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NHL on NBC Announcing Assignments for May 10, 2013

This is late and actually games are in progress, but in case you’re wondering who’s where for NBC Sports tonight, we have the announcing assignments for you.

Three networks are being utilized, CNBC, NBC Sports Network and NHL Network. Maple Leafs-Toronto is being handled by CBC for NHL Network as Jim Hughson, Craig Simpson, Glenn Healey and Scott Oake are on the case for Canada’s Public Network.

The other games on CNBC and NBC Sports Network are being handled by NBC personnel.

We have the assignments below.

NBC SPORTS GROUP’S “NHL PLAYOFF PASS” – MAY 10

Four Crucial Games Tonight – Two Game 5s, Two Game 6s

NEW YORK – May 10, 2013 – “NHL Playoff Pass” provides a quick daily overview of Stanley Cup Playoff coverage. It is published weekdays to preview the evening games. On Fridays, a weekend edition is posted.

Games are being presented on NBC, NBC Sports Network, CNBC (in primetime), and NHL Network. In addition, more Stanley Cup Playoff games are being live streamed than ever before.

All times are listed as ET and are subject to change:

Tonight	Coverage	Network	Talent
6:30 p.m.	NHL Live	NBCSN	Liam McHugh, Jeremy Roenick, Keith Jones
7 p.m.	Toronto (5) @ Boston (4)	NHLN	Jim Hughson, Craig Simpson, Glenn Healy, Scott Oake
7:30 p.m.	N.Y. Rangers (6) @ Washington (3)	NBCSN	Mike Emrick, Pierre McGuire
8 p.m.	Anaheim (2) @ Detroit (7)	CNBC	Dave Strader, Brian Engblom
10 p.m.	St. Louis (4) @ Los Angeles (5)	NBCSN	John Forslund, Daryl Reaugh
Sat., May 11
6:30 p.m.	NHL Live	NBCSN	Liam McHugh, Mike Milbury, Keith Jones
7 p.m.	Pittsburgh (1) @ N.Y. Islanders (8)	NBCSN	Kenny Albert, Pierre McGuire

TONIGHT, May 10

Tonight’s playoff coverage begins with NHL Live on NBC Sports Network. NHL Live, hosted by Liam McHugh, Jeremy Roenick and Keith Jones, begins at 6:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network.

At 7 p.m. ET on NHL Network, the Boston Bruins return to their home ice at TD Garden as they look to win their series against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Boston, Mass. (Boston leads 3-1). CBC’s Jim Hughson will manage play-by-paly with analysts Craig Simpson and Glenn Healy.

On NBC Sports Network at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Washington Capitals host the N.Y. Rangers as the two teams battle for the series lead (series tied 2-2). Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick will call play-by-play alongside Emmy-award winning reporter Pierre McGuire (‘Inside-the-Glass’) from Verizon Center in Washington, D.C.

At 8 p.m. ET, CNBC presents the first Game 6 of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs when the Detroit Red Wings fight to stay alive in their series against the Anaheim Ducks (Anaheim leads 3-2). Dave Strader will manage play-by-play alongside analyst Brian Englom from Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Mich.

Coverage continues on NBC Sports Network at 10 p.m. ET as the Los Angeles Kings try to win their series against the St. Louis Blues at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Calif. (Los Angeles leads 3-2). John Forslund will serve as play-by-play announcer with analyst Daryl Reaugh.

SATURDAY, May 11

Coverage begins on NBC Sports Network at 6:30 p.m. ET with NHL Live, hosted by Liam McHugh, Mike Milbury and Keith Jones.

At 7 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network, the N.Y. Islanders try to stay alive in the playoffs and in their series against the Pittsburgh Penguins (Pittsburgh leads 3-2). Kenny Albert will call play-by-play with analyst McGuire from Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y.

That will do it.

NHL on NBC Announcing Assignments for May 9, 2013

Let’s post the announcing assignments for tonight’s NHL Stanley Cup Playoff games on the networks of NBC.

There will be three Games 5, two of which are elimination games. NBC Sports Group will staff two of the three games, New York Islanders at Pittsburgh and Minnesota at Chicago, both of which are on NBC Sports Network, by the way. The other game, Ottawa at Montreal, is a CBC simulcast with Bob Cole and Garry Galley on the call and Cassie Campbell-Pascall inside the glass.

Here’s what we have for tonight.

NBC SPORTS GROUP’S “NHL PLAYOFF PASS” – MAY 9

Three Crucial Game 5s Tonight

NEW YORK – May 9, 2013 – Games are being presented on NBC, NBC Sports Network, CNBC (in primetime), and NHL Network. In addition, more Stanley Cup Playoff games are being live streamed than ever before.

Tonight	Coverage	Network	Talent
6:30 p.m.	NHL Live	NBCSN	Liam McHugh, Jeremy Roenick, Keith Jones
7 p.m.	N.Y. Islanders (8) @ Pittsburgh (1)	NBCSN	Kenny Albert, Pierre McGuire
7 p.m.	Ottawa (7) @ Montreal (2)	CNBC	Bob Cole, Garry Galley, Cassie Campbell-Pascall
9:30 p.m.	Minnesota (8) @ Chicago (1)	NBCSN	Dave Strader, Brian Engblom

TONIGHT, May 9

NHL Conference Quarterfinals continue tonight with three crucial Game 5s. Every opening-round series has required at least one overtime game, in total thus far, there have been 13 overtimes in the postseason.

Tonight’s playoff coverage begins with NHL Live on NBC Sports Network. NHL Live, hosted by Liam McHugh, Mike Milbury and Keith Jones, begins at 6:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network.

At 7 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network, the Pittsburgh Penguins host the N.Y. Islanders as each team jockeys for the series lead (series tied 2-2). Kenny Albert will call play-by-play alongside Emmy-award winning reporter Pierre McGuire (‘Inside-the-Glass) from the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Penn. Tonight, on day 10 of playoffs, McGuire will cover his ninth postseason game of the year.

On CNBC at 7 p.m. ET, the Montreal Canadiens aim to stay alive in their series as they return to home ice at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, after an overtime loss to the Ottawa Senators in Game 4 (Ottawa leads 3-1).  Bill Patrick and Mike Keenan will host CNBC’s studio coverage.

At 9:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network, the Chicago Blackhawks look to win their series at home against the Minnesota Wild tonight (Chicago leads 3-1). Dave Strader will manage play-by-play and will be joined by analyst Brian Engblom from the United Center in Chicago, Ill.

BLACKOUT REMINDER

During the Conference Quarterfinals, games that air on NBC Sports Network, CNBC and the NHL Network are subject to local blackouts. NBC Sports Network, CNBC and the NHL Network begin exclusivity in the second round. Games airing on NBC are exclusive throughout the playoffs.

GAMES TELEVISED SO FAR

For the second consecutive year, and only the second time in the 96-year history of the NHL, every Stanley Cup Playoff game will be televised nationally.

NBC	3
NBCSN	18
CNBC	12*
NHLN	1

OT Games: 13

*Joined-in-progress
There you have it.

NHL on NBC Announcing Assignments for May 8, 2013

Tonight, the NBC Sports Group will have another four games in the 2013 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. That includes two Games 5 including Los Angeles at St. Louis and Detroit at Anaheim. Both series are square at 2 all. Then there are two Games 4 in the Eastern Conference, Boston at Toronto and Washington at New York Rangers. In both series, the higher seed leads two games to one.

One change to the schedule, Boston at Toronto which was supposed to air on NHL Network in the US will shift to CNBC. Los Angeles at St. Louis which will drop the puck at 9 p.m. ET will begin on NHL Network. CNBC will pick it in progress at the conclusion of Bruins-Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Centre.

As it did for Ottawa-Montreal, NBC will simulcast CBC’s coverage with Jim Hughson, Craig Simpson, Glenn Healey and Scott Oake.

Here’s the press release from NBC Sports Group.

NBC SPORTS GROUP’S “NHL PLAYOFF PASS” – MAY 8

Four Games Tonight, Including Two Crucial Game 5s

NEW YORK – May 8, 2013 – “NHL Playoff Pass” on NBC Sports Group Press Box provides a quick daily overview of Stanley Cup Playoff coverage. It is published weekdays to preview the evening games. On Fridays, a weekend edition is posted.

Games are being presented on NBC, NBC Sports Network, CNBC (in primetime), and NHL Network. In addition, more Stanley Cup Playoff games are live streamed than ever before. For more information on NBC Sports Group’s overall NHL Playoff coverage, please click here.

PROGRAMMING NOTE: Tonight’s Boston Bruins at Toronto Maple Leafs game, originally scheduled to air on NHL Network, will now air on CNBC at 7 p.m. ET. The Los Angeles Kings at St. Louis Blues game at 9 p.m. ET (puck drop approximately 9:15 p.m. ET), will likely begin on NHL Network and be joined-in-progress on CNBC at the conclusion of the Boston-Toronto game.

Tonight	Coverage	Network	Talent
6:30 p.m.	NHL Live	NBCSN	Liam McHugh, Mike Milbury, Keith Jones
7 p.m.	Boston (4) @ Toronto (5)	CNBC	Jim Hughson, Craig Simpson, Glenn Healey, Scott Oake
7:30 p.m.	Washington (3) @ N.Y. Rangers (6)	NBCSN	Mike Emrick, Pierre McGuire
9 p.m.	Los Angeles (5) @ St. Louis (4)	NHL Network/CNBC*	Dave Strader, Brian Engblom
10 p.m.	Detroit (7) @ Anaheim (2)	NBCSN	John Forslund, Daryl Reaugh

*Joined-in-progress. Game will likely begin on NHL Network

TONIGHT, May 8

NHL Live, hosted by Liam McHugh, Mike Milbury and Keith Jones, begins at 6:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network. Bill Patrick and Anson Carter will host CNBC’s studio coverage.

Tonight’s playoff coverage begins on CNBC when the Toronto Maple Leafs host the Boston Bruins at 7 p.m. ET (Boston leads 2-1). Immediately following Boston-Toronto, CNBC will join-in-progress the first Game 5 of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs when the St. Louis Blues host the Los Angeles Kings (series tied 2-2). The Kings-Blues game will begin on NHL Network if Bruins-Leafs is not concluded. Dave Strader will call play-by-play and will be joined by analyst Brian Engblom at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Miss.

NBC Sports Network’s coverage tonight begins at 7:30 p.m. ET as the New York Rangers look to pick up the momentum to tie the series against the Washington Capitals (Washington leads 2-1) on home ice. Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick will serve as play-by-play announcer alongside analyst Pierre McGuire (‘Inside-the-Glass’) at Madison Square Garden in New York, N.Y.

Game 5 coverage continues on NBC Sports Network at 10 p.m. ET when the Anaheim Ducks take on the Detroit Red Wings, who tied the series in overtime in Game 4 (series tied 2-2). John Forslund will manage play-by-play alongside analyst Daryl Reaugh at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

EMMY AWARD WINNER

Last night at the 34^th Annual Sport Emmy Awards, Pierre McGuire, NBC Sports Group’s “Inside the Glass” analyst for its NHL coverage, was awarded his first career Emmy for Outstanding Sports Personality – Sports Reporter.

CONTINUING COVERAGE

NBC Sports Group continues NHL Stanley Cup Playoff coverage as the best-of-seven series continue on Friday. The following dates and times were recently officially released by the NHL.

Date/Time (ET)	Game	Coverage	Network
Thurs., May 9
6:30 p.m.		NHL Live	NBCSN
7 p.m.	5	N.Y. Islanders (8) @ Pittsburgh (1)	NBCSN
7 p.m.	5	Ottawa (7) @ Montreal (2)	CNBC
9:30 p.m.	5	Minnesota (8) @ Chicago (1)	NBCSN
Fri., May 10
6:30 p.m.		NHL Live	NBCSN
7:30 p.m.	5	N.Y. Rangers (6) @ Washington (3)	NBCSN
8 p.m.	6	Anaheim (2) @ Detroit (7)	CNBC
10 p.m.	6	St. Louis (4) @ Los Angeles (5)	NBCSN

BLACKOUT REMINDER

During the Conference Quarterfinals, games that air on NBC Sports Network, CNBC and the NHL Network are subject to local blackouts. NBC Sports Network, CNBC and the NHL Network begin exclusivity in the second round. Games airing on NBC are exclusive throughout the playoffs.

That’s it for now.

NBC Sports Group All Over 2013 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs

Once again, NBC Sports Group will provide blanket coverage of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. The networks of NBC will have every game of the playoffs. NBC, NBC Sports Network, CNBC and NHL Network will be involved in the first two rounds of the playoffs. Then NBC and NBC Sports Network will combine for the Conference Finals and Stanley Cup Final.

