night in Canada is the branding used for CBC Sports' presentations of the National Hockey League...
, explained hockey rules to the home viewing audience.
Besides Peter Puck, the 1970s version of The NHL on NBC had a between periods feature titled Showdown. The concept of Showdown involved with 20 (16 shooters and four goaltenders) of the NHL's greatest players going head-to-head in a taped penalty shot
Penalty shot (ice hockey)
In ice hockey, a penalty shot is a type of penalty awarded when a team loses a clear scoring opportunity on a breakaway because of a foul committed by an opposing player. A player from the non-offending team is given an attempt to score a goal without opposition from any defending players except...
competition. After the NHL left NBC in 1975, Showdown continued to be seen on Hockey Night in Canada and local television broadcasts of U.S.-based NHL teams.
Meanwhile, HBO's first sports broadcast was of a New York Rangers
1972–73 New York Rangers season
The 1972–73 New York Rangers season was the Rangers' 47th season.-Schedule and Results:The 1972–73 New York Rangers season was the Rangers' 47th season.-Schedule and Results:...
/ Vancouver Canucks
1972–73 Vancouver Canucks season
The 1972–73 Vancouver Canucks season was the team's 3rd in the NHL. Vancouver finished 7th in the East Division for the second consecutive season, failing to reach the playoffs again.-Game log:-Trophies and awards:...
game, transmitted to a CATV system in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania on November 8, 1972.
1975–79 (The NHL Network, CBS and USA Network)
After being dropped by NBC after the 1974–75 season, the NHL had no national, network television contract in the United States. So in response to this, the league decided to put together a networkThe NHL Network (1975-1979 version)
The NHL Network was an American television syndication package that broadcast National Hockey League games from the through seasons. The NHL Network was distributed by the Hughes Television Network.-Conception:...
of independent stations (covering approximately, 55%
Percentage
In mathematics, a percentage is a way of expressing a number as a fraction of 100 . It is often denoted using the percent sign, “%”, or the abbreviation “pct”. For example, 45% is equal to 45/100, or 0.45.Percentages are used to express how large/small one quantity is, relative to another quantity...
of the country). In cities, these games were usually, but not always, seen on the same stations that televised the local NHL team. For example, while WOR-TV
WWOR-TV
WWOR-TV, virtual channel 9 , is the flagship station of the MyNetworkTV programming service, licensed to Secaucus, New Jersey and serving the Tri-State metropolitan area. WWOR is owned by Fox Television Stations, a division of the News Corporation, and is a sister station to Fox network flagship...
carried the Rangers and Islanders, it was WPIX-TV that aired the NHL package during the 1976/77 season.
During the 1975/76 season, this package consisted of four exhibition games between NHL clubs and the Soviet national hockey team, then playoff games including the Stanley Cup Finals.
Beginning with the 1976/77 season, games typically aired on Monday nights (beginning at 8:00 p.m. ET
Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
) or Saturday afternoons. The package was offered to local stations free of charge. Profits would be derived from the advertising, which was about evenly split between the network and the local station. The Monday night games were often billed as The NHL Game of the Week. The league hoped that the habit millions of viewers had of watching sports on Monday nights during the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
season would carry over to hockey in winter. Since ABC, which at that time carried Monday Night Football would also carry Monday-night Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
games during the 1976 season, the league tried to market this package to ABC affiliates ibn the hopes they'd pick it up and establish a year-round sports franchise on Monday nights. However, not very many stations picked up the package, and only a couple were ABC affiliates.
During the 1975–76 season, the NHL Network showed selected games from the NHL Super Series as well as some playoff games. During the 1976–77 season, the NHL Network showed 12 regular season games on Monday nights plus the All-Star Game
29th National Hockey League All-Star Game
The Wales Conference All-Star team defeated the Campbell Conference 7-5 after opening up a 6-1 lead in the second period.Peter Mahovlich was voted most valuable player of the game after scoringa goal and three assists.- Wales Conference All-Stars :...
. By 1978–79 (the final season of the NHL Network's existence), there would be 18 Monday night games and 12 Saturday afternoon games covered.
1979's Challenge Cup
1979 Challenge Cup
The 1979 Challenge Cup was an international ice hockey series of games between the Soviet national ice hockey team and a team of all-stars from the National Hockey League, held in New York City. It replaced the NHL's all-star festivities for the 1978–79 NHL season.The Challenge Cup, unlike its...
replaced the All-Star Game
National Hockey League All-Star Game
The National Hockey League All-Star Game is an exhibition ice hockey game that is traditionally held at the midway point of the regular season of the National Hockey League , with many of the league's star players playing against each other...
. It was a best of three series between the NHL All-Stars against the Soviet Union national squad
Soviet national ice hockey team
The Soviet national ice hockey team , was the national hockey team of the Soviet Union. The Soviets were the most dominant team of all time in international play. The team won nearly every world championship and Olympic tournament between 1954 and 1991 held by the International Ice Hockey Federation...
. In the United States, Game 2, which was on a Saturday afternoon, was shown on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
as part of The CBS Sports Spectacular. The network, the show, and their sponsors had a problem with the rink board advertising that the NHL sold at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
, and refused to allow them to be shown on TV. As a result, CBS viewers were unable to see the far boards above the yellow kickplate, and could only see players skates when the play moved to that side of the ice. Games 1 and 3 were shown on the NHL Network
The NHL Network (1975-1979 version)
The NHL Network was an American television syndication package that broadcast National Hockey League games from the through seasons. The NHL Network was distributed by the Hughes Television Network.-Conception:...
, where the advertising was no problem.
In 1979
1979 in television
The year 1979 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1979.For the American TV schedule, see: 1979-80 American network television schedule.-Events:...
, ABC was contracted to televise Game 7 of Stanley Cup Finals
1979 Stanley Cup Finals
The 1979 Stanley Cup Final NHL championship series was contested by the New York Rangers and the defending champion Montreal Canadiens, making their fourth straight appearance. It was New York's first appearance since . The Canadiens would win the best-of-seven series four games to one, to win...
. Since the Finals ended in five games, the contract was void. Had there been a seventh game, then Bob Wilson (play-by-play), Jim McKay
Jim McKay
James Kenneth McManus , better known by his professional name of Jim McKay, was an American television sports journalist....
(intermission/postgame host, under the Wide World of Sports
Wide World of Sports (US TV series)
ABC's Wide World of Sports is a sports anthology series on American television that ran from 1961 to 1998 and was originally hosted by Jim McKay. The title continued to be used for general sports programs until 2006...
umbrella), Bobby Clarke
Bobby Clarke
Robert Earle Clarke, OC , better known as Bobby Clarke or, in later life, Bob Clarke, is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played his entire National Hockey League career with the Philadelphia Flyers and is currently an executive with the team...
(color commentator) and Frank Gifford
Frank Gifford
Francis Newton "Frank" Gifford is a Hall of Fame former American football player and American sportscaster.-Early life:Gifford was born in Santa Monica, California, the son of Lola Mae and Weldon Gifford, an oil driller....
(rinkside reporter and postgame locker-room interviews) would've called it.
In 1979–80, the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
replaced their syndicated coverage package The NHL Network with a package on USA. At the time, the USA Network was called UA
United Artists Television
-Background:UA purchased Associated Artists Productions in 1958, giving UA access to the pre-1950 Warner Bros. library and the Popeye cartoons made by Fleischer Studios and Famous Studios between 1933 and 1957....
-Columbia
Columbia Pictures Television
Columbia Pictures Television was the second name of the Columbia Pictures television division Screen Gems . The studio changed its name on September 4, 1974.-1974-1982:...
. As the immediate forerunner for the USA Network, UA-Columbia, served as the cable syndicated arm of the Madison Square Garden Network
MSG Network
The MSG Network, now shortened to simply MSG, is a regional cable television and radio network serving the Mid-Atlantic United States. It is focused on New York City sports teams...
in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, PRISM channel in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, and whatever pay/cable outlets were around in 1979
1979 in television
The year 1979 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1979.For the American TV schedule, see: 1979-80 American network television schedule.-Events:...
