TV Coverage of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals

I’ll throw two press releases here, one from NBC Sports and the other from Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia, regarding their coverage of the Stanley Cup Finals which begin tonight. Let’s go with NBC Sports’ coverage plans first.

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS HOST PHILADELPHIA FLYERS IN GAME 1 OF STANLEY CUP FINAL THIS SATURDAY AT 8 P.M. ET ON NBC SPORTS

 “This is going to be a whole lot of nasty.” – NBC Sports’ Pierre McGuire on the Stanley Cup Final

 Olympic MVP Ryan Miller To Serve As Guest Analyst For Game 1; Game 2 on NBC Sports Monday at 8 p.m. ET

NEW YORK – May 27, 2010 – The 2010 Stanley Cup Final begins this Saturday at 8 p.m. ET on NBC Sports when the Chicago Blackhawks, champions of the Western Conference, host the Philadelphia Flyers, champions of the Eastern Conference, at United Center.

Mike “Doc” Emrick (play-by-play), who will call his 12^th Stanley Cup Final, Eddie Olczyk (analyst), and Pierre McGuire (inside-the-glass reporter) call the action. McGuire will pull double duty, hosting NBC’s studio show alongside analyst Mike Milbury and Olympic MVP and Buffalo Sabres goalie Ryan Miller, who will serve as a guest analyst for Game 1. Analyst Jeremy Roenick will join McGuire and Milbury for the remainder of the series beginning with Game 2.

SCHEDULE: NBC Sports’ coverage of the Stanley Cup Final continues with Game 2 from United Center on Monday, May 31 at 8 p.m. ET. Games 3 and 4 will be played at Philadelphia’s Wachovia Center and will air on VERSUS Wednesday, June 2 and Friday, June 4, respectively. NBC Sports resumes coverage for Games 5-7, if necessary. Following is the Stanley Cup Final television schedule (all times ET):

Game 1                Sat. May 29        NBC                   8 p.m.

Game 2                Mon. May 31      NBC                   8 p.m.

Game 3                Wed. June 2        VERSUS             8 p.m.

Game 4                Fri. June 4           VERSUS             8 p.m.

Game 5                Sun. June 6          NBC                   8 p.m.

Game 6                Wed. June 9        NBC                   8 p.m.

Game 7                Fri. June 11         NBC                   8 p.m.

VIEWERSHIP: NBC Sports is averaging 1.89 million viewers for its NHL playoff coverage, the most for broadcast TV in the U.S. through three rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2002 (2.31 million on ABC) and up five percent over last year. Sunday’s game featuring the Blackhawks’ series-clinching win over the San Jose Sharks averaged 2.5 million viewers, up 19 percent from last year’s comparable game (2.1 million).

STANLEY CUP HISTORY: The Blackhawks, the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference, are making their first trip to the Stanley Cup Final since 1992 when they were swept by the Pittsburgh Penguins. Chicago has not won the Stanley Cup since 1961 and their 49 years without a title is the longest active drought in the league.

The Flyers, the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference, are back in the Final for the first time since they were swept by the Detroit Red Wings in 1997. Philadelphia has not won the Stanley Cup championship since they were repeat champs in 1974-75.

Both teams have lost their last five Final appearances. The Flyers are 2-5 all time in the Final, while Chicago is 3-7.

OLYMPIANS COMPETING FOR THE CUP: Ten players on the rosters of the Blackhawks (six) and Flyers (four) competed in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games. Of the 10, five won gold for Canada, one claimed silver for Team USA, one earned bronze for Finland, and two competed for bronze with Slovakia but lost to Finland. One player competed for Latvia.

GOLD – CANADA

Blackhawks: Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook & Jonathan Toews

Flyers: Chris Pronger & Mike Richards

SILVER – USA

Blackhawks: Patrick Kane

BRONZE – FINLAND

Flyers: Kimmo Timonen

SLOVAKIA

Blackhawks: Marian Hossa & Tomas Kopecky

LATVIA

Flyers: Oskars Bartulis

ON NBC SPORTS: Chicago is 4-2 on NBC Sports this season, including last weekend’s series-clinching Game 4 win over San Jose. Philadelphia is 2-3 on NBC Sports in 2010, including Saturday’s 3-0 win over Montreal in Game 4 of their series, which gave the Flyers a three-games-to-one lead.