The Conference Quarterfinals will be carried on NBC, NBC Sports Network, CNBC and NHL Network. The games in this round are not exclusive nationally except for NBC. Local regional sports networks will have exclusivity in the home markets and the national networks will be blacked out. This does not apply to NBC.

Starting with the Conference Semifinals all the way to the Stanley Cup Final, NBC Sports Group has exclusivity and the local RSN’s will no longer air any of playoff games.

Liam McHugh, Mike Milbury and Keith Jones will be the main studio team. Bill Patrick and Jeremy Roenick will form another while Russ Thaler, Mike Keenan and Anson Carter will form a third studio team.

Mike Emrick, Ed Olczyk and charlatan Pierre McGuire will be the lead announce team. Dave Strader and Brian Engblom will be the second team. Expect to hear from announcers John Forslund and Kenny Albert as well.

The Stanley Cup Final will once again be split between NBC and NBC Sports Network. This year, NBC will air Games 1 and 4 through 7. NBC Sports Network will air Games 2 and 3. That is a break from recent policy when NBC took the first two games and NBCSN aired 3 & 4 with NBC taking the rest. This ensures that any Cup clinching games will be aired on broadcast television.

All games will be streamed online. NBC’s games will be available to everyone on NBCSports.com and the NBC Live Extra App. NBC Sports Network’s games will also be available on the NBC Sports Live Extra app, but cable and satellite providers will have to authenticate.

The press release comes after a jump break.

(continue reading…)

2013 NHL Stanley Cup Conference Quarterfinals Schedules and Networks

Now that the National Hockey League regular season is over, it’s time to post the schedules for each series. In the first round, local regional sports networks can air playoff games. Only NBC games are exclusive in the United States, while in Canada, the playoffs are split between CBC and TSN.

Playoff games in the United States will be distributed nationally between NBC, NBC Sports Network, CNBC and NHL Network. The RSN’s have exclusivity in the local markets so the national broadcasts would be blacked out unless NBC gets the games.

The US networks have been selected through Games 1-4 of the quarterfinals. Games 5-7, if necessary, will be rescheduled as the series continue.

Here’s what we have thus far.

NHL announces Stanley Cup Playoffs Rd. 1 schedule

NEW YORK – The National Hockey League today announced the dates, times and national broadcast information for the 2013 Stanley Cup Conference Quarterfinal round, which begins Tuesday, April 30th. Information on the U.S. broadcast networks for games later in the round will be released as it is determined.

All times listed are ET and subject to change.
* – if necessary

2013 EASTERN CONFERENCE QUARTERFINALS
SERIES A	TIME (ET)	#1 Pittsburgh vs. #8 NY Islanders	Networks
Wednesday, May 1, 2013	7:30 p.m.	NY Islanders at Pittsburgh	NBCSN, TSN
Friday, May 3, 2013	7 p.m.	NY Islanders at Pittsburgh	NBCSN, TSN
Sunday, May 5, 2013	12 p.m.	Pittsburgh at NY Islanders	NBC, TSN
Tuesday, May 7, 2013	7 p.m.	Pittsburgh at NY Islanders	NBCSN, TSN
*Thursday, May 9, 2013	7 p.m.	NY Islanders at Pittsburgh	TSN
*Saturday, May 11, 2013	TBD	Pittsburgh at NY Islanders	TSN
*Sunday, May 12, 2013	TBD	NY Islanders at Pittsburgh	TSN
SERIES B	TIME (ET)	#2 Montreal vs. #7 Ottawa	Networks
Thursday, May 2, 2013	7 p.m.	Ottawa at Montreal	CNBC, CBC, RDS
Friday, May 3, 2013	7 p.m.	Ottawa at Montreal	CNBC, CBC, RDS
Sunday, May 5, 2013	7 p.m.	Montreal at Ottawa	NBCSN, CBC, RDS
Tuesday, May 7, 2013	7 p.m.	Montreal at Ottawa	CNBC, CBC, RDS
*Thursday, May 9, 2013	7 p.m.	Ottawa at Montreal	CBC, RDS
*Saturday, May 11, 2013	TBD	Montreal at Ottawa	CBC, RDS
*Sunday, May 12, 2013	TBD	Ottawa at Montreal	CBC, RDS
SERIES C	TIME (ET)	#3 Washington vs. #6 NY Rangers	Networks
Thursday, May 2, 2013	7:30 p.m.	NY Rangers at Washington	NBCSN, TSN
Saturday, May 4, 2013	12:30 p.m.	NY Rangers at Washington	NBC, TSN
Monday, May 6, 2013	7:30 p.m.	Washington at NY Rangers	NBCSN, TSN
Wednesday, May 8, 2013	7:30 p.m.	Washington at NY Rangers	NBCSN, TSN
*Friday, May 10, 2013	7:30 p.m.	NY Rangers at Washington	TSN
*Sunday, May 12, 2013	TBD	Washington at NY Rangers	TSN
*Monday, May 13, 2013	TBD	NY Rangers at Washington	TSN
SERIES D	TIME (ET)	#4 Boston vs. #5 Toronto	Networks
Wednesday, May 1, 2013	7 p.m.	Toronto at Boston	CNBC, CBC, RDS
Saturday, May 4, 2013	7 p.m.	Toronto at Boston	CNBC, CBC, RDS
Monday, May 6, 2013	7 p.m.	Boston at Toronto	NHLN-US, CBC, RDS
*Wednesday, May 8, 2013	7 p.m.	Toronto at Boston	NHLN-US, CBC, RDS
*Friday, May 10, 2013	7 P.M.	Boston at Toronto	CBC, RDS
*Sunday, May 12, 2013	TBD	Toronto at Boston	CBC, RDS
Monday, May 13, 2013	TBD	Boston at Toronto	CBC, RDS
2013 WESTERN CONFERENCE QUARTERFINALS
SERIES E	TIME (ET)	#1 Chicago vs. #8 Minnesota	Networks
Tuesday, April 30, 2013	8 p.m.	Minnesota at Chicago	NBCSN, CBC
Friday, May 3, 2013	9:30 p.m.	Minnesota at Chicago	NBCSN, CBC
Sunday, May 5, 2013	3 p.m.	Chicago at Minnesota	NBC, CBC
Tuesday, May 7, 2013	9:30 p.m.	Chicago at Minnesota	NBCSN, CBC
*Thursday, May 9, 2013	TBD	Minnesota at Chicago	CBC
*Saturday, May 11, 2013	TBD	Chicago at Minnesota	CBC
*Sunday, May 12, 2013	TBD	Minnesota at Chicago	CBC
SERIES F	TIME (ET)	#2 Anaheim vs. #7 Detroit	Networks
Tuesday, April 30, 2013	10:30 p.m.	Detroit at Anaheim	NBCSN, TSN
Thursday, May 2, 2013	10 p.m.	Detroit at Anaheim	NBCSN, TSN
Saturday, May 4, 2013	7:30 p.m.	Anaheim at Detroit	NBCSN, TSN
Monday, May 6, 2013	8 p.m.	Anaheim at Detroit	CNBC, TSN
*Wednesday, May 8, 2013	10 p.m.	Detroit at Anaheim	TSN
*Friday, May 10, 2013	TBD	Anaheim at Detroit	TSN
*Sunday, May 12, 2013	TBD	Detroit at Anaheim	TSN
SERIES G	TIME (ET)	#3 Vancouver vs. #6 San Jose	Networks
Wednesday, May 1, 2013	10:30 p.m.	San Jose at Vancouver	NBCSN, TSN
Friday, May 3, 2013	10 p.m.	San Jose at Vancouver	CNBC, TSN
Sunday, May 5, 2013	10 p.m.	Vancouver at San Jose	NBCSN, TSN
Tuesday, May 7, 2013	10 p.m.	Vancouver at San Jose	CNBC, TSN
*Thursday, May 9, 2013	10 p.m.	San Jose at Vancouver	TSN
*Saturday, May 11, 2013	TBD	Vancouver at San Jose	TSN
*Monday, May 13, 2013	TBD	San Jose at Vancouver	TSN
SERIES H	TIME (ET)	#4 St. Louis vs. #5 Los Angeles	Networks
Tuesday, April 30, 2013	8 p.m.	Los Angeles at St. Louis	CNBC, CBC
Thursday, May 2, 2013	9:30 p.m.	Los Angeles at St. Louis	CNBC, CBC
Saturday, May 4, 2013	10 p.m.	St. Louis at Los Angeles	NBCSN, CBC
Monday, May 6, 2013	10 p.m.	St. Louis at Los Angeles	NBCSN, CBC
*Wednesday, May 8, 2013	TBD	Los Angeles at St. Louis	CBC
*Friday, May 10, 2013	TBD	St. Louis at Los Angeles	CBC
*Monday, May 13, 2013	TBD	Los Angeles at St. Louis	CBC

I’ll update the times and networks for Games 5-7 as they become available. Keep this bookmarked.

NHL Network To Air Eight Games Over The Next Five Days

Starting tonight, NHL Network gets busy and airs a host of games through Monday. NHL Network has single games tonight, Friday, Sunday and Monday. And then on Saturday, the first time it’s ever aired four games including simulcasting three from CBC. This marks the first time in a while that NHL Network has decided to pick up an entire CBC slate.

Let’s take a look at what NHL Network is saying.

NHL NETWORK-U.S. OFFERS EIGHT GAMES OVER FIVE DAYS BEGINNING WITH THURSDAY’S “GAME OF THE WEEK” FEATURING PITTSBURGH @ CAROLINA

League-Leading Blackhawks, the Season’s Only Quadruple-Header, two appearances by Stanley Cup champion Kings Highlight Live-Game Schedule

NEW YORK (February 27, 2013) – NHL Network-U.S., the go-to destination for hockey fanatics, will air eight live NHL games over the next five days, including the red-hot Chicago Blackhawks and a rare quadruple-header Saturday, starting at Noon, ET.

Live coverage begins tonight with NHL Network’s “Game of the Week” at 7:00 p.m. ET featuring the Pittsburgh Penguins meeting Carolina for the first time since the off-season trade that sent Jordan Staal from Pittsburgh to Carolina to join his brother, Hurricanes captain Eric Staal. Jordan Staal, will face his former teammates from Pittsburgh, including Sidney Crosby, with whom he won the Stanley Cup in 2009.

The Network’s team of insiders and analysts will cover intermission reports during the broadcast and bring viewers up to speed on news and scores from around the League. NHL Tonight, hosted by Kathryn Tappen, will be on the air following the conclusion of the Penguins-Hurricanes at 10:00
p.m. ET.

NHL.COM GAME PREVIEW (PIT @ CAR):
http://www.nhl.com/ice/preview.htm?id=2012020291&navid=sb:preview

ADDITIONAL NHL NETWORK GAMES:

Friday, March 1:
Columbus Blue Jackets at Chicago Blackhawks (8:30 p.m. ET)

Saturday, March 2:
Ottawa Senators at Philadelphia Flyers (12:00 p.m. ET)
Washington Capitals at Winnipeg Jets (3:00 p.m. ET, CBC)
Pittsburgh Penguins at Montreal Canadiens (7:00 p.m. ET, CBC)
Los Angeles Kings at Vancouver Canucks (10:30 p.m. ET, CBC)

**This is the only time this season the NHL Network-U.S. will show four games in one day.

Sunday, March 3:
St. Louis Blues at Dallas Stars (3:00 p.m. ET)

Monday, March 4:
Nashville Predators at Los Angeles Kings (10:30 p.m. ET)

That’s going to do it.

NHL Network (US) Releases A 78 Game Schedule for the 2013 Season

To pick up the slack of NBC Sports Network when it’s not airing games, NHL Network in the United States will carry 78 regular season games. Some will include Hockey Night in Canada games on Saturday evenings. Others will be local broadcasts of various games.

In addition, various studio shows will return like NHL Live on Monday with EJ Hradek and co-hosted by Deb Placey or Bill Pidto.

The nightly NHL on the Fly that carries live look-ins and real-time scoring updates also returns.

And NHL Tonight, the network’s signature wrap-up show with Kathryn Tappen and analysts Barry Melrose, Kevin Weekes or Mike Johnson will end the league’s night.

It’s just too bad we didn’t have any studio programming to update fans during lockout, but that’s water under the bridge now.

Here’s the NHL Network press release.