. USA's coverage begin as a Monday night series with Dan Kelly
Dan Kelly (sportscaster)
Patrick Daniel "Dan" Kelly was a Canadian-born sportscaster best known for his radio play-by-play coverage of the St...
doing play-by-play alongside a variety of commentators including Pete Stemkowski
Pete Stemkowski
Peter David Stemkowski - is a former player in the National Hockey League. Over fifteen seasons, he played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings, New York Rangers, and Los Angeles Kings...
, Lou Nanne
Lou Nanne
Louis Vincent Nanne is a retired ice hockey defenceman and general manager who has made significant contributions to hockey in the United States.- Early life :...
and Brian McFarlane
Brian McFarlane
Brian McFarlane is a Canadian television sportscaster and author. He is also the Honorary President of the Society for International Hockey Research. He is the son of the prolific writer Leslie McFarlane who wrote many of the early Hardy Boys books.-Early life and career:Brian McFarlane attended St...
. Meanwhile, Scott Wahle was the intermission host on most games.
1980 (CBS)
After the NHL left CBS in 1972, the network would only air one other NHL game. That would take place on Saturday, May 24, 1980, with Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals1980 Stanley Cup Finals
-See also:* List of Stanley Cup champions* 1979–80 NHL season* 1980 NBA Finals* 1980 World Series* Super Bowl XV-Notes:...
between the Philadelphia Flyers
1979–80 Philadelphia Flyers season
The 1979–80 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Philadelphia Flyers' 13th season in the National Hockey League .The Flyers began the 1979–80 season with a somewhat controversial move by naming Clarke a playing assistant coach and giving the captaincy to Mel Bridgman. While Clarke was against this...
and the New York Islanders
1979–80 New York Islanders season
The 1979-80 New York Islanders season was the eighth in the franchise's history. It involved winning the Stanley Cup. During the season, the Islanders dropped below the 100-point mark for the first time in five years, earning only 91 points....
. The game was won in overtime by the host Islanders, who captured their first of their four consecutive Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
s.
Between the end of regulation and the start of overtime, the network switched to a golf tournament, but rejoined hockey for the start of the overtime session.
For that game, Dan Kelly was joined by former NHL on NBC commentator, Tim Ryan
Tim Ryan (sportscaster)
Tim Ryan is an American sportscaster, currently a resident of Ketchum, Idaho.-Early life and career:Raised in Canada, Ryan graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1960, and took a job the newly-formed CFTO as an assistant sports director...
. Dan Kelly did play-by-play for the first and third periods as well as overtime
Overtime (ice hockey)
Overtime is a method of determining the winner and loser of an ice hockey match when the scores are tied after regulation. The two main methods are the overtime period and the shootout.-Overtime periods:...
. Meanwhile, Tim Ryan did play-by-play only for the second period. Minnesota North Stars
Minnesota North Stars
The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, and the team's colors for most of its history were green, yellow, gold and white...
GM Lou Nanne
Lou Nanne
Louis Vincent Nanne is a retired ice hockey defenceman and general manager who has made significant contributions to hockey in the United States.- Early life :...
was the color commentator throughout the game.
However, that turned out to be the last NHL game (to this date) to be televised on CBS. It was also the last NHL game on American network television for nearly ten years. The next time that an NHL game was broadcast on American network television was in 1990, when NBC televised the All-Star Game
41st National Hockey League All-Star Game
The 41st National Hockey League All-Star Game was held in Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, home to the Pittsburgh Penguins, on January 21, 1990. The game saw the team of all-stars from the Wales conference defeat the Campbell conference all-stars 12–7...
.
1980–85 (ESPN and USA Network)
For the USA Network's season, some Sunday night games were added. Dan Kelly once again, did most of the play-by-play alongside Mike Eruzione. Dick Carlson, Gene Hart, and Jiggs McDonaldJiggs McDonald
John Kenneth "Jiggs" McDonald is a sportscaster who did play-by-play announcing for NHL games for almost 40 years. In 1990, McDonald received the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award from the Hockey Hall of Fame....
also did play-by-play work on occasion. In addition, Don Cherry
Don Cherry
Don Cherry may refer to:* Don Cherry hockey player, coach, and commentator* Don Cherry , trumpeter* Don Cherry...
was a commentator for at least one game. Meanwhile, Jim West was the host for most games.
In the mean time, ESPN enjoyed their first go around at NHL coverage during the and seasons. They had a rather limited slate of games, which were all broadcast from U.S. arenas: Hartford
1980–81 Hartford Whalers season
-Game log:...
, Washington
1980–81 Washington Capitals season
-Game log:-Regular season:ScoringGoaltendingNote: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/Minus; PIM = Penalty Minutes; PPG=Power-play goals; SHG=Short-handed goals; GWG=Game-winning goals...
, Pittsburgh
1980–81 Pittsburgh Penguins season
The 1980–81 Pittsburgh Penguins season was their fourteenth in the National Hockey League.-Entry Draft:-Game log:-Playoffs:The Penguins lost in the Preliminary round versus the St. Louis Blues.-Skaters:...
, Buffalo
1980–81 Buffalo Sabres season
-Game log:-References:...
, Minnesota
1980–81 Minnesota North Stars season
The 1980–81 Minnesota North Stars season was the North Stars' 14th season. Although the North Stars finished the season with one less win and one less point than the previous year, they made a surprise appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals against the New York Islanders, which they lost 4 games to...
, St. Louis
1980–81 St. Louis Blues season
The 1980–81 St. Louis Blues season was the 14th for the franchise in St. Louis, Missouri. The Blues won the Smythe Division for the first time in four seasons, with a record of 45 wins, 18 losses and 17 ties, good for 107 points, and second place overall in the entire NHL. This was the first time...
and Colorado in 1980–81 and the New York Islanders
1981–82 New York Islanders season
The 1981-82 New York Islanders season was the tenth in the franchise's history. It involved winning the Stanley Cup.-Game log:-Player stats:...
(while deleting Hartford) in 1981–82.
In the season, Al Trautwig
Al Trautwig
Al Trautwig is a commentator with the MSG Network, NBC, Versus, and USA Network. He does the pre-game and post-game shows for the New York Knicks and New York Rangers, as well as fill-in play-by-play for both teams.-Early life:...
took over as USA's studio host. Dan Kelly did play-by-play with
either Gary Green
Gary Green (ice hockey)
Gary Green is a former head coach of the Washington Capitals and hockey analyst for the NHL on TSN. He was previously head coach and GM of the OHA Peterborough Petes and coach of the AHL Hershey Bears . He won the Coach of the Year award in 1979...
or Rod Gilbert
Rod Gilbert
Rodrigue Gabriel Gilbert is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played for the New York Rangers in the National Hockey League. He played right wing on the GAG line that also featured Vic Hadfield and Jean Ratelle...
on color commentary. For the playoffs, Dick Carlson and Al Albert were added as play-by-play voices of some games. Meanwhile, Jim Van Horne
Jim Van Horne
Jim Van Horne is a Canadian sports anchor.Van Horne began his broadcasting career on CKMP in Midland, Ontario, in 1971. From 1972 to 1980, Van Horne was one of the top disc jockeys in Canada at 1050 CHUM in Toronto. He was named Billboard Magazine's Disc Jockey of the year in 1972, the only...
hosted Stanley Cup Finals
1982 Stanley Cup Finals
-References:...
games played in Vancouver.
In April 1982, USA outbid ESPN
ESPN National Hockey Night
ESPN National Hockey Night was ESPN's weekly television broadcasts of National Hockey League regular season games and coverage of playoff games, broadcast from 1992 to 2004...
for the NHL's American national television cable package with $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
8 million (at least $2 more than what ESPN was offering).
