We have this press release from the NBC Sports Group talking about the start of its new 10 year contract with the National Hockey League. Overall, over 100 games will be aired among NBC Sports and Versus/NBC Sports Network. NBC starts a “Black Friday” game on the day after Thanksgiving and it will continue to carry the NHL Winter Classic. In addition, NBC has a doubleheader on Hockey Day in America on February 19.
On Versus, it’ll begin its seventh season carrying the NHL with an opening night doubleheader on October 6 involving the Stanley Cup Finalists, the defending champion Boston Bruins hosting Philadelphia while runner-up Vancouver takes on Pittsburgh. From there, Versus will carry games on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Then on January 2, Versus will become NBC Sports Network.
In the second half of the season, NBC Sports Network will pick up Sunday nights to its NHL schedule meaning NBC SN will air games four consecutive nights from Sunday through Wednesday. Versus/NBC Sports Network will carry a pre and postgame show called “NHL Live” and its signature nightly highlights show, “NHL Overtime” will return during the season.
NBC Sports Network will have exclusive US coverage of NHL All-Star Weekend on January 27-28 from Ottawa.
We have the NBC Sports Group press release below.
NBC SPORTS GROUP DROPS PUCK ON NEW 10-YEAR NHL PARTNERSHIP WITH MORE HOCKEY COVERAGE THAN EVER
NBC and VERSUS to Offer 100 Regular-Season Games
NBC’s Coverage Starts on Nov. 25 with Inaugural Thanksgiving Friday Broadcast
VERSUS Adds Nationally Exclusive Game Every Wednesday Night All Season and Sunday Nights Beginning in January
NBC Will Continue National “Game of the Week” on Sundays and VERSUS Continues to Offer Exclusive Games on Monday and Tuesday Nights
All Stanley Cup Playoff Games Will Now be Televised NationallyNEW YORK (August 18, 2011) –The NBC Sports Group today announced its plans for the 2011-12 NHL season, the first under the new 10-year partnership, by offering hockey fans more coverage than ever. The schedule is highlighted by 100 regular-season games across NBC and VERSUS, which will be re-branded the NBC Sports Network midway through the season on January 2; expanded exclusive cable coverage, including Wednesday and Sunday nights, and live 30-minute pre- and post-game shows for every game on VERSUS; the return of Hockey Day in America on NBC and NHL All-Star Weekend on VERSUS; the introduction of a Thanksgiving Friday NBC broadcast; and national distribution of all Stanley Cup Playoff games.
As a result of the historic 10-year television and media rights agreement between the NHL and the NBC Sports Group which takes the partnership through the 2020-21 season, there will be major additions to both NBC’s and VERSUS’ schedules during the 2011-2012 season that will benefit hockey fans, including:
- A new tradition will begin this year when NBC commences its broadcast coverage on Friday, November 25, at 1 p.m. ET, the day after Thanksgiving, with an original-six match-up featuring the Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins against the 2008 Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red Wings.
- Exclusive cable coverage on VERSUS on Wednesday nights, added games on Sunday nights, including many exclusive nights, to provide VERSUS with 90 nights of exclusive NHL coverage (up from 54 last season).
- A new live pre- and post-game show, NHL Live, before and after every telecast on VERSUS with up-to-the-minute information and expert analysis.
- NBC and NBC Sports Network will televise 10 games in the final seven days of the regular season leading into the 2012 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, including a triple-header on Saturday, April 7.
- For the first time ever, all Stanley Cup Playoff games will be televised nationally on an NBCU platform and exclusive coverage of the postseason begins with the Conference Semifinals.