NHL NETWORK-U.S. TO BROADCAST 78 NHL REGULAR-SEASON GAMES

#hockeyisback — NHL Network Returns Tonight with Live Reports from Training Camps and New Hosts

NEW YORK (January 12, 2013) – NHL Network-U.S. will televise 78 live games this regular season, focusing on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights and featuring eight double-headers, seven triple-headers and one quadruple-header. Regular-season coverage on NHL Network-U.S. gets underway on Saturday, January 19 at 7:00 p.m. ET. with the New York Rangers in Boston to take on the Bruins.

On Saturday evenings, NHL Network-U.S. again will broadcast CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada programming beginning with the Hockey Tonight pre-game show at 6:30 p.m. ET, and Coaches Corner and Hotstove intermission programming during live game broadcasts.

Beginning tonight, January 13 at 7:00 p.m. ET and airing each night leading up to puck drop on the 2012-13 NHL season, NHL Network will be live with a special season preview titled NHL Tonight 2012-13 Season Preview. Along with host Kathryn Tappen, a rotating cast of hockey insiders will bring viewers an in-depth look at the upcoming season, including team-by-team breakdowns, live on-location reports from NHL training camps and all the latest news as the League’s 30 teams gear up for the 99-day race for the playoffs.

With a return to the ice comes the season return of NHL Live, one of the Network’s signature programs. NHL Live begins broadcasting Monday, Jan. 14 at 5:00 p.m. ET.  Another fan favorite, the 2013 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game, live from the Halifax Metro Centre, also highlights opening week on the Network for U.S. audiences. The game airs live Wednesday, January 16 at 7:00 p.m. ET followed by a special edition of NHL Tonight 2012-13 Season Preview at 10:00 p.m. ET.

In addition, NHL Network-U.S. will broadcast TSN shows NHL Top 50 Players, NHL 30 and NHL Fantasy Draft Special in the coming days. For the complete NHL Network schedule, please visit www.nhlnetwork.com.

New talent at NHL Network

New this season, Glenn Schiiler and Mark Roe join the Network as the hosts of marquee shows NHL On The Fly and NHL Tonight, bringing highlights and their expert analysis to the viewers at home. Prior to joining the Network, Schiiler was a sports anchor on Score Weekend and Score Tonighton The Score, while Roe served as Sports Director for the award-winning CTV News in Barrie, Ontario, where he daily covered the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League.

Returning NHL Network shows

NHL Live airs weeknights from 5-7 p.m. ET, throughout the season. Host EJ Hradek keeps fans in-the-know with headlines and buzz from insiders all over the hockey world. Fans can interact live by either tweeting @NHLLive or calling in with questions at 1-855-HAT-TRICK.

NHL On The Fly, the Network’s signature show, airs nightly from 7-10 p.m. ET taking fans inside the action from around the League with live look-ins, real-time scores, team press conferences and expert analysis from a variety of your favorite NHL veterans, including current and former players.

NHL Tonight hosted by Kathryn Tappen and featuring a rotating cast of analysts including Barry Melrose, Kevin Weekes and Mike Johnson, returns nightly at 10 p.m. ET serving fans with every highlight, from every game, every night. NHL Tonight will re-air the following morning.

2012-13 NHL Network-U.S. live-game broadcast schedule is as follows:
(subject to change)

1/19/2013 — NY Rangers at Boston, 7:00 p.m.
1/20/2013 — Pittsburgh at NY Rangers, 7:00 p.m.
1/24/2013 — NY Rangers at Philadelphia, 7:00 p.m.
1/25/2013 — Minnesota at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.
1/26/2013 — Colorado at San Jose, 4:00 p.m.
1/26/2013 — Toronto at NY Rangers, 7:00 p.m.
1/27/2013 — Buffalo at Washington, 3:00 p.m.
1/28/2013 — Boston at Carolina, 7:00 p.m.
1/31/2013 — Pittsburgh at NY Rangers, 7:00 p.m.
2/1/2013 — St. Louis at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.
2/2/2013 — New Jersey at Pittsburgh, 1:00 p.m.
2/2/2013 — Boston at Toronto, 7:00 p.m.
2/7/2013 — Washington at Pittsburgh, 7:00 p.m.
2/8/2013 — Anaheim at Dallas, 8:00 p.m.
2/9/2013 — Pittsburgh at New Jersey, 1:00 p.m.
2/9/2013 — Phoenix at San Jose, 4:00 p.m.
2/9/2013 — Toronto at Montreal, 7:00 p.m.
2/14/2013 — Washington at Tampa Bay, 7:30 p.m.
2/15/2013 — Anaheim at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.
2/16/2013 — Philadelphia at Montreal, 7:00 p.m.
2/18/2013 — Nashville at Colorado, 3:00 p.m.
2/18/2013 — Carolina at Montreal, 7:30 p.m.
2/21/2013 — Columbus at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.
2/22/2013 — San Jose at Chicago, 8:30 p.m.
2/23/2013 — New Jersey at Washington, 12:00 p.m.
2/23/2013 — Colorado at Los Angeles, 4:00 p.m.
2/23/2013 — Nashville at Detroit, 7:00 p.m
2/24/2013 — Boston at Florida, 3:00 p.m.
2/28/2013 — Pittsburgh at Carolina, 7:00 p.m.
3/1/2013 — Columbus at Chicago, 8:30 p.m.
3/2/2013 — Ottawa at Philadelphia, 12:00 p.m.
3/2/2013 — Washington at Winnipeg, 3:00 p.m.
3/2/2013 — Pittsburgh at Montreal, 7:00 p.m.
3/2/2013 — Los Angeles at Vancouver, 10:00 p.m.
3/3/2013 — St. Louis at Dallas, 3:00 p.m.
3/4/2013 — Nashville at Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m.
3/7/2013 — Pittsburgh at Philadelphia, 7:00 p.m.
3/8/2013 — Chicago at Colorado, 9:00 p.m.
3/9/2013 — Philadelphia at Boston, 1:00 p.m.
3/9/2013 — St. Louis at San Jose, 4:00 p.m.
3/9/2013 — Pittsburgh at Toronto, 7:00 p.m.
3/14/2013 — Washington at Carolina, 7:00 p.m.
3/15/2013 — New Jersey at Philadelphia, 7:00 p.m.
3/16/2013 — NY Rangers at Pittsburgh, 1:00 p.m.
3/16/2013 — Carolina at Tampa Bay, 7:00 p.m.0
3/16/2013 — Detroit at Vancouver, 10:00 p.m.
3/20/2013 — Dallas at Colorado, 9:30 p.m.
3/21/2013 — New Jersey at Carolina, 7:00 p.m.
3/22/2013 — Pittsburgh at NY Islanders, 7:00 p.m.
3/22/2013 — Detroit at Anaheim, 10:00 p.m.
3/23/2013 — Vancouver at Los Angeles, 4:00 p.m.
3/23/2013 — Boston at Toronto, 7:00 p.m.
3/28/2013 — Los Angeles at St. Louis, 8:00 p.m.
3/29/2013 — Anaheim at Chicago, 8:30 p.m.3/30/2013 — Boston at Philadelphia, 1:00 p.m.
3/30/2013 — NY Rangers at Montreal, 7:00 p.m.
4/4/2013 — New Jersey at Boston, 7:00 p.m.
4/4/2013 — Detroit at Phoenix, 10:00 p.m.
4/5/2013 — NY Rangers at Pittsburgh, 7:00 p.m.
4/6/2013 — Edmonton at Los Angeles, 4:00 p.m.
4/6/2013 — NY Rangers at Carolina, 7:00 p.m.
4/6/2013 — Calgary at Vancouver, 10:00 p.m.
4/7/2013 — Dallas at San Jose, 4:00 p.m.
4/8/2013 — Carolina at Boston, 7:00 p.m.
4/12/2013 — Detroit at Chicago, 8:30 p.m.
4/13/2013 — Vancouver at Colorado, 3:00 p.m.
4/13/2013 — Montreal at Toronto, 7:00 p.m.
4/13/2013 — Anaheim at Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m.
4/18/2013 — Vancouver at Dallas, 8:00 p.m.
4/19/2013 — Pittsburgh at Boston, 7:00 p.m.
4/20/2013 — Florida at New Jersey, 1:00 p.m.
4/20/2013 — Buffalo at Pittsburgh, 7:00 p.m.
4/20/2013 — Detroit at Vancouver, 10:00 p.m.
4/21/2013 — Florida at Boston, 3:00 p.m.
4/21/2013 — Dallas at Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m.
4/22/2013 — Chicago at Vancouver, 10:00 p.m.
4/25/2013 — Anaheim at Vancouver, 10:00 p.m.
4/26/2013 — Edmonton at Minnesota, 8:00 p.m.

That will conclude the 2013 NHL TV schedules.

Oh My! It’s The Return of The Linkage!

It’s been way too long since you’ve seen linkage on this site. This has been the main mission of Fang’s Bites since the beginning, but too often, I get roped into doing family stuff and it prevents me from getting on here until late.

I hope to rectify that. So without further delay, here’s the linkage.

I’ll begin with Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch who looks at tonight’s ESPN production of the BCS National Championship Game and he breaks news that former Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine will co-host a daily NBC Sports Radio show.

From The Sherman Report, Ed Sherman talks with ESPN’s Brent Musburger about retirement.

John Ourand of Sports Business Journal says thanks to its parent company buying into YES Network, Fox Sports will have the rights to as many as 18 New York Yankees games for its national MLB broadcasts (for now, subscription required).

Tripp Mickle of Sports Business Daily writes that DirecTV is dropping NASCAR Hot Pass due to the high cost and low demand.

ESPN’s Darren Rovell reports that the “Catholic 7″, the breakaway basketball schools from the Big East, is negotiating a megabucks deal with Fox Sports.

Nathan Savin Scott of USA Today lists the best sports commercials of 2012.

Mike Reynolds at Multichannel News says tonight’s BCS Championship Game could set an all-time viewership record for ESPN and cable TV.

The extremely warped Anthony Crupi (he’ll even admit this) of Adweek writes that the NFL’s regular season ratings were down slightly from last year, but it delivers an audience unlike any other programming.

Friend of Fang’s Bites Michael McCarthy at Advertising Age notes that college football is close to passing baseball as the nation’s second most popular sport.

Natalie Zmuda of Ad Age says Pepsi wants to make you, yes you, part of its Super Bowl ad.

Mark J. Miller at BrandChannel notes how a Nike ad campaign helped to nudge the NHL into ending its lockout.

Toni Fitzgerald from Media Life Magazine wonders if the ratings will return for the NHL now that its lockout has been resolved.

SBNation’s Steve Lepore reports that Michelle Beadle’s new show, The Crossover, will replace NBC Sports Talk later this month.

David Rogers over at Awful Announcing scolds NHL Network for not covering one second of the end of the lockout.

At the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center, Wheat Hotchkiss (I like this name) delves into ESPN’s production of the BCS National Championship Game in South Flordia.

EPL Talk reviews Fox’s first-ever broadcast of an FA Cup game.

Will Leitch at Sports on Earth says NBC Sports Network’s ratings may be low, but at least it’s trying to be the anti-ESPN.

Chad Finn from the Boston Globe writes about Bobby Valentine’s new foray into daily sports radio.

Brian Stelter at the New York Times says rising sports fees are causing cable providers to drop lower performing channels.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post needs to stop watching television.

Newsday’s Neil Best says there’s too much sports television and radio for the average fan to keep track of. Well put, Neil.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union says Golf Channel has had to adjust its schedule for the weather-delayed Tournament of Champions.

Ken McMillan of the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record says CBS Sports Radio has a home in the Hudson Valley.

Keith Groller with the Allentown (PA) Morning Call talks with an Eastern Pennsylvania native who’s been covering Notre Dame for the last six years.

David Zurawik of the Baltimore Sun feels CBS did not get the job done covering yesterday’s Colts-Ravens game.

David says yesterday’s Colts-Ravens game received the highest rating in the Charm City since last year’s Super Bowl.

Dan Steinberg from the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog has the national media reaction to DC NFL Team head coach Mike Shanahan’s decision to keep quarterback Robert Griffin III on the field despite him seemingly being hurt until an injury that ended his game.

Dan says a local sports radio morning show now gets an opportunity on TV.

Tom Jones at the Tampa Bay Times has the winners and losers in the NHL Lockout.

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald has some info from ESPN on tonight’s BCS National Championship Game.

Mike Herndon of the Birmingham (AL) News says ESPN could not have asked for a better matchup in the BCS National Championship Game.

Jon Solomon of the Birmingham News looks into the behind-the-scenes for ESPN’s telecast of Alabama-Notre Dame.