Things pretty much the remained the same for USA during the season. Dan Kelly and Gary Green called most games, while Al Albert did play-by-play on several playoff games and hosted one game of the Stanley Cup Finals
1983 Stanley Cup Finals
-Members of New York Islanders 1980 to 1983 Dynasty:*Mike Bossy, Bob Bourne, Clark Gillies, Butch Goring, Anders Kallur, Gord Lane, Dave Langevin, Wayne Merrick, Ken Morrow, Bob Nystrom, Stefan Persson, Denis Potvin, Billy Smith, Duane Sutter, John Tonelli, Bryan Trottier *Lorne Henning , Bill...
.
In the season, USA covered over 40 games including the playoffs. While Gary Green did all the games, Dan Kelly and Al Albert did roughly 20 games each. Meanwhile, Jiggs McDonald helped broadcast one game.
For USA's final season of NHL coverage in , Dan Kelly and Gary Green once again, did most games, while Al Albert and Green called the rest. Also, Mike Liut
Mike Liut
Michael Dennis Liut is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender.Liut played for the Cincinnati Stingers of the World Hockey Association from 1977 to 1979 and for the St. Louis Blues, Hartford Whalers, and Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League from 1979 to 1992. He won...
was added as an intermission analyst for the Stanley Cup Finals
1985 Stanley Cup Finals
The 1985 Stanley Cup Finals was played between the defending champion Edmonton Oilers in their third-straight Finals appearance and the Philadelphia Flyers. The Oilers would win the best-of-seven series four games to one, to win their second Stanley Cup. It was also the sixth straight Finals of...
.
1985–88 (ESPN)
ESPN would next broadcast the NHL in , taking over from the USA Network in the American national cable television rights. ESPN aired approximately 33 weekly (Thursdays until the end of the National Football LeagueNational Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
season, then Sundays, both evenings at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time
Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
), nationally televised (albeit, subject to blackout
Blackout (broadcasting)
Blackout usually relates to the broadcasting of sports events, television programming, that is prohibited in a certain media market.The purpose is theoretically to generate more revenue by obliging certain actions from fans, either by making them buy tickets or watch other games on TV...
) regular season games a year (as well as the All-Star Game and entire Stanley Cup Finals
Stanley Cup Finals
The Stanley Cup Finals is the championship series to determine the winner of the Stanley Cup, emblematic of the professional club championship of ice hockey. Although the Cup itself has existed since 1893, an annual championship series between professional teams was not established until 1913...
). Sam Rosen
Sam Rosen (sportscaster)
Sam Rosen is an American sportscaster, best known as the primary play-by-play announcer for the New York Rangers games on MSG. On June 8, 2008, Rosen was inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame....
, Mike Emrick
Mike Emrick
Michael "Doc" Emrick, is an American sports commentator noted mostly for his work in ice hockey. Emrick is currently the lead announcer for NHL national telecasts on both NBC and Versus...
, and Ken Wilson, served as the play-by-play men while Mickey Redmond and Bill Clement were the color commentators. Tom Mees
Tom Mees
Thomas E. Mees at Southington, Connecticut, was an American sports broadcaster specializing in ice hockey.-Early life and career:...
meanwhile, was the studio host. ESPN would ultimately go on another hiatus (lasting through the end of the season) from the National Hockey League following the season, when SportsChannel America outbid them.
1988–89 (SportsChannel America)
Taking over for ESPNESPN National Hockey Night
ESPN National Hockey Night was ESPN's weekly television broadcasts of National Hockey League regular season games and coverage of playoff games, broadcast from 1992 to 2004...
, SportsChannel's contract paid $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
51 million ($17 million per year) over three years, more than double what ESPN had paid ($24 million) for the previous three years. SportsChannel America managed to get a fourth NHL season for just $5 million.
Unfortunately, SportsChannel America
SportsChannel America
SportsChannel America was a cable television network operated by Cablevision. It was the country's first regional sports network, and thus an important ancestor to many of the United States' regional sports outlets, especially Fox Sports Net and Comcast SportsNet. SportsChannel New York was the...
was only available in a few major markets, and reached only a 1/3 of the households that ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
did at the time. SportsChannel America was seen in fewer than 10 million households. In comparison, by the 1991–92 season, ESPN was available in 60.5 million homes whereas SportsChannel America was available in only 25 million. Since SportsChannel Philadelphia
SportsChannel Philadelphia
SportsChannel Philadelphia was a regional sports network that served the Philadelphia area during the 1990s. The network was owned by Cablevision along with its sister-network PRISM and was part of SportsChannel America. Games from Philadelphia's sports teams were split between the two networks...
did not air until January 1990
1990 in television
For the American TV schedule, see: 1990-91 United States network television schedule.The year 1990 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1990.-Events:-Debuts:-1950s:...
, PRISM (owned by Rainbow Media, the owners of SportsChannel, at the time) picked up the 1989 Stanley Cup Finals
1989 Stanley Cup Finals
The 1989 Stanley Cup Final was between the Calgary Flames and the Montreal Canadiens, the top two teams during the 1988–89 NHL regular season. , this is the most recent time that the first two seeds met in the Stanley Cup Final, as the New Jersey Devils had one win less than the Detroit Red Wings...
.
SportsChannel America would televise about 80–100 games a season (whereas ESPN aired about 33 in the 1987–88 season). Whereas the previous deal with ESPN called for only one nationally televised game a week, SportsChannel America televised hockey two nights a week in NHL cities and three nights a week elsewhere.
In 1989
1989 in television
For the American TV schedule, see: 1989–90 United States network television schedule.The year 1989 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1989.-Events:-Debuts:-1950s:...
, SportsChannel America provided the first ever American coverage of the NHL Draft
1989 NHL Entry Draft
The 1989 NHL Entry Draft was held on June 17 at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota. Some believe that the Detroit Red Wings' 1989 draft was the most successful ever, with 5,721 total NHL games played by the players selected.-Selections by round:...
.
In September 1989, SportsChannel America covered the Washington Capitals
Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Since their founding in 1974, "The Caps" have won one conference championship to reach the 1998 Stanley Cup...
training camp in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and pre-season
Season (sports)
In an organized sports league, a season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session. For example, in Major League Baseball, one season lasts approximately from April 1 through October 1; in Association football, it is generally from August until May In an...
tour of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. The Capitals were joined by the Stanley Cup champion Calgary Flames
Calgary Flames
The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is the third major-professional ice hockey team to represent the city of Calgary, following the...
, who held training camp in Prague, Czechoslovakia and then ventured to the Soviet Union. Each team played four games against Soviet National League clubs. Games were played in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, Leningrad
Leningrad
Leningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...
, Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
and Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
. The NHL clubs finished with a combined 6–2 record against the top Soviet teams, including the Red Army
HC CSKA Moscow
HC CSKA Moscow is a Russian ice hockey club that plays in the Kontinental Hockey League. It is referred to in the West as "Central Red Army" or the "Red Army Team" for its past affiliation with the Soviet Army, popularly known as the Red Army...
club and Dynamo Moscow
HC Dynamo Moscow
HC Dynamo Moscow was a Russian professional ice hockey club based in Moscow. They were members of the Bobrov Division in the Kontinental Hockey League...
. Five of the eight contests were televised by SportsChannel America.
SportsChannel America was the exclusive broadcaster of the 1989 All-Star Game
40th National Hockey League All-Star Game
The 40th National Hockey League All-Star Game was held in the Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton, Alberta, home to the Edmonton Oilers, on February 7, 1989.- The return of Wayne Gretzky :...
.
Many regular-season games were actually simulcasts of games produced for local telecast by regional cable sports networks that carried the broadcasts.
1990–92 (NBC and SportsChannel America)
In 199041st National Hockey League All-Star Game
The 41st National Hockey League All-Star Game was held in Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, home to the Pittsburgh Penguins, on January 21, 1990. The game saw the team of all-stars from the Wales conference defeat the Campbell conference all-stars 12–7...
