NEW YORK -- For the first time in the history of the NHL, the Stanley Cup Playoffs will be broadcast in their entirety nationally (in the USA).
That was the overarching message Monday from League Commissioner Gary Bettman and NBC Sports Group Chairman Mark Lazarus in a roundtable discussion with gathered media at the NHL offices that featured NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly, NHL CEO John Collins and NBC Sports Group's Sam Flood, Seth Winter, John Miller and Jon Miller.
In the past, it was impossible to show four, or sometimes five, first-round games if they were taking place on the same night, but that's no longer the case.
All the postseason action will air on either NBC, NBC Sports Network (formerly "Versus), CNBC or the NHL Network.
"In terms of bringing our games, the quality of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, which we think is unrivaled in sports, particularly when you look at the craziness of the first round and the excitement of the first round, they're going to do it all," Bettman said. "This has been the partnership we had hoped for, envisioned, and we couldn't be more thrilled about how they work with us. They have great people who spend their waking hours worrying about us and our game, and we couldn't be more grateful to them.
"If you go back in our history, having this level of exposure, giving hockey fans everywhere in the United States an opportunity to see what's going on, especially and including outside of their markets, is unprecedented for us."
The breakdown of coverage through the opening round's first five games of each series is as follows:
* 6 games on NBC
* 20 games on NBC Sports Network
* 10 games on CNBC
* 5 games on the NHLN
How the remaining games will be dispersed throughout the networks when series go beyond five games hasn't been determined, but they will air nationally. Lazarus said when the NHL and NBC entered into their 10-year partnership that began last year, making sure every postseason game aired nationally was the top priority.
"The amount of exposure we've been able to bring with all teams to the national stage, that's an important part of our relationship," Lazarus said. "We are not just certain teams' broadcast partner -- we are all teams' broadcast partner, whether they are near or far, here or in Canada."
The playoffs get started Wednesday night with a doubleheader on NBCSN with the Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins meeting at 7:30 p.m. ET followed by the Los Angeles Kings and Vancouver Canucks at 10:30 p.m. At 8 p.m., the Detroit Red Wings will face the Nashville Predators on CNBC.
To accommodate the busier nights, NBC Sports Group has built a second set at its Stamford, Conn., studio to give fans a better intermission and postgame report. NHL Live will start the coverage at 6:30 p.m. ET on all game nights.
It's part of a plan to not only serve viewers during the first round, but get them prepared for the second round, too, which will be broadcast exclusively over NBC and NHLN in the United States.
Unless you live in the US, or have one of those illicit US satellite setups, you'll probably have to watch the Vancouver-LA series on the internet.
Wednesday's first game will be carried on the NBC Sports Network, the former Versus cable channel, which is legally only available within US borders. However there are a number of ad-festooned internet sites which will provide the US network feed.
American hockey coverage makes babies cry.......shockingly out of touch with the game's natural beauty, and more concerned with creating NFL-style "hype" to sell the game, rather than letting the game sell itself.
Still love HNIC in the playoffs. TSN is getting better, but for now...nobody does it better than HNIC.
I don't mind Sportsnet if it's a local game (Flames, Oilers, etc.)
I will watch TSN/CBC if it's necessary and I can't find a U.S. telecast anywhere else.
Otherwise, I will pick the NBC feed hands down when available. After Versus rebranded and NBC cleaned up their graphics it became a lot more cleaner.
Besides, lets face it when CTV/TSN takes over all the games you know they'll pick up the U.S. feed and simulcast the finals (IF they even air 'em on CTV). I'm not talking about quality of broadcast, I'm talking about simulcast opportunities which, as we all know, they are positively amped about.
Ironically, it appears NBC hasn't sent its own broadcasters to Vancouver for at least the first two games of the playoffs. Instead they're just picking up Jim Hughson's call on the CBC, i.e. covering the games "on the cheap."
It will be interesting to see if that changes when the games are being played in their own back yard.
Ironically, it appears NBC hasn't sent its own broadcasters to Vancouver for at least the first two games of the playoffs. Instead they're just picking up Jim Hughson's call on the CBC, i.e. covering the games "on the cheap."
It will be interesting to see if that changes when the games are being played in their own back yard.
TSN also does not send the crew to St.Louis-San Jose and Florida-New Jersey series. Is that cheap too
NBC continues to cover the NHL playoffs on the cheap.
Even though tonight's Canucks-Kings game is in Los Angeles, the NBC Sports Network is carrying the CBC's Hockey Night in Canada telecast, with Jim Hughson on the call.
FS West aired the game on Sunday with their own crew - some of the regional sports networks still have some playoff rights, up to the first round (some of which are owned by NBCUniversal, including Comcast Sportsnet).
I presume NBC couldn't get full access to Staples Center.
Home
Calendar
Search
Register
Login
Logged