David Barron with the Houston Chronicle says Saturday’s Bengals-Texans local rating matched last year’s Wild Card playoff game number.

David writes that former Houston Astros broadcaster Alan Ashby will return to the team as its TV analyst on Comcast SportsNet.

WDIV-TV in Detroit had the suspended Rob Parker from ESPN’s First Take in his first TV interview since he was taken off the air for his comments on DC NFL Team QB Robert Griffin III (starts at 6:15). h/t to Richard Deitsch for the link.

Dusty Saunders of the Denver Post says a Rocky Mountain region sportscaster has plenty of memories that include the Broncos.

Joe Flint of the Los Angeles Times writes that the NFL’s ratings have slipped a bit from last season, but they still remain king of all television.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News has the five things he learned from the weekend.

Tom also has the SoCal sports calendar for this week.

Bruce Dowbiggin from the Toronto Globe and Mail asks with the NHL Lockout over, what’s in it for the fans?

Sports Media Watch notes that the overnight rating for the Cincinnati-Houston NFL Wild Card Game on NBC was up from last year.

SMW says NBC’s nightcap of Vikings-Packers was down slightly from last year.

SMW tells us that Seattle-Washington had the third highest overnight for an NFL Wild Card game since 1999.

And for Indy-Baltimore on CBS, the overnight number was very good.

And that’s going to be it for now.

The NHL is Back. What Next?

Nobody won. Really, nobody. The fans lost because they were left hanging and lost a half-season including the Winter Classic at the Big House in Michigan. NBC Sports Network whose ratings fell into abyss with no NHL games from October through now has been “The Biggest Loser” through all this.

Regional sports networks across the country, dependent on NHL games for live programming, have been stuck trying to fill large holes with repeats of past sporting events or in some extreme cases, movies.

So now that the NHL is coming back as early as January 15 and no later than January 19, let’s go over the winners and losers from the NHL Lockout.

WINNERS

No one. Nobody won. Fans. Players. Owners. Sponsors. TV partners. The League. All lost.

LOSERS

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman: The NHL has lost 10% of the games in his disastrous tenure due to lockout. No league has lost more games due to labor disputes during the time he’s been in office. And the NHL is the lone league of the major four leagues to have canceled an entire season.

NBC Sports Network: It didn’t have live NHL games for four months and its ratings suffered. With Michelle Beadle’s new show premiering this month and a new NFL documentary about to begin, the network needs that consistent live programming to promote them. The NHL will help in that process.

Regional Sports Networks: Local rightsholders such as NESN, Sun Sports, Comcast SportsNet and Fox Sports Net all depend on the NHL for as many as 80 live games per season. Without live games, they had to scramble for other programming. NESN kept airing the Boston Bruins 2011 Stanley Cup run, but that only goes so far. The RSN’s are happy to see the NHL returning.

Sponsors: Based on the momentum the NHL had built over the last few years including a new long-term TV contract with NBC that began last season, sponsors had begun to drift to the league. As the lockout progressed, sponsors put pressure on the league to get back on the ice.

Local businesses and Employees:Restaurants, bars and shops that depend on hockey crowds for business at night lost four months to the lockout and that’s money that they’ll never get back. Buffalo, Nashville and other hockey-only markets are happy to see the NHL knowing that they’ll have 24-25 dates. But will the fans be back? And if you want to see how losing hockey can affect local businesses, here’s a flashback from WFSB’s Dennis House on how the Hartford Whalers’ departure affected Connecticut and one particular restaurant.

NHL Network: Bad job by the NHL Network for not even bringing back its studio shows to update fans on the lockout. As the news of the lockout was being settled, NHL Network remained in taped programming. They didn’t even simulcast TSN from Canada. Disservice to the fans. NFL Network and NBA TV both covered the ends of their lockouts in 2011, yet NHL Network can’t even provide lip service other than a crawl? C’mon, man! C’mon, NHL Network!

So where do we go from here? There are several things the NHL can do to get back in the fans’ good graces. One, make the Center Ice pay out-of-market package free for the entire season. Also, GameCenter which is the online version of Center Ice should be greatly discounted or made free for the season as well.

When the season opens, whether it’s on January 15 or January 19, NBC Sports Group should be given an opening night doubleheader which should include the banner raising ceremony for the defending Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings.

If the NHL opens on January 19 which falls on a Saturday, NBC should be given an afternoon doubleheader at noon and 3 p.m. ET while NBC Sports Network should be given games at night.

As far as the Canadian TV partners, expect CBC to given the Opening Night doubleheader no matter what day the NHL will open the season. TSN should get plenty of games for opening week as well.

And we’ll keep an eye on the ratings for any residual effects from the lockout. Both the NFL and NBA did not suffer any collateral damage from the lockout seeing record ratings. We’ll see if the NHL is warmly welcomed back or given the cold shoulder by fans.

To prepare you for the NHL, I’ll provide you this compilation of NESN’s Jack Edwards calling Boston Bruins action over the years.

And for Western New York, here’s the Best of Buffalo Sabres legendary voice Rick Jeanneret.

One more for good measure. TSN provides the Top Ten calls for legendary Pittsburgh Penguins voice Mike Lange. I wish we had “And you can scratch my back with a hacksaw!”

That is all.

NHL Releases The 2012-13 Regular Season National TV Schedules

This is like last year when the NBA released its national TV schedules in the midst of its lockout and nobody cared. Now, it’s the NHL’s turn to release this and until the lockout is settled between the league and its NHL Players Association, this means nothing.

After all the momentum the NHL built at the end of last season, there’s labor strife and Commissioner Gary Bettman seems to be in no hurry to end despite a nice fat TV contract with NBC and a TV negotiation upcoming in Canada that could further expand the league’s coffers.

Anyway, we have this press release from the National Hockey League talking about the number of games on NBC, NBC Sports Network, NHL Network, CBC, RDS and TSN.

NBC Sports Group will combine for over 100 regular season games including games on Sunday afternoons, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights.

CBC will carry 101 games including Hockey Night in Canada doubleheaders on Saturday nights.

TSN has Wednesday Night Hockey and will take 237 games on its combined TSN/TSN2 group.

RDS is the French language rightsholder for Canada and will carry all Montreal Canadiens games plus the Winter Classic and All-Star Weekend.

NHL Network will have 82 regular season games mostly from local feeds.

Take a look at what the NHL is saying. After that, I’ll post the press releases from the NHL’s TV partners in separate posts.

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE UNVEILS 2012-13 NATIONAL TELEVISION SCHEDULE

NEW YORK (August 30, 2012) – The National Hockey League (NHL) announced today the television schedules for national partners NBC, NBC Sports Network, CBC, TSN, TSN2, RDS and NHL Network-U.S. for the 2012-13 regular season.

In the U.S., NBC and NBC Sports Network enter the second season of the 10-year agreement with the NHL, the largest media rights deal in League history. It also is the eighth consecutive season both networks have served as a national television partner of the NHL in the U.S. In Canada, CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada begins its 60th regular season of NHL® broadcasts. TSN, whose relationship with the NHL dates back to 1987, continues as the League’s national English-language cable partner. French-language telecast partner RDS has been televising NHL games since its inception in 1989 and enters its 10th consecutive season presenting every Montreal Canadiens game.

NBC Sports Group
Throughout the season, NBC Sports Group once again will offer hockey fans in the U.S. more than 100 games across NBC and NBC Sports Network. NBC Sports Network will air NHL games three consecutive nights each week on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Wednesday nights will be exclusive, and in January, NBC Sports Network will add a second exclusive night on Sundays, giving NHL fans four straight nights of hockey action. The network will include a live pre-game (NHL Live™) and post-game (NHL Overtime™) show before and after every telecast. NBC Sports Network also will televise NHL All-Star Weekend live from Columbus, Ohio, Jan. 25-27, 2013. Coverage includes the NHL All-Star Player Fantasy Draft™, NHL All-Star Skills Competition™ and the NHL® All-Star Game.

For the second consecutive season, NHL on NBC broadcast coverage launches on Thanksgiving Friday, with the 2012 NHL Thanksgiving Showdown™ featuring the Boston Bruins playing host to the New York Rangers at 1:00 p.m. ET. NBC will follow up that broadcast with the 2013 NHL Winter Classic® on Tuesday, Jan. 1, at Michigan Stadium on the campus of the University of Michigan, before airing the weekly “Game of the Week” beginning Jan. 20. On Feb. 17, Hockey Day in America will be expanded to a triple-header, with two afternoon games on NBC followed by evening game on NBC Sports Network.

CBC
CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada returns for its 60th season, marking a new milestone for one of the longest running and most iconic programs in Canadian television history. The 60th anniversary season is highlighted by 101 regular-season games, including a special Thursday, Nov. 1, match-up between the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs, just as it did in 1952 when Hockey Night in Canada first took to the TV airwaves. The 2013 NHL Winter Classic® and the 60th NHL All-Star Game also return exclusively to CBC this season. Hockey Night in Canada on CBC will continue to honor Canada’s pastime as Hockey Day in Canada celebrates its 13th annual broadcast from Lloydminster AB/SK, Canada’s only border town, on Feb. 9, 2013. All Canadian teams will be featured on the day-long broadcast, which commemorates and highlights local hockey heroes.

With CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada continued commitment to connect Canadians to the NHL and the sport of hockey no matter where they are on game night, all 101 regular-season games will be streamed online as well as available for iPad and iPhone users.

TSN
TSN platforms will broadcast 237 NHL regular-season games during the 2012-13 season, its most extensive broadcast package ever. TSN will broadcast 88 regular-season games nationally, including 74 games featuring Canadian teams. TSN2 will air 63 games. Highlighting TSN’s 2012-13 NHL regular-season broadcast schedule is the Hockey Hall of Fame Game, airing for the first time on TSN. Featuring New Jersey at Toronto on Friday, November 9, the Hockey Hall of Fame Game honors 2012 Hockey Hall of Fame inductees Pavel Bure, Adam Oates, Joe Sakic and Mats Sundin. In addition, TSN has exclusive Canadian coverage of the NHL Draft, NHL Draft™ Lottery and the Hockey Hall of Fame Induction Celebration while retaining the English-language exclusivity of “Wednesday Night Hockey” during which there is no other national or local NHL telecasts.

RDS
RDS will once again have French-language coverage of all 82 regular-season Montreal Canadiens games. RDS and RDS INFO also will broadcast a package of games featuring other NHL teams, including the 2013 NHL Winter Classic® and full coverage of the NHL All-Star Weekend.

NHL Network-U.S.
NHL Network-U.S. will televise 78 live games for its American audience this season, focusing on Thursday nights and Saturdays, including 14 doubleheaders and three tripleheaders. Regular-season coverage on NHL Network-U.S. gets underway on Friday, Oct. 12, at 7:30 p.m. ET and features Nashville at Detroit. The Red Wings will begin their quest for a 22nd consecutive postseason berth against captain Shea Weber and the Predators, the very team that eliminated them from the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

On Saturday evenings, NHL Network-U.S. will continue to incorporate the highly acclaimed CBC programming “Coaches Corner” and “Hotstove” into intermission content for American fans. Other highlights include eight appearances by the current Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings and Zach Parise’s return to New Jersey when the Minnesota Wild take on the Devils on Sunday, Nov. 11, at 5:00 p.m. ET.

NHL Network’s signature show, NHL Tonight™ hosted by Kathryn Tappen and featuring a rotating cast of analysts, returns across North America, providing highlights and analysis of every NHL game on a nightly basis. In addition to NHL Tonight, the network also will feature live original programming each evening with  NHL Live™ and NHL On the Fly™. As always, NHL Network™ will continue to bring fans exclusive coverage from all of the NHL’s signature events throughout the season. Information on the dates and times of the NHL Network live-game schedule for Canadian viewers will be released in the near future.

2012-13 Regular Season
The NHL’s 2012-13 regular season is scheduled to commence on Thursday, Oct. 11, with a quartet of games. The following night – Friday, Oct. 12 – the Los Angeles Kings will raise the first Stanley Cup® Championship banner in franchise history in front of a national audience on NBC Sports Network.

Opening night will feature nationally televised double-headers in both the U.S. and Canada. In the U.S., NBC Sports Network will air the 2011 Stanley Cup® champion Boston Bruins visiting the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center as well as the St. Louis Blues taking on the Colorado Avalanche at Pepsi Center. In Canada, CBC and RDS will televise the Montreal Canadiens playing host to the Ottawa Senators at Bell Centre and the Calgary Flames battling the Vancouver Canucks at Scotiabank Saddledome.