, SportsChannel America covered the first ever NHL Skills Competition and Heroes of Hockey game. To accommodate the altered activities, the game itself was played on a Sunday afternoon instead of a Tuesday night, as was the case in previous years. This allowed American broadcaster NBC to air the game live across the United States - marking (surprisingly) the first time that a national audience would see Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Douglas Gretzky, CC is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. Nicknamed "The Great One", he is generally regarded as the best player in the history of the National Hockey League , and has been called "the greatest hockey player ever" by many sportswriters,...
and Mario Lemieux
Mario Lemieux
Mario Lemieux, OC, CQ is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He is acknowledged to be one of the best players of all time. He played 17 seasons as a forward for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League between 1984 and 2006...
play. Referees and other officials were also wired with microphones in this game, as were the two head coaches. Finally, NBC also was allowed to conduct interviews with players during stoppages in play, to the chagrin of the Hockey Night in Canada crew, whose attempts to do likewise were repeatedly denied by the league in past years.
From 1990–1994, NBC only televised the National Hockey League All-Star Game
National Hockey League All-Star Game
The National Hockey League All-Star Game is an exhibition ice hockey game that is traditionally held at the midway point of the regular season of the National Hockey League , with many of the league's star players playing against each other...
. Marv Albert
Marv Albert
Marv Albert is an American television and radio sportscaster. Honored for his work as a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, he is commonly referred to as "the voice of basketball." From 1967–2004, he was also known as "the voice of the New York Knicks."Including Super Bowl XLII, Marv has called...
and John Davidson
John Davidson (hockey player)
John Davidson , is the president of hockey operations of the St. Louis Blues and a former goaltender for the St. Louis Blues and New York Rangers of the National Hockey League. He is also well-known as a long-time hockey broadcaster...
called the action, while Mike Emrick
Mike Emrick
Michael "Doc" Emrick, is an American sports commentator noted mostly for his work in ice hockey. Emrick is currently the lead announcer for NHL national telecasts on both NBC and Versus...
served as an ice-level reporter in 1990
41st National Hockey League All-Star Game
The 41st National Hockey League All-Star Game was held in Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, home to the Pittsburgh Penguins, on January 21, 1990. The game saw the team of all-stars from the Wales conference defeat the Campbell conference all-stars 12–7...
. Meanwhile, Bill Clement served as an ice-level reporter in 1991
42nd National Hockey League All-Star Game
The 42nd National Hockey League All-Star Game took place in Chicago Stadium, home of the Chicago Blackhawks, on January 19, 1991.-Commissioner's Choice:...
, 1992
43rd National Hockey League All-Star Game
The 43rd NHL All-Star Game featured 16 goals as the Campbell Conference defeated the Wales Conference, 10–6. Brett Hull was named as the All-Star M.V.P...
and 1994
45th National Hockey League All-Star Game
The 45th National Hockey League All-Star Game was held in New York City, New York, on January 22, 1994.- Super Skills Competition :The Western Conference would win the Skills Competition for the second straight season...
. Hockey Night in Canadas Ron MacLean
Ron MacLean
Ronald Harold "Ron" MacLean is a Canadian sportscaster for the CBC who is best known as the host of Hockey Night in Canada.-Early life and career:...
also served as an ice-level reporter, and was the lone correspondent for NBC for the 44th National Hockey League All-Star Game
44th National Hockey League All-Star Game
The 44th National Hockey League All-Star Game was the last All-Star game to take place at the Montreal Forum on February 6, 1993. Before the start of the game there was a tribute to Mario Lemieux, who was in attendance, but could not play due to his treatments for Hodgkin's Disease...
in 1993.
In 1991
42nd National Hockey League All-Star Game
The 42nd National Hockey League All-Star Game took place in Chicago Stadium, home of the Chicago Blackhawks, on January 19, 1991.-Commissioner's Choice:...
, NBC broke away from the telecast in the third period to televise a briefing from the Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
involving the Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
. SportsChannnel America included the missing coverage in a replay of NBC's telecast.
There were reports about NBC making an arrangement to air four to eight regular season games for the 1992-1993 season but nothing materialized. NHL officials had arranged a 4-8 game, time-buy package on NBC, but that fell through when the NHL wanted assurance that all NBC affiliates would carry the games. (Since 2006, NBC has generally gotten all but a couple of affiliates in the Top-50 markets to carry the games.) For instance, in 1990, NBC's affiliates in Atlanta
WXIA-TV
WXIA-TV, virtual channel 11.1 , is the NBC-affiliated television station in Atlanta, Georgia. Popularly known by its 11 Alive moniker, WXIA is owned by the Gannett Company in a duopoly with MyNetworkTV affiliate WATL...
, Charlotte
WCNC-TV
WCNC-TV is the NBC affiliate in Charlotte, North Carolina. It broadcasts its digital signal on UHF channel 22 and is carried on cable channel 6 on most area cable systems. It is owned by the Belo Corporation...
, Memphis
WMC-TV
WMC-TV is the NBC affiliate television station for the Memphis, Tennessee metropolitan area. The station serves roughly the western third of Tennessee, northwestern Mississippi, northeastern Arkansas and the southeastern corner of Missouri over the air on satellite and on various cable systems. Its...
, New Orleans
WDSU
WDSU, virtual channel 6, is the NBC-affiliated television station for the New Orleans, Louisiana television market. It is owned by Hearst Television, which in turn is wholly owned by the Hearst Corporation. It broadcasts on UHF digital channel 43...
, Indianapolis
WTHR
WTHR, channel 13, is a full-service television station serving the Indianapolis, Indiana metropolitan area. An affiliate of the NBC television network, its studios at 1000 N. Meridian Street anchor the south end of Indy's Television Row...
and Phoenix
KPNX
KPNX is a full-service television station serving the Phoenix, Arizona television market as the NBC affiliate. Its studios and offices are located in Phoenix and its transmitter is on South Mountain in Phoenix but it is licensed to the suburb of Mesa. It is owned by the Gannett Company which also...
didn't clear the game. As a matter of fact, roughly 15% of the nation didn't clear the game. More to the point, NBC's coverage of the 1992 All-Star Game aired on the independent station
Independent station
An independent station is in the category of television terminology used to describe a television station broadcasting in the United States or Canada that is not affiliated with any television network....
WTLK in Atlanta.
1992–94 (ABC, NBC and ESPN)
From its debut in the 1992–93 NHL season until the 2001–02 NHL season, weekly regular season games were broadcast on ESPN on Sundays (between NFLESPN Sunday Night Football
ESPN Sunday Night Football is the ESPN cable network's weekly television broadcasts of Sunday evening National Football League games. The first ESPN Sunday night broadcast occurred on November 8, 1987, while the last one aired on January 1, 2006....
and baseball
ESPN Major League Baseball
ESPN Major League Baseball is a promotion of Major League Baseball on ESPN and ESPN2, with simulcasts on ESPNHD or ESPN2HD. ESPN's MLB coverage debuted on April 9, 1990 with three Opening Day telecasts. ESPN Major League Baseball is guaranteed to remain on air until 2013.The title is derived from...
seasons), Wednesdays, and Fridays, and were titled Sunday/Wednesday/Friday Night Hockey. Prior to the 1999, these telecasts were non-exclusive, meaning they were blacked out in the regions of the competing teams, and an alternate game was shown in these affected areas.
From the 1992–1993 season to the 1993–1994 season, ABC televised six weekly regional telecasts on Sunday afternoons beginning in March (or the last three Sundays of the regular season). This marked the first time that regular season broadcasts of National Hockey League games were aired on American network television since 1975 (when NBC was the NHL's American broadcast television partner). ABC would then televise three weeks worth of playoff games (or the first three Sundays of the playoffs). They didn't televise the Stanley Cup Finals
Stanley Cup Finals
The Stanley Cup Finals is the championship series to determine the winner of the Stanley Cup, emblematic of the professional club championship of ice hockey. Although the Cup itself has existed since 1893, an annual championship series between professional teams was not established until 1913...
which instead, were televised nationally by ESPN
ESPN National Hockey Night
ESPN National Hockey Night was ESPN's weekly television broadcasts of National Hockey League regular season games and coverage of playoff games, broadcast from 1992 to 2004...
and locally by Prime Ticket
Fox Sports Net West/Prime Ticket
Fox Sports West and Prime Ticket are Los Angeles-based regional sports networks serving Southern California, Central California, southern Nevada, and Hawaii...
in Los Angeles
1992–93 Los Angeles Kings season
The 1992–93 Los Angeles Kings season was the Kings' 26th season. The season involved appearing in the Stanley Cup. During their playoff run, the Los Angeles Kings played against Canadian teams all throughout the playoffs .-Offseason:In the 1992 NHL Entry Draft, the Kings chose Justin Hocking with...