NBC SPORTS’ 2010 STANLEY CUP COVERAGE BY THE NUMBERS:

1                      Office Trailer

2                      Net Cams

4                      Production Trucks

5                      Commentators

12                    Number of Finals called by Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick, including 2010

24                    Cameras

35                    Pounds (weight of Stanley Cup)

81                    On-Site Personnel

15,840             Feet of Cable (approx)

NBCSPORTS.COM: “Star-cam” continues for the Stanley Cup Final. “Star-cam” tracks a player(s) from both teams throughout each of their shifts. Following the game, NBCSports.com will present bonus material, including “Star-cam” and “Net-cam” and bonus analysis from NBC Sports commentators.

CONFERENCE CALL: The NHL today conducted a media conference call with, among others, Emrick, McGuire and Milbury to preview the Final. Highlights follow:

MCGUIRE ON THE MATCHUP: “This is going to be a whole lot of nasty…It’s going to be great hockey. It’s everything you want. You’ve got two sizzling cauldrons here in Chicago and back in Philadelphia. It’s going to be a ton of fun to watch.”

MILBURY ON THE MATCHUP: “(Chicago is) a quick, puck-moving group in contrast with a bigger, stronger Philadelphia group. They match up pretty well. It’s going to be a longer series, more than people realize.” 

EMRICK ON PHILADELPHIA: “The fact that they could rally and still be able to have some skin left on their teeth by the time they got through the last game is a real ac
hievement.”

EMRICK ON CHICAGO’S ORGANIZATION: “This team is very progressive in terms of getting out there, showing the quality products that it has…When you start winning games and start having 100-point seasons like they have in the past two years, that shows they are really tremendous.”

MCGUIRE ON PHILADEPHIA’S MIKE RICHARDS: “He’s the ultimate leader.”

MILBURY ON CHICAGO: “The one fact that’s in the favor of Chicago is their team speed. It was outstanding throughout the playoffs.”

MCGUIRE ON PHILADELPHIA’S DANNY BRIERE: “This playoff season, he’s been phenomenal. He’s been a major reason why — a lot like Mike Richards — they’ve been able to survive.”

MCGUIRE: “Jonathan Toews is a no-nonsense kind of leader.” 
EMRICK ON TOEWS: “There’s no panic in his game whatsoever. He’s a terrific player.”
MCGUIRE ON DEFENSE: “A big part of what allowed these goalies to prosper is the fact that both these teams have unbelievable defensemen in front of them.”

And after the jump, I’ll give you Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia’s coverage.

Here is what you’ll see in Philadelphia if you Comcast SportsNet Philly on your cable system.

COMCAST SPORTSNET PROVIDES LIVE PRE AND POSTGAME PROGRAMS, PLUS EXCLUSIVE ONLINE FEATURES FOR STANLEY CUP FINALS

PHILADELPHIA (May 26, 2010) –  Comcast SportsNet, together with The Comcast Network, ushers in the most comprehensive Flyers’ Stanley Cup Finals coverage with live pre and post game shows, The Ultimate Goal playoff specials, live game chats and exclusive on-air and online coverage. In addition to the Stanley Cup specials, Comcast SportsNet will provide extensive Flyers reports in Daily News Live, SportsNite and SportsRise.

The Ultimate Goal

Comcast SportsNet continues to provide the most local Stanley Cup playoff coverage with The Ultimate Goal. Local hockey experts including Rick Tocchet, Bill Clement, Al Morganti, Steve Coates and John Boruk break down the game and offer their analysis on the set. The Ultimate Goal will air Friday, May 28 at 10:30 p.m.; Sunday, May 30 at 6:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.; Tuesday, June 1 at 10:30 p.m.; Thursday, June 3 at 6:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.; Saturday, June 5 at 10:30 p.m.*; Tuesday, June 8 at 10:30 p.m.*; and Thursday, June 10 at 10:30 p.m.*. (*If necessary)

Behind Enemy Lines

Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia taps into Comcast SportsNet Chicago’s Blackhawks experts to get the Windy City’s pulse on the Flyers-Blackhawks matchup in the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals. Fans can check out what they are saying in Chicago on Daily News Live, SportsNite and online at CSNPhilly.com.

Live Online Exclusives

During every Stanley Cup game, Comcast SportsNet’s panel of hockey experts will be chatting with fans on CSNPhilly.com throughout the game, plus Flyers Pregame Live and Flyers Postgame Live. Fans watching the pre and postgame shows on CSNPhilly.com will have the opportunity to watch exclusive behind-the-scenes footage. CSNPhilly.com will also have exclusive live intermission reports between each period of every Flyers Stanley Cup game.

That’s it.