Under the NHL scheduling matrix, each team plays six games against each team in its division (24 games), four games against the non-division teams within its conference (40 games) plus 18 non-conference games – including at least one game against each club in the other conference (15 games) and three other games against select teams.

The 2012-13 NHL regular season will conclude on Saturday, April 13, with 28 teams competing in what promises to be a thrilling 14-game fight to the finish.

NBC Sports Group’s schedule is coming up.

Let’s Break Out Some Monday Linkage

Here’s the Monday linkage wrapped in a nice bow for you.

From Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand and Michael Smith, they report that ESPN will pay an average of $80 million per year to air the Rose Bowl. That more than doubles the current contract which pays $30 million.

Liz Mullen of SBJ says a noted movie studio is forming a sports talent agency further melding Hollywood and athletics.

Also from Sports Business Journal, Chris Botta notes that Brooklyn is ready and waiting if the New York Islanders can’t find a new home on Long Island

Michael Hiestand of USA Today says Bill Walton returns to national TV through ESPN as he’ll become the network’s analyst for Pac-12 basketball games.

Mike Reynolds at Multichannel News writes that the early sign up numbers for NBC’s Olympic apps are encouraging.

Mike says NBCUniversal is looking to make the 2012 London Games a truly digital experience.

Ed Sherman of The Sherman Report talks with NBC’s Bob Costas about turning 60.

Talkers Magazine, the so-called Bible of Talk Radio, lists its 2012 Heavy 100 of Sports Talk. I agree with Mike Francesa and Dan Patrick in the Top 3, the rest I have issues with including a few in the New England area, plus why is Joe Morgan on the list? And there are only two women.

Lisa O’Carroll of the London (UK) Guardian says Britain’s oldest and largest black newspaper has been denied credentials to the Olympics Stadium for the track & field events.

George Winslow from Broadcasting & Cable notes that it’s expected that social media will be heavily used for the Olympics.

Matt Rudnitsky of SportsGrid notes that ESPN’s Captain Blowhard and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban are engaging in the next Great Twitter feud.

Brian Clapp at Sports TV Jobs wonders how NFL Network’s new morning show can sustain fresh content over a four hour period every day.

Kirk Minihane of WEEI.com tackles the question over whether the Boston Red Sox should fire advisor Bill James over his comments on ESPN Radio about Joe Paterno and the Jerry Sandusky scandal.

If it’s Monday, then it must mean that the New York Post’s Phil Mushnick is in a bad mood about something.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union writes that Syracuse has negotiated an early exit to the ACC from the Big East Conference.

Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette notes that ESPN is starting its weekday coverage of the Open Championship earlier than previously announced.

DCRTV’s Dave Hughes writing in Press Box talks about the friendship that has developed between MASN’s Washington Nationals studio team of the great Johnny Holliday and Ray Knight.

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog noticed that Democratic gargoyle strategist James Carville wore a Nats t-shirt on MSNBC over the weekend.

Tom Jones of the Tampa Bay Times has a look back at the weekend in sports television.

Mike Herndon of the Mobile (AL) Press-Register writes about the SEC releasing its early-season football TV schedule.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle looks back at the ten years since the failed US Olympic bids for the 2012 Games.

David imagines what if Houston had been awarded the 2012 Olympics.

Dusty Saunders from the Denver Post says the Penn State scandal has been the talk of the town.

Matthew T. Hall at the San Diego Union-Tribune wants to organize a fan protest on the lack of movement on getting Padres games on local TV.

Tom Hoffarth from the Los Angeles Daily News has your weekly sports calendar.

Sports Media Watch looks at Bill Walton making his return to ESPN.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media suggests how the NHL Network can stop the inexorable amount of game reruns during the summer.

Cork Gaines from the Business Insider’s Sports Page says MLB Advanced Media gave a hollow apology for a system-wide outage preventing fans from watching MLB.TV online Friday.

Emmett Jones at Sports Business Digest says truTV has given the go to a Shaquille O’Neal-fronted viral video show.

This is where we’ll end the links for today.

A Few Tuesday Sports Media Thoughts

Time for some sports media thoughts. These have been percolating in my head all day Monday. It’s fine time to pour them out and have you peruse through them. As always, they’re in bullet form.

• Monday’s announcement from NFL Network regarding its new morning show could be a game changer for sports television. If “NFL AM” is successful, it could lead other sports networks to follow NFL Network’s lead. But if the show fails to catch on, then it will be back to the status quo with repeats of the previous night’s highlights program. With “NFL AM” set to launch on July 30 from 6-10 a.m. ET, one wonders if there will be enough content to fill the time, but as a director once told me when I was working at a Providence TV station, “Have no fear. We’ll find a way to fill the show. I’ve never had a half-hour of black,” meaning he never had to show a blank screen. That will have to be the philosophy of NFL Network for “NFL AM”. Plus with people going to work and school, not everyone will see the entire four hours.

  If the show works, I can see other league-owned channels attempting similar ventures. MLB Network’s Quick Pitch airs on a loop on most days from 1 a.m. – noon ET. That’s too long. An MLB Network morning show could work as would a morning NBA program.

  But before we get to the point of multiple live morning sports programs, “NFL AM” has to get off the ground successfully. By this time next year, we’ll have an idea whether NFL Network’s “NFL AM” is a success or a failure.

• When I began this site five years ago, Erin Andrews was the darling of the sports blogosphere. Any picture or even a slight mention of her would increase a site’s traffic. There was a reason why she was nicknamed “Erin Pageviews”. Before she re-signed with ESPN in 2010, Erin seemed to be in demand. Her star never shone brighter and it appeared that she could have the pick of any job.

  Now cut to 2012 and it appears Erin is no longer the darling of sports bloggers. Others like Michelle Beadle, Jenn Brown, Charissa Thompson and Molly Qerim et.al. have become favorites as well. This isn’t to say that the Internet is ignoring her, TMZ still pays attention even speculating that she had a boob job. And she was referenced twice in the premiere of the new HBO series, “The Newsroom”.

  Deadspin which once championed her (and was the first to link to the infamous hotel room video in 2009) came out with an article this month pointing out that Ms. Andrews seemingly has no place to go other than ESPN.

  Deadspin reported that Erin is no longer working for Good Morning America and she’s removed the reference to GMA from her Twitter bio.

  Does this necessarily mean that Erin has no other place to go than ESPN? If you believe the speculation from Deadspin and The Big Lead, the answer is yes. But does it mean that she hasn’t had any other offers or couldn’t get work if she decided to walk away from Bristol, CT?

  She can still attract viewers and page views. The NHL thought Erin had enough star power to invite her to its annual awards show last week and present two trophies. Could a league-owned channel like NHL Network find room for Erin? I’m sure it could if the opportunity was presented. But we have not heard of any offers asides from her present employer.

  Overall, I still think Erin can move the meter on the Internet and she’ll continue to so for a while. Just for how long she’ll be at ESPN is anyone’s guess.

• Without any EURO 2012 action until Wednesday’s semifinal game between Spain and Portugal, I went into soccer withdrawals. International soccer is a sport that ESPN continues to excel. Understated coverage with Bob Ley heading the studio and Ian Darke the main play-by-play man, I can easily say this is a Golden Age for soccer on American television. Couple this with having Martin Tyler calling English Premier League games on Fox Soccer and fans have been hearing some of the best announcing of the sport.

  Granted, we get hiccups like Fox’s silly dumbing down of the Champions League Final last year, but overall, the coverage on ESPN, Fox Soccer and Gol TV has been good.

  With ESPN having just the FIFA World Cup in Brazil left to broadcast, it is setting the bar very high. Fox will have a long ways to go to match ESPN’s coverage and while this year’s Champions League Final was an improvement over 2010, the network will have a big hill to climb to equal or surpass the Alleged Worldwide Leader on soccer.

• Count me as one who loved the premiere of “The Newsroom” on Sunday. I enjoyed Jeff Daniels as the erascible anchor Will McAvoy and Emily Mortimer as his idealistic Executive Producer MacKenzie McHale. Yes, in typical Aaron Sorkin fashion, some of the dialogue was overwritten, but I enjoyed the show and I hope it has a long life on HBO. As long as Sorkin doesn’t go overboard on preaching, I think the show will do just fine.

I went longer than I expected on the thoughts. That’s to your benefit.

NHL Network To Air Hockey Hall of Fame Inductee Announcement

Tomorrow, NHL Network in the US will pick up TSN2′s airing of the Hockey Hall of Fame Inductee Announcement at 3 pm. ET. Here’s NHL Network’s press release.

NHL NETWORK U.S. TO SIMULCAST 2012 HOCKEY HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE ANNOUNCEMENT TOMORROW AT 3 P.M.

NEW YORK (June 25, 2012) -–  NHL Network U.S. will simulcast TSN2’s live coverage of the 2012 Hockey Hall of Fame Inductee Announcement tomorrow, June 26 at 3:00 p.m. ET.

2012 Hockey Hall of Fame Inductee Announcement will be made by Bill Hay, Hockey Hall of Fame CEO and Chairman of the Board, along with Co-Chairs of the Hockey Hall of Fame Selection Committee Jim Gregory and Pat Quinn.

Some of the first-year eligible players for the Hockey Hall of Fame include Joe Sakic, Brendan Shanahan, Mats Sundin, Jeremy Roenick, Curtis Joseph, Gary Roberts and Claude Lemieux.

TSN’s Steve Kouleas hosts the coverage and is joined by TSN and NHL Network analyst Mike Johnson and Steve Dryden, Managing Editor of NHL on TSN. Reporter Ryan Rishaug will report live from the Hockey Hall of Fame.

NHL Live at 5:00 p.m. ET and NHL Tonight at 7:00 p.m. ET will provide additional coverage of the announcement.

For more information on NHL Network, visit nhlnetwork.com.

That will do it.

NHL Draft Starts on NBC Sports Network, Ends on CNBC & NHL Network

Tonight, the 2012 NHL Draft in Pittsburgh will air on three outlets. The first round will air on NBC Sports Network starting from 7 – 9 p.m. ET. At 9, NBC Sports Network will move to U.S. Olympic Trials coverage airing the Track & Field trials. The NHL Draft will move to CNBC and NHL Network which will simulcast TSN’s coverage.

We have the blurb from NBC Sports regarding the Draft.

2012 NHL DRAFT BEGINS AT 7 P.M. ET ON NBC SPORTS NETWORK

NBC Sports Network to air first two hours of the first round; CNBC to air final hour

NEW YORK — June 21, 2012 – The 2012 NHL Draft begins tonight at 7 p.m. ET with first-round coverage on NBC Sports Network from Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh. NBC Sports Network will carry the first two hours of the first round (7-9 p.m. ET) with the final hour airing on CNBC. The NHL Network will also simulcast the Draft beginning at 9 p.m. ET.

For the 50th time in NHL history, teams and executives will come together to select the next generation of hockey players. Top prospects for this year’s draft; include right winger Nail Yakupov with the Sarnia Sting in the Ontario Hockey League, defenseman Ryan Murray, the No. 2-ranked North American skater with the Everett Silvertips in the Western Hockey League (Canada), and center Mikhail Grigorenko of the Quebec Remparts in the Ontario Hockey League.

The Edmonton Oilers have the first pick.

That’s all.

NHL Network To Air Niklas Lidstrom Announcement

Thursday morning, NHL Network will carry the Detroit Red Wings press conference that will unveil the future of celebrated captain Niklas Lidstrom. It’s expected that the Wings will announce that the 42 year old defenseman will call it a career. And he’s had a great career that has spanned 20 consecutive playoff appearances with Detroit plus winning the Norris Trophy seven times for Best Defenseman in the league.

NHL Network will celebrate Lidstrom by airing the NHL 36 documentary that focused on him and was originally shown on NBC Sports Network earlier in the season before and after the press conference.

The presser is scheduled for 11 a.m. ET. NHL.com will also stream the event live.

NHL NETWORK AND NHL.COM TO PROVIDE LIVE COVERAGE OF RED WINGS NEWS CONFERENCE TOMORROW

NEW YORK (May 30, 2012) – NHL Network will broadcast live and NHL.com will stream the Detroit Red Wings news conference featuring team Executive Vice President & General Manager Ken Holland and captain Nicklas Lidstrom Thursday, May 31, beginning at 11:00 a.m. ET.

Before and after the news conference, NHL Network will air NHL 36: Nicklas Lidstrom beginning at 10:30 a.m. ET.

NHL Network Broadcast Schedule for May 31 (All Times Eastern)

10:30 a.m. — NHL 36: Nicklas Lidstrom
11:00 a.m. — Red Wings News Conference
After News Conference — NHL 36: Nicklas Lidstrom
5:00 p.m. — NHL Live
10:00 p.m. — NHL Tonight: Stanley Cup Final

That will do it.