(1993
1993 Stanley Cup Finals
The 1993 Stanley Cup Final series was contested by the Los Angeles Kings and the Montreal Canadiens to decide the NHL championship for the 1992–93 season. It was the first appearance in the Final for the Kings, and the 34th for Montreal, their first since the 1989 Final. The Canadiens won the...
) and MSG
MSG Network
The MSG Network, now shortened to simply MSG, is a regional cable television and radio network serving the Mid-Atlantic United States. It is focused on New York City sports teams...
in New York
1993–94 New York Rangers season
The 1993–94 New York Rangers season was the 68th season for the franchise. The highlight of the season was winning the Stanley Cup and hosting the NHL All-Star Game...
(1994
1994 Stanley Cup Finals
The 1994 Stanley Cup Final was a best-of-seven playoff series contested between the Eastern Conference champion New York Rangers and Western Conference champion Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League...
). Games televised on ABC were not subject to blackout
Blackout (broadcasting)
Blackout usually relates to the broadcasting of sports events, television programming, that is prohibited in a certain media market.The purpose is theoretically to generate more revenue by obliging certain actions from fans, either by making them buy tickets or watch other games on TV...
.
These broadcasts (just as the case was with the 1999–2004 package) were essentially, time buys
Brokered programming
Brokered programming is a form of broadcast content in which the show's producer pays a radio or television station for air time, rather than exchanging programming for pay or the opportunity to play spot commercials...
by ESPN. The main difference is that the graphics were ABC Sports' instead of the ones seen on ESPN National Hockey Night
ESPN National Hockey Night
ESPN National Hockey Night was ESPN's weekly television broadcasts of National Hockey League regular season games and coverage of playoff games, broadcast from 1992 to 2004...
. In later years, the roles would be reversed as ESPN's graphical style would be used with the exception of intermission reports. ABC even used ESPN's theme music for the 1992–1994 coverage.
1995–99 (Fox and ESPN)
While ESPN regained the national hockey contract in 1992–93 (as previously mentioned), they were joined by the Fox network in 1994–95. Fox televised between five and eleven regionally distributed games on Saturday or Sunday afternoons during the regular season, where anywhere from three to six games ran concurrently.For Fox's coverage of the All-Star Game, Conference Finals, and Stanley Cup Finals, the games (which were national telecasts) were hosted from the arena. The 1996 and 1997 All-Star Games were televised in prime time
Prime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
.
Fox had put much effort into trying to stimulate American interests in the game, but had achieved little success. One of their schemes was to make the hockey puck
Hockey puck
A puck is a disk used in various games serving the same functions as a ball does in ball games. The best-known use of pucks is in ice hockey, a major international sport.- Etymology :The origin of the word "puck" is obscure...
more visible by highlighting it on television with a blue comet, using FoxTrax
FoxTrax
FoxTrax was a specialized ice hockey puck with internal electronics that allowed its position to be tracked designed for NHL telecasts on the Fox television network...
. When a slapshot
Slapshot
A slapshot in ice hockey is the hardest shot. It has four stages which are executed in one fluid motion:# The player winds up his hockey stick by raising it behind his body, sometimes raising the blade to shoulder height or higher.# Next the player violently "slaps" the ice slightly behind the...
over 70 miles per hour was made, the puck would leave a red comet
Comet
A comet is an icy small Solar System body that, when close enough to the Sun, displays a visible coma and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena are both due to the effects of solar radiation and the solar wind upon the nucleus of the comet...
trail on the television. This idea was met with great derision in Canada, especially to diehard hockey fans, and also met with little success in the United States.
The main broadcast team for Fox was Mike Emrick
Mike Emrick
Michael "Doc" Emrick, is an American sports commentator noted mostly for his work in ice hockey. Emrick is currently the lead announcer for NHL national telecasts on both NBC and Versus...
and John Davidson, while regionally distributed games were handled by a variety of announcers. In the first four years of the deal, James Brown
James Brown (TV personality)
James Brown , commonly called "J.B.", is an American sports announcer known for being the host of The NFL Today on CBS and Inside the NFL on Showtime. He is the former host of the FOX network's NFL pregame show, Fox NFL Sunday.-Early life:Born on February 25, 1951 in Washington, D.C. to John and...
and Dave Maloney
Dave Maloney
David Wilfred Maloney is a former professional ice hockey defenceman who played eleven seasons in the National Hockey League from 1974–75 until 1984–85....
hosted the show from the Fox studio in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. In the final year, it was Suzy Kolber
Suzy Kolber
Suzanne Lisa "Suzy" Kolber is a football sideline reporter, co-producer, and sportscaster for ESPN. She was one of the original anchors of ESPN2 when it launched in 1993. Three years later, she left ESPN2 to join Fox Sports, but rejoined ESPN in late 1999....
and Terry Crisp.
Fox split coverage of the Stanley Cup Finals
Stanley Cup Finals
The Stanley Cup Finals is the championship series to determine the winner of the Stanley Cup, emblematic of the professional club championship of ice hockey. Although the Cup itself has existed since 1893, an annual championship series between professional teams was not established until 1913...
with ESPN
ESPN National Hockey Night
ESPN National Hockey Night was ESPN's weekly television broadcasts of National Hockey League regular season games and coverage of playoff games, broadcast from 1992 to 2004...
. Game 1 of the 1995 Stanley Cup Finals
1995 Stanley Cup Finals
The 1995 Stanley Cup Final NHL championship series was contested by the New Jersey Devils and the Detroit Red Wings. This was the first of nine consecutive finals with American franchises exclusively. New Jersey was making the franchise's first-ever appearance in the Final, while Detroit returned...
was the first Finals game shown on network television since 1980 and the first in prime time
Prime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
since 1973. Games 1, 5, and 7 were usually scheduled to be televised by Fox; Games 2, 3, 4, and 6 by ESPN. However from 1995 to 1998, the Finals were all four game sweeps; 1999 ended in six games. The consequence was that - except for 1995, when Fox did televise Game 4 - the decisive game was never on network television. Perhaps in recognition of this, Games 3–7 were always televised by ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
in the succeeding broadcast agreement between the NHL and ABC Sports/ESPN
ESPN National Hockey Night
ESPN National Hockey Night was ESPN's weekly television broadcasts of National Hockey League regular season games and coverage of playoff games, broadcast from 1992 to 2004...
.
The deal between Fox and the league ended when the NHL announced a new TV deal with ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
that also called for ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
to become the new network TV
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
partner. Fox challenged that it had not been given a chance to match the network component of the deal, but ABC ultimately prevailed (perhaps barring a large NHL ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
increase).
2000-04 (ABC, ESPN and ESPN2)
In August 1998, ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2ESPN2
ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...
signed a five year deal worth a total of approximately $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
600 million (or $120 million per year).
This time around, ABC televised four to five weeks worth of regional games on Saturday afternoons beginning in January. ABC also televised the National Hockey League All-Star Game
National Hockey League All-Star Game
The National Hockey League All-Star Game is an exhibition ice hockey game that is traditionally held at the midway point of the regular season of the National Hockey League , with many of the league's star players playing against each other...
and Games 3–7 of the Stanley Cup Finals in prime time
Prime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
.
Following the 2003–04 season, ABC/ESPN was only willing to renew for two years at $60 million per year. ABC executives later conceded that they overpaid for the 1999–2004 deal, so their offer to renew the TV rights was lower in 2004.