NHL FACEOFF™ – The season faces-off on VERSUS with seven games in the first seven days starting with a double-header on Thursday, October 6, when the Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins host the Philadelphia Flyers at 7 p.m. ET, followed by the 2011 Western Conference Champion Vancouver Canucks hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins at 10 p.m. ET. The action continues with NHL Premiere™ Games, two overseas telecasts live from Stockholm, Sweden, on Friday, October 7, as the New York Rangers take on the Los Angeles Kings at 1 p.m. ET and on Saturday, October 8, when the Rangers battle the Anaheim Ducks at 1 p.m. ET. VERSUS’ exclusive coverage continues with games on Monday, Tuesday and, new this year, a nationally exclusive ‘Game of the Week’ on Wednesday night, beginning the week of October 10.
REGULAR SEASON
- THANKSGIVING: NBC commences its broadcast coverage earlier than ever with a special original-six match-up on Friday, November 25, at 1 p.m. ET, the day after Thanksgiving. The Stanley Cup Champion Bruins will host the 2008 Stanley Cup Champion Red Wings live from the TD Bank Garden in Boston.
- NBC’S “GAME OF THE WEEK”: NBC will continue its national “Game of the Week” coverage on Sundays, debuting on January 14 with an inter-division battle between rivals Chicago and Detroit from Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. For the fifth straight season, the NHL and NBC Sports will utilize “flex” scheduling to choose the game that will air in the “Game of the Week” window. Beginning on Sunday March 4, one of the flex games not chosen to air on NBC will be chosen to air nationally on NBC Sports Network on Sunday night.
- HOCKEY DAY IN AMERICA: “Hockey Day in America,” launched last season to celebrate America’s passion for hockey, is scheduled for Sunday, February 19, this season and will once again feature six hours of coverage and eight teams from some of the most avid U.S. hockey markets. The coverage will start at noon ET with three regional games with staggered starts (Pittsburgh at Buffalo, San Jose at Detroit, St. Louis at Chicago) followed by a national broadcast of Boston at Minnesota at 3 p.m. ET.
- MORE EXCLUSIVE NIGHTS: VERSUS will introduce several enhancements to its schedule this year, including two new nights of nationally exclusive games, a live pre- and post-game show before/after every telecast called NHL Live, and the return of NHL Overtime. In addition to televising games on Monday and Tuesday nights, as VERSUS has done for the past six years, the network will now add a nationally exclusive ‘Game of the Week’ telecast on Wednesday night and, starting in January, additional Sunday night games, including many exclusive nights. For the first time, “flex” scheduling (beginning March 4) will be utilized to choose the game that will air in the Sunday night window.
- ALL-STAR WEEKEND: VERSUS, which will be re-branded NBC Sports Network on January 2, will continue to televise NHL All-Star weekend, which includes the NHL All-Star Fantasy Draft, NHL Skills Competition and the NHL All-Star Game the weekend of January 27, 2012. Last year’s All-Star Game, which benefited from receiving cross-channel NBCU promotion, was the most-watched NHL All-Star Game in VERSUS history.
PRODUCTION – The NBC Sports Group will continue to showcase NHL games with best-in-class production enhancements for its hockey coverage and will produce all NHL games airing on NBC and VERSUS, allowing for more interactivity between the NBC and VERSUS NHL telecasts. Following the formation of the NBC Sports Group in January, VERSUS adopted numerous NBC Sports’ production and programming elements for the network’s NHL telecasts, such as the “Inside the Glass” philosophy.
RATINGS – The NBC Sports Group will enter the season with viewership momentum across both NBC and VERSUS. Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final between Boston and Vancouver was watched by 8.54 million people, making it the most-watched NHL game in 38 years. This milestone came after last season’s NHL Bridgestone Winter Classic on NBC was the most-watched regular-season game in the U.S in 36 years. After garnering the cable network’s most-watched regular season in history, VERSUS capped off the season by recording the most watched Stanley Cup Playoffs on cable since 2002.
VERSUS RE-BRAND – As part of a new strategy to bring all four tiers of its assets (broadcast network, two national cable networks, 11 regional sports networks and digital) into a consistent framework of branding, VERSUS will be re-named the NBC Sports Network. In addition, the NBC Sports Group will implement a redesigned NBC Sports logo. Both changes take effect January 2, 2012.
There you have it.