NHL Network & NHL.com Reveal Stanley Cup Final Coverage Plans

We have this announcement from the National Hockey League in regards to this year’s Stanley Cup Final coverage. NHL Network will carry pregame coverage on days of the game.

It will begin Final coverage on Tuesday, May 29 at noon ET with Media Day at the home of the Eastern Conference Champion. Then the following day, NHL Tonight will air live an hour preceding the game and will do so on gamedays. Postgame coverage immediately following CBC and NBC going off the air and will have press conferences, interviews and analysis.

We have the announcement live from the National Hockey League. Check it all below.

NHL NETWORK AND NHL.COM UNVEIL COVERAGE PLANS FOR THE 2012 STANLEY CUP FINAL

Live Broadcast of Media Day, Fans Online Can Choose Live Stream of Three Podiums
New NHL Original Productions Program and Special Guest Analysts Among Highlights

NEW YORK (May 25, 2012) – NHL Network™ and NHL.com will be front and center throughout the 2012 Stanley Cup® Final between the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Kings and the Eastern Conference champion, reporting on every angle and providing fans with the most comprehensive coverage of the NHL’s ultimate event.

NHL Network

NHL Network will begin its Stanley Cup Final coverage live from the Eastern Conference champion’s home on Tuesday, May 29, at Noon, ET, with four hours of exclusive programming from the League’s annual “Media Day” — a gathering of every player, coach and GM participating in the Final. For fans who aren’t able to watch the coverage live, NHL Network will air a recap show at 7:30 p.m. ET delivering all of the highlights from the day’s event.

On game days, NHL Network will have three hours of live coverage leading up to the contest beginning with NHL Live from 5-7 p.m. ET, followed by NHL Tonight: 2012 Stanley Cup Final Pre-Game Show. Once the game is completed, NHL Tonight: 2012 Stanley Cup Final Post-Game Show takes to the air to review every pass, hit, shot, block and goal. On non-game days, NHL Network will air NHL Live from 5-7 p.m. ET on weeknights, and NHL Tonight: 2012 Stanley Cup Final Edition every night.

On Sunday, June 3 at 8 p.m. ET, NHL Original Productions will roll out its latest program titled Inside the Cup. Throughout the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs, NHL Original Productions has made the most of its access to the League by having selected players wear microphones during games and capturing honest commentary straight from those battling on the ice every night in pursuit of the ultimate trophy in sports, the Stanley Cup. Inside the Cup weaves that unique footage and audio to tell how the remaining two teams beat the odds and earned their spot in the Stanley Cup Final.

On-Air Talent

NHL Tonight will be anchored by Kathryn Tappen, former NHL goaltender Kevin Weekes and Barry Melrose – the former head coach of the Los Angeles Kings who led the franchise during its last Stanley Cup Final run in 1993.

The show also will feature a number of special guest analysts. Darren Pang joins fellow NHL alumnus Doug Weight, who currently serves the New York Islanders as assistant coach and special assistant to the general manager. Joe Micheletti will join broadcaster Steve Mears.

NHL Network’s E.J. Hradek will host NHL Live on all game days and non-travel days. NHL alumnus Mike Johnson will cover the Eastern Conference and various NHL Network talent will rotate as guest analysts in the West. On off-days, NHL Live regulars Deb Placey and Bill Pidto will take the helm live from the New York studio.

Longtime Los Angeles Kings host Heidi Androl will join the Network crew in the West to deliver feature content, interacting with fans and players while reporting on the atmosphere surrounding the 2012 Stanley Cup Final.

All NHL Network programming will be carried in high-definition to U.S. audiences. NHL Network is available in the U.S. and Canada by contacting digital cable, satellite or telco providers. For more information or for an updated program schedule, please visit
www.nhlnetwork.com.

NHL .com

NHL.com will stream NHL Network original programming in addition to delivering original content created by a team of reporters, writers and videographers attending every press conference, practice and game. New this year, NHL.com will feature multiple camera choices for fans watching a live stream of NHL Tonight: 2012 Stanley Cup Final Media Day, allowing them to pick from three podiums at any point during the event to ensure they catch interviews with their favorite player or coach.

NHL.com also will live stream all post-game press conferences and feature extensive behind-the-scenes coverage of the Championship celebration with the Cup-winning club. Additional coverage includes pregame CoveritLive chats with popular NHL.com reporters and blogs submitted by hockey notables involved with the Final.

NHL Social™

NHL Social will be on location and behind the scenes at the Final, delivering real-time updates through the League’s official accounts on multiple social networking websites. Follow the NHL on Twitter (@NHL), Facebook (Facebook.com/NHL and Facebook.com/StanleyCup), FourSquare (foursquare.com/NHL), Instagram (@NHL) and Pinterest (pinterest.com/TheNHL). To join the conversation, fans are encouraged to use the official hashtags #StanleyCup and #Becauseitsthecup.

NHL Network Schedule: May 28 – June 3 (all times ET and subject to change)

Monday, May 28
NHL Tonight 2012 Stanley Cup Final Preview – 9 p.m.

Tuesday, May 29
NHL Tonight: 2012 Stanley Cup Final Preview (encore) – 11 a.m.
NHL Tonight: 2012 Stanley Cup Final Media Day – 12 p.m.
NHL Tonight: 2012 Stanley Cup Final Media Day (encore) – 4 p.m.
NHL Plays of the Week: Plays of the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs – 7 p.m.
NHL Tonight: 2012 Stanley Cup Final Media Day Recap – 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday, May 30
NHL Live – 5 p.m.
NHL Tonight: Stanley Cup Final Pre-Game Show – 7 p.m.
Game 1 – Los Angeles at TBD (NBC, CBC, RDS) – 8 p.m.
NHL Tonight: Stanley Cup Final Post Game Show – Immediately following game

Thursday, May 31
NHL Live – 5 p.m.
NHL Tonight: Stanley Cup Final Edition – 10 p.m.

Friday, June 1
NHL Live – 5 p.m.
NHL Tonight: Stanley Cup Final Edition – 10 p.m.

Saturday, June 2
NHL Live – 5 p.m.
NHL Tonight: Stanley Cup Final Pre-Game Show – 7 p.m.
Game 2 – Los Angeles at TBD (NBC, CBC, RDS) – 8 p.m.
NHL Tonight: Stanley Cup Final Post Game Show – Immediately following game

Sunday, June 3
Inside the Cup: 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs – 8 p.m.
NHL Tonight: Stanley Cup Final Edition – 9 p.m.
Inside the Cup: 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs (encore) – 11 p.m.

That’s all.

Some Wednesday Night Linkage

I’ll do some more linkage for you this evening. You’re owed it. Why not?

Thomas O’Toole from USA Today reports that Laurie Fine, the wife of ex-Syracuse assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine, is suing ESPN for libel saying a report ruined her reputation.

Barry Petchesky of Deadspin goes inside the lawsuit and notes that Fine is accusing ESPN of circling the wagons against her.

John Koblin from Deadspin says Fang’s Bites fave Charissa Thompson will replace the outgoing Michelle Beadle on ESPN2′s SportsNation.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch speaks with ESPN’s Prince of Darkness John Skipper who fires some shots at NBC Sports Network.

Mike McCarthy of USA Today has NBC’s response to Skipper.

Tom Weir of USA Today says ESPN’s Adam Schefter threw a G*d D*mned reference at Mike and Mike in the Morning on ESPN Radio and ESPN2. That’s a lot of ESPN references in one sentence.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today says Pat O’Brien is back on the Olympic stage.

Mike Ozanian from Forbes says while sports TV advertising spending is up, the return of investment is not necessarily that good.

Andy Fixmer and Edmund Lee of Bloomberg Businessweek report that the networks are putting more sports programming in primetime to avoid DVR timeshifting.

Jon Lafayette of Broadcasting & Cable looks at NBCUniversal announcing Olympic coverage plans for three cable networks.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News reports that NBC Sports Network will air a cable TV record amount of Olympic coverage this summer.

Mike notes that ESPN is hoping to double its subscriber numbers for its WatchESPN app.

Meanwhile, Josh Lowensohn of CNET says hold the WatchESPN to Apple TV talk.

Billy Steele of Engadget reviews the new ESPN Radio iPad app.

Dan Fogarty at SportsGrid notes that Fox Sports West had an interesting “Key to the Game”.

Jim Williams of the Bleacher Report talks with Fox Soccer analysts on this Saturday’s Champions League Final.

Clare Atkinson from the New York Post reports that the networks are jacking up ad rates for the NFL including CBS for Super Bowl XLVII.

Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette notes that NBC Sports Network will cover the Indy 500 Time Trials this weekend.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union looks at the amount of Olympic coverage on three NBCUniversal cable networks.

Pete says NBC Sports golf reporter Dottie Pepper has co-authored a series of books bringing golf to kids.

Keith Groller at the Allentown (PA) Morning Call says a local cable TV sports reporter is fast becoming a regular on the high school scene.

Dan Steinberg from the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog says a sports radio producer put Icy Hot on his manjunk.

Barry Jackson at the Miami Herald writes that TNT’s Charles Barkley is not a fan of Heat coach Erik Spoelstra.

Paul M. Banks at Chicago Sports Media Watch can’t believe Mike Francesa’s anti-Twitter stance.

Kent Youngblood at the Minneapolis Star Tribune says the new TV voice of the Minnesota Wild comes with some controversy.

Tom Hoffarth at the Los Angeles Daily News says the national media is beginning to take notice of the Kings’ playoff run.

Bud Withers of the Seattle Times writes that ESPN has moved the coaching debut of Mike Leach with Washington State to a Thursday night primetime game.

Jeff Morrow of the Tri-City (WA) Herald notes that ESPN Radio has returned to the local area.

Annie Fowler of the Herald says NHL Network will air the Memorial Cup in its entirety.

Ryan Yoder of Awful Announcing is still buzzing over Mike Francesa’s anti-Twitter rant from this week.

Sports Media Watch has some various ratings news and notes.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media says the NHL on NBC could be moved on Saturday if Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final goes into triple overtime.

Steve says the ratings Game 2 of the NHL Western Conference Final were down from last year.

Dave Kohl at the Broadcast Booth looks at various local radio ratings for baseball.

And that will be do it for tonight.

Some More Overdue Sports Media Thoughts

Yesterday, I provided two overdue sports media thoughts. Today, it’s time to do some more. As always, they’re in bullet form.

• I like what the NBC Sports Group has done on the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. Covering all the games has paid off with higher ratings thus far. By giving all of the games a national outlet, fans have found them and establishing CNBC and NHL Network as secondary homes in addition to NBC and NBC Sports Network was a wise move.

  While I miss having the local feeds in the Conference Semifinals, I understand why NBC Sports Group bought exclusivity there. If you’re going to grow the game nationally, you have to sacrifice the local feeds at some point. We get less of a Jack Edwards or Sam Rosen or Bob Miller, but we also get more games aired in their entirety and that’s good for hockey.

  A few things to improve upon for the future.

  Less local simulcasts on CNBC and NBCSN. NBC Sports Network should not be relying on Comcast SportsNet, CBC or TSN in the first round. NHL Network is another story, but less of the local simulcasts, please.

  Double weekend doubleheaders on NBC should be standard next season. I liked NBC’s Sunday doubleheaders in the first round. Expand them to Saturdays as well.

  And do not. Do not. Do not allow Erik Kusilias anywhere near a set next season. He is a bad host. NASCAR fans thought he was a butcher when ESPN put him as host of NASCAR Now. His brief stints as host in the Conference Quarterfinals on CNBC did nothing to dispel that notion.

  Other than those complaints, NBC Sports Group’s coverage of the Stanley Cup Playoffs gets high marks.

• Sports radio on FM is becoming more of a trend across the country. The latest market to get an FM sports station is the largest in the country, New York City. Last week, ESPN Radio flipped legendary Urban station KISS 98.7 FM to sports. It gave ESPN Radio NY a fighting chance against long-time Big Apple sports leader, WFAN. While the ‘FAN has dominated the New York market head-to-head against ESPN, that was when both were on the AM dial. WFAN’s ratings have dropped recently, but ESPN has not been able to pick up the slack. We’ll see if ‘FAN’s owner, CBS Radio, decides to give the station a new home. Right now, it’s not in the cards, but if ESPN Radio starts to cut into the lead, then CBS could rethink its strategy.

  CBS Radio has been successful with FM sports talk in other markets including Boston so we’ll see if it happens in New York down the road.