2005-07 (NBC and OLN/Versus)
Before the 2004–05 lockout, the NHL had reached two separate deals with NBC and ESPN. The NBC deal stipulated that the network would pay the league no rights fees - an unheard of practice to that point. NBC's deal included six regular season windows, seven postseason broadcasts and Games 3–7 of the Stanley Cup Finals in primetime. The contracts were to commence when the lockout ended. The NBC deal expired after the 2006–07 season, and NBC had picked up the option to renew for the 2007–08 season (Just like the AFL/NBC agreement, which the network did not renew in 2006). The NHL and NBC share in revenues from advertising.ESPN had a two year deal that they opted out of after the lockout, leaving the NHL without a cable partner. In August 2005, Comcast
Comcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
(who owns the Philadelphia Flyers
Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
) paid $70 million a year for three years to put games (54 or more NHL games each season under the agreement, generally on Monday and Tuesday nights) on the OLN network, now known as Versus
NHL on Versus
The NHL on Versus was the former branding used for National Hockey League games broadcast on Versus. Versus became the NHL's cable partner in the United States beginning in the 2005-06 season from previous partner ESPN, providing coverage of regular season games, playoff games, and select games...
. Due to the abbreviated off-season, the 2005–06 schedule did not offer OLN exclusivity, which they received in 2006–07. Versus also covers many playoff games and exclusively airs two games of the Stanley Cup Finals.
Included Versus' schedule is a "Game of the Week" for selected dates. In this "Exclusive" time period, which was created in 2006–07, no other National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
game may be broadcast in the United States and, in most cases, no other game is scheduled unless it involves two Canadian teams.
Regional carriers are allowed to air games outside Versus' exclusive window. This is usually for about 2 hours and 30 minutes.
Like NBC, games aired on The NHL on Versus usually feature teams based in the United States, with the exception of playoffs. In the case of playoffs, Versus will occasionally simulcast TSN or CBC
Hockey Night in Canada
Hockey Night in Canada is the branding used for CBC Sports' presentations of the National Hockey League...
, although this mostly occurred in 2005–06; Versus has since made a greater commitment to offering its own production whenever possible. In 2010 they still used a few Comcast SportsNet
Comcast SportsNet
Comcast SportsNet is a group of regional sports networks in the United States primarily owned by the Comcast cable television company....
feeds.
The selection of teams for The NHL on Versus is somewhat more diverse (possibly due to there being more game slots to air) than its broadcast partner, NBC. Because of inordinately high ratings in the Buffalo
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
and Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
markets, Versus has made note to air a significant number of games featuring the Buffalo Sabres
Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League .-Founding and early success: 1970-71—1980-81:...
and Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the first expansion teams during the league's original...
. The New York Rangers
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the borough of Manhattan in New York, New York, USA. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the...
, Philadelphia Flyers
Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
, Detroit Red Wings
Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League , and are one of the Original Six teams of the NHL, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, New York...
, and Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...
also get selected regularly, frequently at or near the maximum of nine appearances per team during the regular season.
Any regular season game selected by Versus airs exclusively on that network. During the playoffs, Versus' first-round and second-round games may be subject to blackout in the participating teams' regional markets (although they have exclusivity for two second-round games per series). Versus regains full national coverage for its Conference and Stanley Cup Final telecasts.
In 2006
2006 Stanley Cup Playoffs
The 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs for the National Hockey League championship began on April 21, 2006, following the 2005–06 regular season. The sixteen teams that qualified, seeded one through eight from each conference, played best-of-seven series with re-seeding after the conference quarterfinals...
, NBC televised Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Sabres
2005–06 Buffalo Sabres season
The 2005–06 Buffalo Sabres season not only saw the team advance to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since the 2000–01 season, but saw them advance to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals before losing to the eventual Stanley Cup champions, the Carolina Hurricanes.The Sabres were one...
and the Carolina Hurricanes
2005–06 Carolina Hurricanes season
The 2005–06 Carolina Hurricanes season was the franchise's 34th season, 27th season in the National Hockey League and 9th as the Hurricanes. On April 7, the Hurricanes scored three short-handed goals in a 4-3 win over the Washington Capitals. The Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup to win the second...
on the same day as the Preakness. Before the game, Bill Clement advised the audience that in the event that the game went into overtime, it would be televised on Versus, or OLN as it was known at the time. The Sabres won the game in regulation.
For the 2006–07 season, NBC broadcast three regional games per weekend of coverage during the regular season. They also scheduled ten coverage windows during the playoffs (not including Stanley Cup Finals). The additional broadcasts were expected to replace the Arena Football League, which NBC dropped after the 2006 season
2006 Arena Football League season
The 2006 Arena Football League season was the 20th season of the Arena Football League. The league champions were the Chicago Rush, who defeated the Orlando Predators in ArenaBowl XX....
as previously mentioned. NBC also produced two games per week in high definition, up from one in 2005–06.
2007–09
The newly titled NHL on NBC Game of the Week premiered for a second season January 13, 2007 with three regional games (LA2006–07 Los Angeles Kings season
The 2006–07 Los Angeles Kings season was the 40th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 5, 1967. This season marked the beginning of a rebuilding phase, as the team hired Marc Crawford as their new head coach, former San Jose Sharks General Manager Dean...
vs. STL
2006–07 St. Louis Blues season
The 2006–07 St. Louis Blues season, its 40th in the league, saw the team attempting to improve on the 2005–06 season, in which it had finished with the worst record in the National Hockey League ....
, BOS
2006–07 Boston Bruins season
The 2006–07 Boston Bruins season, the franchise's 83rd, saw the team working toward improving on a 2005–06 season which saw them finish with the third-worst record in the Eastern Conference.-Offseason:...
vs. NYR
2006–07 New York Rangers season
The 2006–07 New York Rangers season was the National Hockey League franchise's 80th season of play and their 81st season overall. It saw the team attempting to build off their surprising run into the playoffs the previous season....
, PIT
2006–07 Pittsburgh Penguins season
The Pittsburgh Penguins 2006–07 Season was ripe with potential, as the team featured one of the largest groups of young stars in the National Hockey League. Evgeni Malkin, the second overall pick in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, defected from Russia prior to the season and joined the team. He...
vs. PHI
2006–07 Philadelphia Flyers season
The 2006–07 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Flyers' 40th season in the National Hockey League .The 2006–07 NHL season turned out to be the worst in franchise history...
) at 2:00 p.m. ET
North American Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
. Games started at various times, ranging from 12:30 to 3:30 during the season (this variation primarily resulted from NBC's commitments to the PGA Tour
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour is the organizer of the main men's professional golf tours in the United States and North America...
and other programming).
It was also rumored that the league wanted to stage (and for NBC to broadcast) an annual outdoor game (specifically, the New York Rangers
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the borough of Manhattan in New York, New York, USA. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the...
vs. the New York Islanders
New York Islanders
The New York Islanders are a professional ice hockey team based in Uniondale, New York. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
at Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium was a stadium located in The Bronx in New York City, New York. It was the home ballpark of the New York Yankees from 1923 to 1973 and from 1976 to 2008. The stadium hosted 6,581 Yankees regular season home games during its 85-year history. It was also the former home of the New York...
). Having lost rights to the Gator Bowl
Gator Bowl
The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida. Held continuously since 1946, it is the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first one ever televised nationally...
on New Year's Day
New Year's Day
New Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in ancient Rome...
to CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, the possibility of doing a New Year's Day game increased, assuming that NBC would renew its broadcast contract. An outdoor game (instead involving the Buffalo Sabres
2007–08 Buffalo Sabres season
The 2007–08 Buffalo Sabres season began on October 5, 2007. It was the Buffalo Sabres' 38th season in the National Hockey League.Prior to the season, the Sabres lost their co-captains of the previous two seasons, Danny Briere and Chris Drury. Briere and Drury were signed as free agents on July 1...
and Pittsburgh Penguins
2007–08 Pittsburgh Penguins season
The 2007–08 Pittsburgh Penguins season was the franchise's 41st season in the National Hockey League . Their regular season began on October 5, 2007, against the Carolina Hurricanes and concluded on April 6, 2008, against the rival Philadelphia Flyers...
) did end up being added for the 2007–2008 season.
The NHL on NBC moved to Sundays after its season premiere for the final eight dates of the season. NBC's nine games amounted to the league's most extensive U.S. broadcast television coverage since 1998, during Fox's tenure.
