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NHL Network is an American sports-oriented cable and satellite television network that is owned as a joint venture between the National Hockey League (which owns a controlling 84.4% interest) and NBCUniversal (which owns the remaining 15.6%). Dedicated to ice hockey, the network features live game telecasts from the NHL and other professional and collegiate hockey leagues, as well as NHL-related content including analysis programs, specials and documentaries.
The NHL Network has studios in New York, NY, from which it produces NHL Live and in Toronto, from which it produces NHL On The Fly and NHL Tonight.
Launched on October 1, 2007, the NHL Network was developed out of a joint venture between the NHL and cable provider Comcast Xfinity, as part of a broadcast rights agreement that resulted in the NBC Sports Network (then known as OLN) acquiring partial cable television rights to regular season, and Stanley Cup Playoff and Finals games from the National Hockey League.[2]
The NHL Network in the United States currently shares some programming with its sister network in Canada, with the main differences in programming between the two network being the carriage of domestically targeted commercials and live game telecasts (for example, the Canadian version may show games televised in the U.S. on NBCSN, while the U.S. version airs Hockey Night in Canada games shown in Canada on CBC Television as well as games broadcast in that country on TSN). Live games on NHL Network are subject to local blackout restrictions, since NHL Network (despite being majority owned by the league) does not hold the exclusive broadcast rights to any of its games.
The league hired Ascent Media Group to manage and distribute the channel, through its publicly traded subsidiary, Ascent Media Network Services. When it launched, the NHL Network became the third sports-oriented cable network devoted to programming from and controlled by a major sports league, following the National Basketball Association-owned NBA TV (which launched in March 1999) and the National Football League-owned NFL Network (which launched in November 2003); Major League Baseball would launch its own sports channel, MLB Network, on January 1, 2009.
Comcast, owners of the league's current cable partner NBCSN, is also one of the largest cable television providers in the United States. The company was contractually obligated to carry NHL Network on its systems by the summer of 2007 at the latest, so it would be available in time for the 2007–08 NHL season.[3] Both Comcast and the NHL had an option to terminate their contract after the 2006–07 season, which would have voided Comcast's obligation to launch a U.S. version of NHL Network, but opted to proceed with the launch.[4]
Since its official launch in the United States, the NHL Network announced plans on October 8, 2007 to begin being carried that month on Cablevision, Charter, Cox Communications, DirecTV, Dish Network, Xfinity and Time Warner Cable through carriage agreements that were struck with each of the providers.[5] DirecTV has aired NHL Network on channel 215 since October 31, 2007.[6][7] Going forward, any provider that already carries NHL Center Ice was expected to begin carrying NHL Network on one of its programming tiers. Some providers offer NHL Network's high definition simulcast feed, which broadcasts all live games in HD.
NHL.com announced on January 12, 2009 that AT&T U-verse would begin carrying the channel.[8] This was followed on June 2, 2009 with the announcement that NHL Network and Comcast had reached an agreement to carry the channel on the provider's Digital Classic Tier, which increased subscribership of the channel from the then-estimated two million subscribers in its placement on the "Sports Entertainment" tier to over 10 million on its Digital Classic package.[9] Internationally, the network began to be distributed in Taiwan in 2010 on satellite provider DishHD.
On October 1, 2011, AT&T U-verse dropped NHL Network due to a carriage dispute over a planned increase in retransmission payments.[10]
Time Warner Cable, Cartoon Network, DirecTV, NBC Sports, Comcast
Ontario, Quebec City, Quebec, Ottawa, Aboriginal peoples in Canada
CNBC Europe, Singapore, E!, NBCUniversal, Asia
Bob McKenzie (broadcaster), ESPN National Hockey Night, NHL on TSN, NHL on NBC, Gord Miller (sportscaster)
Montreal Canadiens, Stanley Cup, Edmonton Oilers, Winnipeg Jets, Los Angeles Kings
NHL on NBC, Hockey Night in Canada, Ron MacLean, Mike Milbury, Don Cherry (ice hockey)
Washington, D.C., Pbs, Nbcsn, NBC Sports, Virginia
Hockey Night in Canada, NHL on NBC, ESPN National Hockey Night, Bob Cole (announcer), Bill Clement