• Good on the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences to give former CBS Sports and ABC Sports Essayist Jack Whitaker a Lifetime Achievement Sports Emmy last week.

  It would behoove the Academy to recognize Brent Musburger for his pioneering work as host of the NFL Today and CBS Sports Saturday/Sunday.

  I still find it hard to believe that Brent has never won a Sports Emmy. He should have won one for hosting the Pan American Games for CBS in 1987 and again for ABC in 1991 when they were held in Cuba.

• Belated congratulations to Ed Sherman, formerly of the Chicago Tribune and Crain’s Chicago Business on the launch on his new national sports media site, The Sherman Report.
• Finally got to see this season’s version of “The Rundown” on MLB Network. I like the show and new co-host Lauren Shehadi has developed a very good chemistry with holdover Matt Yallof. I make sure I watch the show when I’m home. Now if MLB Network can do something about The Abortion Known As Intentional Talk…

Ok. Plenty of thoughts for you to absorb. I’ll try to provide more tomorrow.

At Day 20 of The NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs on NBC Sports Group

Two Games 2 in the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs tonight. NBC Sports Group will have them covered for you.

NBC Sports Network carries Game 2 of the Easyern Conference Semifinal series between Washington and the New York Rangers live from Madison Square Garden starting at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time. Rick Peckham and Eddie Olcyzk have the call.

Then Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinal between the surprising Los Angeles Kings and the St. Louis Blues will air on CNBC at 9 p.m. ET. Your announcers will be Dave Strader and Brian Engblom.

Here’s NBC Sports Group’s press release previewing tonight’s action for you below.

2012 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS: DAY 20
ALL GAMES NOW AIR EXCLUSIVELY ON NBC, NBC SPORTS NETWORK OR CNBC

Two Game 2′s Tonight:
Washington @ New York Rangers, 7:30 p.m. ET -– NBC Sports Network (Rangers lead series 1-0)
Los Angeles @ St. Louis, 9 p.m. ET –- CNBC(Kings leads series 1-0)

NEW YORK – April 30, 2012 – Day 20 – The NBC Sports Group continues its exclusive coverage of the Conference Semifinals with two Game 2s tonight on NBC Sports Network and CNBC.

TONIGHT

Tonight’s coverage of the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs begins in the Eastern Conference with the #1 New York Rangers hosting the #7 Washington Capitals at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network (Rangers lead 1-0). In the Western Conference at 9 p.m. ET on CNBC, the #8 Los Angeles Kings look to extend their 1-0 series lead against the #2 Blues in St. Louis. NHL Live begins at 6:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network. Today’s schedule (all times ET):

7:30 p.m.	#7 Washington Capitals @ #1 New York Rangers (Game 2)	NBCSN	Rick Peckham, Eddie Olczyk
9 p.m.	#8 LAK @ #2 STL (Game 2)	CNBC	Dave Strader, Brian Engblom

COMPREHENSIVE LOCAL COVERAGE

Comcast SportsNet, the local home for the Capitals and Flyers, will closely follow hometown team playoff progress with pre- and post-game coverage, breaking news and analysis throughout each team’s playoff run. CSN Philadelphia will be doing live pre- and post-game programs for all Flyers games in the second round and CSN Mid-Atlantic will have one-hour Capitals Postgame Live shows for all Capitals games in the second round. Both networks will also have extensive coverage online.

CHANNEL FINDER

With all 2012 NHL Stanley Cup Playoff games airing nationally for the first time, including exclusively beginning in the Conference Semifinal round, the NBC Sports Group created a channel finder to help fans find NBC, NBC Sports Network, CNBC or NHL Network in their area by simply entering a zip code.
Click here for the channel finder.

GAMES TELEVISED SO FAR

For the first time in the 95-year history of the NHL, every Stanley Cup Playoff game will be televised nationally. The NBC Sports Group will provide unprecedented access to the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs in April, May and June, televising as many as 105 playoff games and possibly more than 262.5 hours of programming. Games will be presented on NBC, the NBC Sports Network, the NHL Network, and NBCUniversal’s business channel CNBC in primetime.

NBC Sports Network	Twenty Nine*
CNBC	Eleven
NBC	Eight
NHL Network	Six

* Includes Devils-Panthers Conference Quarterfinal Game 7 that was joined in progress

And we’re done here.

NBC Sports Group Garners Highest Ratings Ever For NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Conference Quarters

A few press releases I have to clear out of the inbox from last week. This comes from the NBC Sports Group regarding the Conference Quarterfinal round of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs.

According to The Group, it averaged an audience of 929,000 thousand for the entire first round which is the highest average for the Conference Quarterfinals ever. For NBC Sports Network, the average audience was 744,00 which is the highest on cable in 11 years when ESPN had the contract.

A lot of this was helped by having all games available nationally for the first time and knowing where the games would be aired.

NBC also averaged an audience of over 2.5 million for its six games aired. So the NHL Playoffs certainly caught on in the first round.

We’re also seeing some decent numbers for NBC for the Conference Semifinals, but we’ll get to that when the time comes. Here’s The Group’s press release.

CONFERENCE QUARTERFINALS ARE MOST-WATCHED ON RECORD

Games Across NBC, NBC Sports Network & CNBC Average 929,000 Viewers
NBC Averages 2.6 Million Viewers, Best on a Broadcast Network in 14 Years
NBC Sports Network Averages 744,000 Viewers, Best on Cable in 11 Years
Total Audience Up 29% vs. Last Year

NEW YORK – April 27, 2012 – On the strength of a record 16 overtime games, 32 one-goal games, and a new television format that televised every first-round game nationally for the first time, the Conference Quarterfinals of the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs delivered record-setting viewership. According to Fast National data released today by The Nielsen Company, the 2012 Conference Quarterfinals:

• Averaged 929,000 viewers across NBC, NBC Sports Network and CNBC, making them the most-watched first round on record (cable data not available prior to 1994);
• Averaged 744,000 viewers on NBC Sports Network, making them the most-watched in NBC Sports Network history (formerly VERSUS), up 16% from last year (642,000), and the highest on a cable channel in 11 years (ESPN, 745,000 in 2001);
• Averaged 2.57 million viewers on NBC for six broadcasts, up 39 percent compared to last year (1.85 million, four games), and making them the most-watched on a broadcast network in 14 years, since Fox averaged 2.76 million viewers in 1998 (two games);
• Reached 30.9 million total viewers across NBC, NBC Sports Network and CNBC (excluding last Thursday night’s two Game 7s), up 29% vs. last year (23.9 million).

In addition to the success of the Conference Quarterfinals as a whole, a number of single games also broke records or set milestones. Following are the top-performing games on each channel:

NBC: Capitals-Bruins Game 6 on Sunday, April 22, averaged 3.5 million viewers, making it the most-watched Conference Quarterfinal game since the advent of Nielsen People Meters (1987).

NBC Sports Network: The 1.32 million viewers for Wednesday night’s Capitals-Bruins Game 7 made it the most-watched first-round game on cable in 12 years, since 1.51 million viewers watched San Jose-St. Louis Game 7 in 2000 (ESPN). It was also up 43 percent vs. last year’s comparable game (926,000; Was-Mon, Game 7) and was the most-watched first-round game in NBC Sports Network (formerly VERSUS) history.

CNBC: Coverage of the Conference Quarterfinals on CNBC peaked with 621,000 viewers for Coyotes-Blackhawks Game 6 on Monday, April 23. There is no comparison to last year as this is the first year that all NHL playoff games are being televised nationally.

Game 7s: Last Thursday night’s two Game 7s delivered strong viewership for NBC Sports Network. The Senators-Rangers game, in which the Rangers won, 2-1, in regulation, went head-to-head with the NFL Draft on two networks and was watched by 984,000 viewers on the NBC Sports Network, up 6% vs. last year’s comparable game (926,000, Bos-Was, Game 7).

The Devils-Panthers contest that saw the Devils advance, 3-2, in double overtime, began on NHL Network and then was simulcast on NBC Sports Network once the Senators-Rangers game had concluded. Devils-Panthers averaged 867,000 viewers for the portions of the game that aired on NBC Sports Network with no joined-in-progress comparison to last year.

NBCSports.com: NHL Extra, which live streams games broadcast on NBC, is up 233% in visits, 208% in unique users, and 276% in live starts over last year. Visitors are also staying on the site 288% longer than last year. During the Conference Quarterfinals, ProHockeyTalk experienced record traffic with 445,000 unique viewers, 526,000 visits, and 1.5 million views.

More stuff is on the way.

Some Leftover Linkage

I need to clear my brower of links I was hoping to get to sometime over the last few days. Since I couldn’t do the Friday megalinks or any Saturday morning linkage, I’ll do some Sunday evening leftover links.

Consider this the Sunday entrée to the beginning of the workweek. I honestly don’t know what that means.

Here’s some linkage for you to chew on.

Brian Lowry of Fox Sports is not a fan of Shaquille O’Neal on TNT.

Mike Farrell of Multichannel News writes that Time Warner Cable is hoping to obtain more sports properties for its new Southern California regional sports network.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel says the first round of the 2012 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs was the most watched on record.

Andrea Morabito of Broadcasting & Cable reports that no talent hack Ryan Seacrest will be haunting NBC Sports as well as NBC News in an all-new, all-encompassing contract with NBCUniversal.

Tim Baysinger at B&C says ESPN’s ratings for the First Round of the NFL Draft were up double digits from the year before.

Sam Laird at Mashable writes that social media is influencing sports in many ways.

To Sean Newell of Deadspin who looks at the strange Twitter meltdown of Chicago Sun-Times reporter Joe Cowley who went all-sexist on female pilots and one of his co-workers.

Ed Sherman of The Sherman Report writes that former CBS and ABC Sports essayist Jack Whitaker is receiving a long overdue honor from the Sports Emmys on Monday.

Ryan Yoder from Awful Announcing reviews the good and the bad of ESPN’s First Round coverage of the NFL Draft.

Joe Lucia of AA does the same for NFL Network.

Back to Matt from AA, apparently Tim McCarver fancies himself an expert on climate change

From the Tampa Bay Times, Eric Deggans reviews ESPN’s coverage of the NFL Draft for the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center.

Jason Dachman from Sports Video Group has ESPN optimistic that its Los Angeles studios will put itself in a unique position to cover the Lakers and Clippers in the NBA Playoffs.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell wonders if Indianapolis Colts QB Andrew Luck can ever match Peyton Manning’s marketability.

Providence’s WJAR-TV and Cox Communications announce a new partnership that will simulcast the NBC affiliate’s local newscasts and also put Cox Sports RI’s programming on a new cable channel.

Amy Chozick and Nick Wingfield of the New York Times explore the growing world of TV mobile and tablet apps which include the soon-to-be released NBC Olympics iPad app.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times profiles actor Peter Scolari who plays three important roles in the Magic/Bird Broadway play.

Breaking a ban of linking to Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News who has an interesting story regarding Yankees voices John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman and whether they’ll be leaving if the team changes flagship radio stations after this season.

The New York Post’s Phil Mushnick has no hope for our society. Lighten up, Phil. Time to travel to Moldova or Johannesburg. Somewhere you don’t have to watch sports anymore.

Jerry Barmash at Fishbowl NY says MSG Network’s ratings for Game 7 of the Ottawa Senators-New York Rangers series were the best since the 1994 Stanley Cup-clinching game on the network.

Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes that the 76ers are leaving long-time home WIP and switching to ESPN Radio Philadelphia.

Crossing Broad says the Sixers’ move came as a surprise.

Jim Williams at the Washington Examiner talks with Jim Rome and his new CBS home.

Laura Newberry of the Orlando Sentinel says Golf Channel has become a Central Florida mainstay.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle writes that the Rockets are not only moving to a new TV home next season, but are currently looking for a new radio flagship station as well.

Mel Bracht of The Oklahoman transcribes Mike Tirico’s call of Kevin Durant’s winning shot for the Oklahoma City Thunder against the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday.

The Cincinnati Enquirer says one local cable provider will pick up NFL Network, but it’s not Time Warner.

Paul M. Banks at Chicago Sports Media Watch says the Sun-Times’ Joe Cowley may be headed towards a suspension.

Danny Ecker at Crain’s Chicago Business says the Bulls generated their highest regular season TV ratings since the Michael Jordan years.

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says scheduling of playoff games never has the fans in mind.

Scott D. Pierce of the Salt Lake Tribune says ESPN gave the Utah Jazz the benefit of the doubt in its series opener.

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail says CBC got the job done in choosing its NHL Playoff series for the Conference Semifinal round.