On May 19, 2007, during the Stanley Cup playoffs
2007 Stanley Cup Playoffs
The 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs of the National Hockey League began on April 11, 2007. The sixteen teams that qualified, eight from each conference, played best-of-7 series for conference quarterfinals, semifinals and championships, and then the conference champions played a best-of-7 series for the...
, NBC angered many fans and journalists when it pre-empted coverage of the overtime period of the tied Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Ottawa Senators
2006–07 Ottawa Senators season
The 2006–07 Ottawa Senators season saw the team rebound from a disappointing early exit from the 2006 playoffs. The team made it all the way to the Stanley Cup finals before losing to the Anaheim Ducks. After numerous personnel changes at the start of the season, the team had a poor record until...
and Buffalo Sabres
2006–07 Buffalo Sabres season
The 2006–07 Buffalo Sabres season began with the team attempting to rebound from a disappointing end to the 2005–06 season, in which the Sabres advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals before losing in seven games to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes.With the best...
, instead going directly to pre-race coverage of the 2007 Preakness Stakes
2007 Preakness Stakes
The 2007 Preakness Stakes was the 132nd running of the Preakness Stakes. The race took place on May 19, 2007. It was a photo finish between Curlin and Street Sense, which was won by Curlin by a head, the shortest margin of victory in Preakness history...
(a horse racing broadcast generally contains about two hours of pre-race coverage, with the actual races lasting two or three minutes). Coverage of the overtime period was shunted to Versus
NHL on Versus
The NHL on Versus was the former branding used for National Hockey League games broadcast on Versus. Versus became the NHL's cable partner in the United States beginning in the 2005-06 season from previous partner ESPN, providing coverage of regular season games, playoff games, and select games...
, the league's cable partner, although viewers in the Buffalo and Rochester markets were able to continue watching the game on WGRZ
WGRZ-TV
WGRZ, virtual channel 2 , is the NBC-affiliated television station in Buffalo, New York. Its studio is located at 259 Delaware Avenue in downtown Buffalo. Its transmitter is located at 11530 Warner Hill Road in South Wales, New York...
and WHEC
WHEC-TV
WHEC-TV, channel 10, is an NBC-affiliated television station located in Rochester, New York, USA. WHEC-TV is owned by Saint Paul, Minnesota-based Hubbard Broadcasting, and broadcasts from a studio/office facility on East Avenue in Downtown Rochester...
, their local NBC affiliates.
The move was originally seen not only as a snub of small-market teams (such as the Sabres), but of hockey in general. However, NBC and the NHL later revealed that the Preakness deal had been made several years before and contained mandatory advertising commitments during the pre-race build-up. Both sides could have agreed that the entire game would air only on Versus or begin earlier in the day, but the NHL wanted at least one Eastern Conference Finals game to air on NBC, and said that it does not schedule with the assumption that games will go into overtime. Moreover, an earlier start time could not be arranged because the broadcast window was fixed in advance, and both the NHL and NBC needed the flexibility to pick the Western Conference Finals for that window if they so desired.
On March 27, 2007, NBC Sports and the NHL agreed to a one-year contract extension with a network option for a second year.
Beginning in 2007–08, NBC has "Flex Scheduling", similar to NFL broadcasts
NBC Sunday Night Football
NBC Sunday Night Football is a weekly television broadcast of Sunday evening National Football League games on NBC that began airing on Sunday, August 6, 2006 with the pre-season opening Hall of Fame Game. Al Michaels serves as the play-by-play announcer, with Cris Collinsworth as the color...
. The league selects at least three potential games at the start of the season for most of NBC's regular-season coverage dates. Thirteen days prior to the game, NBC selects one to air as its Game of the Week. The other two games move outside of NBC's broadcast window and return to teams' regional carriers. Since the league made network coverage a priority in the 1990s, regionalized coverage had been the norm; NBC is the first network to try regularly presenting one game to the entire nation. Additionally, studio segments now originate from the game site instead of 30 Rockefeller Center. All games are produced in high definition.
2008-present
On New Years Day, January 1, 2008, NBC began its 2007–08 schedule with an outdoor hockey game (the AMP NHL Winter Classic) between the Buffalo Sabres2007–08 Buffalo Sabres season
The 2007–08 Buffalo Sabres season began on October 5, 2007. It was the Buffalo Sabres' 38th season in the National Hockey League.Prior to the season, the Sabres lost their co-captains of the previous two seasons, Danny Briere and Chris Drury. Briere and Drury were signed as free agents on July 1...
and Pittsburgh Penguins
2007–08 Pittsburgh Penguins season
The 2007–08 Pittsburgh Penguins season was the franchise's 41st season in the National Hockey League . Their regular season began on October 5, 2007, against the Carolina Hurricanes and concluded on April 6, 2008, against the rival Philadelphia Flyers...
at Ralph Wilson Stadium
Ralph Wilson Stadium
Ralph Wilson Stadium is a football stadium, located in the town of Orchard Park, a suburb of Buffalo, New York. It is the home for the Buffalo Bills, of the NFL...
. The game went head to head with some of the New Year's Day college football bowl games, but none of the feature Bowl Championship Series
Bowl Championship Series
The Bowl Championship Series is a selection system that creates five bowl match-ups involving ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , including an opportunity for the top two to compete in the BCS National Championship Game.The BCS relies on a combination of...
games. While never expected to beat or directly compete with football ratings the timing was designed to take advantage of the large audience flipping between channels to watch the different bowl games. It was the first such game to be televised live by an American network and the NHL's first outdoor regular season game since the Edmonton Oilers
2003–04 Edmonton Oilers season
The 2003–04 Edmonton Oilers season was the Oilers' 25th season in the NHL, and they were coming off a 36–26–11–9 record in 2002–03, earning 92 points, and returned to the playoffs after a 1 year absence...
and Montreal Canadiens
2003–04 Montreal Canadiens season
The 2003–04 Montreal Canadiens season was the team's 95th season of play, 87th in the National Hockey League. The Canadiens returned to the playoffs this season and made it to the Eastern Conference semifinals after winning the Eastern Conference quarterfinals against the Boston Bruins 4 games to 3...
played the Heritage Classic
Heritage Classic
The Heritage Classic was an outdoor ice hockey game played on November 22, 2003, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, between the Edmonton Oilers and the Montreal Canadiens. It was the first National Hockey League game to be played outdoors as a part of regular season play...
, which aired on CBC
Hockey Night in Canada
Hockey Night in Canada is the branding used for CBC Sports' presentations of the National Hockey League...
. CBC also showed the 2008 outdoor game. Although originally maligned as a mere publicity stunt by some in the media, the 2008 Winter Classic drew a 2.6 Nielsen rating in the U.S. (or about 2.9 million viewers), the highest rating for a regular-season contest since February 1996, when Fox was the league's network partner. By comparison, CBS received a 2.7 rating for the Gator Bowl, which also had a 1 p.m. start.
Except for New Year's Day and a day-after-Thanbksgiving broadcast beginning in 2011, all regular-season telecasts now air on Sunday afternoons.
In April 2008, NBC announced the activation of its option to retain broadcasting rights for the 2008–2009 season. NBC's scheduling will be similar to the 2007–2008 season (flex scheduling for regular-season games, games three through seven of the Stanley Cup Finals, etc.) except that all (or nearly all) of the Sunday-afternoon games will begin at 12:30 p.m. Eastern time. Coverage again included an outdoor game, which was between the Detroit Red Wings
2008–09 Detroit Red Wings season
The 2008–09 Detroit Red Wings season saw the Detroit Red Wings attempt to defend their Stanley Cup title, but they were defeated by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 7 games in the Stanley Cup Finals, the team they defeated in the finals the previous season...
and the Chicago Blackhawks
2008–09 Chicago Blackhawks season
The 2008–09 Chicago Blackhawks season is the club's 83rd season in the National Hockey League . Prior to the start of the season, the Blackhawks announced that 20-year-old center Jonathan Toews would serve as the team's captain for the 2008–09 season, thus making him the 3rd-youngest player to earn...
at Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field is a baseball stadium in Chicago, Illinois, United States that has served as the home ballpark of the Chicago Cubs since 1916. It was built in 1914 as Weeghman Park for the Chicago Federal League baseball team, the Chicago Whales...
on January 1, 2009.
The NHL on NBC usually only features U.S.-based teams, except during the Stanley Cup playoffs
Stanley Cup playoffs
The Stanley Cup playoffs is an elimination tournament in the National Hockey League consisting of four rounds of best-of-seven series. Eight teams from each of the league's two conferences qualify for the playoffs based on regular season records...
when broadcasting a game involving a Canadian team might be unavoidable. NBC has the first choice of games and times on its scheduled broadcast dates. CBC and TSN are required to adjust accordingly during the playoffs, even though both pay the league substantial rights fees.
In 2008, this changed as the Montreal Canadiens
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...
was the first Canadian team featured on the NHL on NBC during the regular-season (NBC Sports' Dick Ebersol
Dick Ebersol
Duncan "Dick" Ebersol is an American television executive and a senior adviser for . He had previously been the chairman of NBC Sports, producing large scale television events such as the Olympic Games and National Football League broadcasts....
is rumored to have specifically wanted to do a game from Montreal at some point). They played the New York Rangers on February 3.
Like its predecessors, NBC frequently chooses games with a focus on about five teams (New York Rangers
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the borough of Manhattan in New York, New York, USA. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the...
, Detroit Red Wings
Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League , and are one of the Original Six teams of the NHL, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, New York...
, Philadelphia Flyers
Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
, Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the first expansion teams during the league's original...
, and Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...
). The relation has very little correlation with team success; for instance, the Anaheim Ducks
2006–07 Anaheim Ducks season
The 2006–07 Anaheim Ducks season was the 14th season played by the franchise. It was the team's first season as the Anaheim Ducks. The Ducks clinched their first Pacific Division title in team history with 110 standings points, and defeated the Ottawa Senators in the Stanley Cup Final 4 games to...
won the Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
in 2007
2007 Stanley Cup Finals
The 2007 Stanley Cup Final was a best-of-seven playoff series that determined the National Hockey League champion for the 2006–07 season. As a culmination of the 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Western Conference champion Anaheim Ducks defeated the Eastern Conference champion Ottawa Senators in...
, and the Buffalo Sabres
Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League .-Founding and early success: 1970-71—1980-81:...
made it to the conference finals in both 2006 and 2007. Those teams received one and two potential games respectively in the 2008 season, compared to the seven potential games given to the Rangers and the four games which could include the Flyers. However, no team can air more than four times during the regular-season.
The most frequently cited reasons for this relative lack of diversity are low ratings in a market (such as for Anaheim, which competes with the older Los Angeles Kings
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles, California. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
in its market) and market size (such as for Buffalo, where hockey ratings are the highest in the league, but the market itself is the smallest of any American NHL team).
NBC did also televise the 2011 NHL Winter Classic
2011 NHL Winter Classic
The 2011 NHL Winter Classic was the fourth edition of the annual outdoor ice hockey game held by the National Hockey League as a regular season game. The Pittsburgh Penguins hosted the Washington Capitals at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA on January 1, 2011 at 8:00 p.m...
between the Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the first expansion teams during the league's original...
and Washington Capitals
Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Since their founding in 1974, "The Caps" have won one conference championship to reach the 1998 Stanley Cup...
on January 1, 2011 from Pittsburgh. The Penguins become the first NHL team ever to play more than one outdoor game.
On April 19, 2011, NBC Sports and Versus announced they had reached a ten-year extension (through 2020-2021) to the television contract with the National Hockey League worth nearly 2 billion dollars over the life of the contract. As part of the announcement, the chairman of NBC Sports, Dick Ebersol
Dick Ebersol
Duncan "Dick" Ebersol is an American television executive and a senior adviser for . He had previously been the chairman of NBC Sports, producing large scale television events such as the Olympic Games and National Football League broadcasts....
announced that the Versus channel
Versus (TV channel)
Versus is a sports-oriented cable television channel in the United States. It was previously known as Outdoor Life Network and was launched on July 1, 1995, focusing on fishing, hunting, and other outdoor sports...
would be renamed "within 90 days," in order to reflect the synergy of the two networks after the Universal
NBC Universal
NBCUniversal Media, LLC is a media and entertainment company engaged in the production and marketing of entertainment, news, and information products and services to a global customer base...
-Comcast
Comcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
merger. Under this new contract, the NHL would get the following from NBC:
- A rights fee of roughly US$200,000,000 per year for the combined cable and broadcast rights, nearly triple that of the previous contract.
- An annual Thanksgiving Weekend game that will be aired on the Black Friday Shopping dayBlack Friday (shopping)Black Friday is the day following Thanksgiving Day in the United States, traditionally the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. On this day, most major retailers open extremely early, often at 4 a.m., or earlier, and offer promotional sales to kick off the shopping season, similar to Boxing...
. - The NHL Winter ClassicNHL Winter ClassicThe NHL Winter Classic is an annual event held by the National Hockey League on New Year's Day where regular-season games are played outdoors, in areas hosted by NHL teams. Though largely derived from the Heritage Classic outdoor game held in Edmonton in 2003, the Winter Classic has so far only...
remaining on NBC on New Year's Day (the 2012 edition will be played on January 2). - A national "Game of the Week".
- The annual Hockey Day in America.
- Digital rights across all platforms for any games broadcast by NBC or Versus.
- Increased coverage of Stanley CupStanley CupThe Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
Playoff games (all playoff games will be aired nationally on NBC, VersusNHL on VersusThe NHL on Versus was the former branding used for National Hockey League games broadcast on Versus. Versus became the NHL's cable partner in the United States beginning in the 2005-06 season from previous partner ESPN, providing coverage of regular season games, playoff games, and select games...
, or if necessary, another NBC-owned network). - Continued sharing of the Stanley Cup Final with Versus (NBC will air Games 1, 2, 5, 6, and 7).
While Canadian-based teams seldom are seen on NBC druing the regular-season, it is expected that a Saturday matinee on January 7, 2012 involving the Vancouver Canucks
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver, :British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The Canucks play their home games at Rogers Arena, formerly known as General Motors Place,...
meeting the defending Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...
in Boston will be on NBC, given that it is a 2011 Finals rematch.
American local/national coverage policy for Stanley Cup Finals
- 19951995 Stanley Cup FinalsThe 1995 Stanley Cup Final NHL championship series was contested by the New Jersey Devils and the Detroit Red Wings. This was the first of nine consecutive finals with American franchises exclusively. New Jersey was making the franchise's first-ever appearance in the Final, while Detroit returned...
– present: National coverage (networkTerrestrial televisionTerrestrial television is a mode of television broadcasting which does not involve satellite transmission or cables — typically using radio waves through transmitting and receiving antennas or television antenna aerials...
and cableCable televisionCable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
) exclusive. - 19811981 Stanley Cup Finals-References:...
– 19941994 Stanley Cup FinalsThe 1994 Stanley Cup Final was a best-of-seven playoff series contested between the Eastern Conference champion New York Rangers and Western Conference champion Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League...
: Local coverage permitted for all games. National coverage (cableCable televisionCable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
) not exclusive. - 19761976 Stanley Cup Finals-References:...
– 19791979 Stanley Cup FinalsThe 1979 Stanley Cup Final NHL championship series was contested by the New York Rangers and the defending champion Montreal Canadiens, making their fourth straight appearance. It was New York's first appearance since . The Canadiens would win the best-of-seven series four games to one, to win...
: National coverage on syndicated networks exclusive. - 19681968 Stanley Cup Finals-References:...
– 19751975 Stanley Cup FinalsThe 1975 Stanley Cup Final championship series was played by the Buffalo Sabres, making their first Finals appearance and the defending champion Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers would win the best-of-seven series four games to two. This was the first Final to have two non-"Original Six" teams since...
: Local coverage permitted for non-network games. National network telecasts exclusive.