Peter Adler from the Edmonton Journal says the Oilers’ documentary series Oil Change which runs on NHL Network should return for a third season

Howard M. Alperin of Midwest Sports Fans asks why CBSSports.com doesn’t include soccer coverage?

Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo’s Puck Daddy has TSN’s top hockey bloopers of the 2011-12 season.

That’s a lot of leftover linkage. Glad I was able to clear this out before Monday.

NHL Speeds To Days 18 & 19 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs on NBC Sports Group

Let’s provide a couple of press releases for you today. This is from NBC Sports Group regarding the NHL Postseason action this weekend. NBC takes the Eastern Conference Semifinala today and tomorrow while NBC Sports Network focuses on the Western Conference Semifinals tonight and tomorrow.

Mike Emrick, Ed Olczyk and Pierre McGuire will focus on the old Patrick Division matchups, Washington at the New York Rangers today at 3 p.m. ET and New Jersey at Philadelphia at 3 p.m. tomorrow.

We have the other announcing assignments for the Western Conference Semifinals listed below as well.

Let’s check out together the press release below.

CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS UNDERWAY
2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Days 18-19

Three Game 1s & Predators-Coyotes Game 2 Fill Out Weekend Coverage on NBC & NBC Sports Network

NEW YORK – April 28, 2012 -– Days 18-19 – The NBC Sports Group continues its exclusive coverage of the Conference Semifinals with four games – three Game 1s and one Game 2 — this weekend on NBC and the NBC Sports Network.

The Eastern Conference Semifinals begin with the #1 New York Rangers hosting the #7 Washington Capitals at 3 p.m. ET on NBC. Moving to the Western Conference at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network, the #8 Los Angeles Kings travel to St. Louis to take on the #2 Blues. NHL Live begins at 6:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network. Today’s schedule (all times ET):

3 p.m.	#7 Washington Capitals @ #1 New York Rangers (Game 1)	NBC	Doc Emrick, Eddie Olczyk, Pierre McGuire
7:30 p.m.	#8 Los Angeles Kings @ #2 St. Louis Blues (Game 1)	NBCSN	Dave Strader, Brian Engblom

TOMORROW

Sunday’s games begin in the Eastern Conference with the #6 New Jersey Devils facing the #5 Flyers in Philadelphia at 3 p.m. ET on NBC. In the Western Conference, the #3 Phoenix Coyotes host the #4 Nashville Predators at 8 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network. NHL Live begins at 7 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network. Tomorrow’s schedule (all times ET):

3 p.m.	#6 New Jesrey Devils @ #5 Philadelphia Flyers (Game 1)	NBC	Doc Emrick, Eddie Olczyk, Pierre McGuire
8 p.m.	#4 Nashville Predators @ #5 Phoenix Coyotes (Game 2)	NBCSN	John Forslund, Joe Michletti

CHANNEL FINDER

With all 2012 NHL Stanley Cup Playoff games airing nationally for the first time, the NBC Sports Group created a channel finder to help fans find NBC, NBC Sports Network, CNBC or NHL Network in their area by simply entering a zip code.

Click here for the channel finder.

GAMES TELEVISED SO FAR

For the first time in the 95-year history of the NHL, every Stanley Cup Playoff game will be televised nationally. The NBC Sports Group will provide unprecedented access to the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs in April, May and June, televising as many as 105 playoff games and possibly more than 262.5 hours of programming. Games will be presented on NBC, the NBC Sports Network, the NHL Network, and NBCUniversal’s business channel CNBC in primetime.

NBC Sports Network	Twenty Seven *
CNBC	Eleven
NBC	Six
NHL Network	Six

* Includes Devils-Panthers Conference Quarterfinal Game 7 that was joined in progress

That’s it.

Day 16 of The NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs on NBC Sports Group

Tonight will complete the Conference Quarterfinal round for the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. Two Games 7 will be played as the Ottawa Senators take on the New York Rangers and the New Jersey Devils play the Florida Panthers.

NBC Sports Network airs the Sens-Rangers game at 7 p.m. ET. NHL Network airs the start of the Devils-Panthers game at 8:30 p.m. with NBC Sports Network picking it up following the conclusion of Senators-Rangers.

We have the NBC Sports Group press release for you right here.

TWO GAME 7S TONIGHT
2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Day 16

Conference Quarterfinals Game 7 Double-Header
Ottawa @ New York Rangers, 7 p.m. ET – NBC Sports Network
New Jersey @ Florida, 8:30 p.m. ET – NHL Network/NBC Sports Network
Coverage begins with NHL Live at 6:30 p.m. ET

New York – April 26, 2012 – Day 16 – The final Conference Quarterfinal games of the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs air tonight on NBC Sports Network with support coverage provided by NHL Network. Coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. ET with NHL Live on NBC Sports Network.

TONIGHT

Tonight’s Eastern Conference Game 7 double-header begins on NBC Sports Network with the #1 New York Rangers hosting the #8 Ottawa Senators at 7 p.m. ET. Both teams are vying to advance to Conference Semifinals. Game 7 of the #6 New Jersey Devils-#3 Florida Panthers series will begin at 8:30 p.m. ET on NHL Network. Once the Senators-Rangers game ends, coverage of the Devils-Panthers will move to NBC Sports Network until its conclusion. Extended live look-ins of Devils-Panthers will also be shown during intermissions of Senators-Rangers on NBC Sports Network.

The staggered start times of 7 p.m. ET for Senators-Rangers and 8:30 p.m. ET for Devils-Panthers allows hockey fans to watch the conclusion of both Game 7s on the NBC Sports Network. Tonight’s schedule (all times ET):

7 p.m.	#8 Ott @ #1 NYR (Game 7)	NBCSN	Doc Emrick, Pierre McGuire
8:30 p.m.	#6 NJ @ #3 Fla (Game 7)	NHL Network/NBCSN	Dave Strader, Brian Engblom

CHANNEL FINDER

With all 2012 NHL Stanley Cup Playoff games airing nationally for the first time, the NBC Sports Group created a channel finder to help fans find NBC, NBC Sports Network, CNBC or NHL Network in their area by simply entering a zip code.

Click here for the channel finder.

GAMES TELEVISED SO FAR

For the first time in the 95-year history of the NHL, every Stanley Cup Playoff game will be televised nationally. The NBC Sports Group will provide unprecedented access to the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs in April, May and June, televising as many as 105 playoff games and possibly more than 262.5 hours of programming. Games will be presented on NBC, the NBC Sports Network, the NHL Network, and NBCUniversal’s business channel CNBC in primetime.

NBC Sports Network	Twenty Four
CNBC	Eleven
NBC	Six
NHL Network	Five

That’s it.

NHL on NBC Sports Group Announcing Assignments For Thursday, April 26

I already wrote about the crazy programming schedule that NBC Sports Group will have for the two Games 7 on Thursday night. No need to rehash.

Here are the announcing assignments for NBC Sports Group for both Games 7 on Thursday.

Thursday, April 26

Game 7: Ottawa at New York Rangers, NBC Sports Network, 7 p.m. — Mike Emrick/Ed Olcyzk/Pierre McGuire

Game 7: New Jersey at Florida, NHL Network/NBC Sports Network (joined in progress), 8:30 p.m. — Dave Strader/Brian Engblom

So there are the assignments for the final day of the NHL Conference Quarterfinals. The Conference Semifinals begin on the networks of NBC this weekend.

NHL Has Announced Schedules For Games 7 on Thursday, April 26

I like the staggered times of the Games 7 on Thursday, but I’m not a fan of how the NBC Sports Group will be handling the broadcasts. This is similar to how Versus handled games last year.

Game 7 of Ottawa and the New York Rangers will be aired on NBC Sports Network in its entirety starting at 7 p.m. ET. Also airing the game will be CBC and RDS in Canada and MSG in New York.

Then at 8:30 p.m., Game 7 of the New Jersey Devils at Florida series will air in Canada on TSN/RDSI in Canada, locally on MSG Plus and Fox Sports Florida in the home markets. Here’s where it gets weird. NHL Network starts airing the game live on 8:30 p.m. nationwide, then gives way to NBC Sports Network when Sens-Rangers is finished.

Why not have the game on CNBC in its entirety? Because CNBC wants to air its heavily promoted “Costco Craze” special on Thursday at 9 p.m. ET.

So we have this crazy hodgepodge scheduling for the NBC Sports Group. So this is what the schedule looks like for Thursday:

Game 7: Ottawa at New York Rangers — CBC/RDS/NBC Sports Network/MSG Network, 7 p.m.
Game 7: New Jersey at Florida — NHL Network (US)/NBC Sports Network (joined in progress)/TSN/RDSI/MSG Plus/Fox Sports Florida, 8:30 p.m.

A bit crazy. But at least the entire game will be accessible to fans in the U.S. who have both NHL Network and NBC Sports Network.

UPDATE, 1:15 p.m.: NBC Sports Group has sent a press release on this and we have the scheduling plus announcing assignments.

PROGRAMMING ALERT: NHL PLAYOFF GAME 7 DOUBLE-HEADER ON NBC SPORTS NETWORK THURSDAY NIGHT

PROGRAMMING ALERT – April 25, 2012 — The NBC Sports Network will air a Conference Quarterfinal Game 7 double-header on Thursday night with support coverage provided by the NHL Network. The NHL announced the schedule for the final two games of the Conference Quarterfinals earlier today.

Coverage of the Ottawa Senators-New York Rangers Game 7 from Madison Square Garden in New York City will begin at 7 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network. Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick (play-by-play), Eddie Olczyk (analyst) and Pierre McGuire (Inside-the-Glass analyst) will call the game.

Senators-Rangers will be shown nationally in its entirety, except for the New York market, which will be covered by the Rangers local carrier. For all Conference Quarterfinal games, local carriers retain exclusive rights to air their team’s game in their respective local markets. The NBC Sports Group has NHL playoff exclusivity beginning in the second round.

Game 7 of the New Jersey Devils-Florida Panthers series from BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Fla., will begin at 8:30 p.m. ET on NHL Network. Once the Senators-Rangers game ends, coverage of Devils-Panthers will move to NBC Sports Network until its conclusion. Extended live look-ins of Devils-Panthers will also be shown during intermissions of Senators-Rangers on NBC Sports Network.

Coverage in the New York and Miami markets will be provided by the Devils and Panthers local carriers, who have exclusive rights to air their team’s game in their respective local markets during the first round. Dave Strader (play-by-play) and Brian Engblom (Inside-the-Glass analyst) will call the game nationally on NHL Network/NBC Sports Network.

The staggered start times of 7 p.m. ET for Senators-Rangers and 8:30 p.m. ET for Devils-Panthers will allow hockey fans to watch the conclusion of both Game 7s on the NBC Sports Network.

NBC Sports Network is also televising Game 7 of the Washington Capitals-Boston Bruins series tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET. Calling the game will be Emrick (play-by-play), Olczyk (analyst) and McGuire (Inside-the-Glass analyst).

NHL Live begins at 6:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network tonight and Thursday night.

Through 13 days, the Conference Quarterfinals on NBC Sports Network are averaging 699,000 viewers, up 18% vs. the comparable time period last year (590,000).

All set.

Day 9 of The Stanley Cup Playoffs on NBC Sports Group

As we steam towards the midpoint of four NHL series tonight, we have four Games 4, but none are elimination games. But each game is important to whether the teams leading 2-1 can take control or we get an extended series of least 6 games.

All of the NBC Sports Group channels carrying NHL games will be on the case tonight. NBC Sports Network gets a doubleheader, CNBC has one game and so does NHL Network.

Let’s see what’s in store on The Group tonight.

2012 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS – DAY 9
STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS CONTINUE WITH FOUR GAME 4’s TONIGHT:

Florida @ New Jersey, 7 p.m. ET -– NHL Network
Boston @ Washington, 7:30 p.m. ET -– NBC Sports Network
Phoenix @ Chicago, 8 p.m. ET -– CNBC
St. Louis @ San Jose, 10:30 p.m. -– NBC Sports Network

NEW YORK – April 19, 2012 – Day 9 – The NBC Sports Group presents Day 9 of the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs tonight on NBC Sports Network, CNBC and NHL Network with four Conference Quarterfinal Game 4s. Coverage begins tonight at 6:30 p.m. ET with NHL Live on NBC Sports Network.

TONIGHT

Tonight at 7 p.m. ET on NHL Network in the Eastern Conference, the #3 Florida Panthers look to extend their 2-1 series lead against the #6 Devils in New Jersey. Also in the East, the #7 Washington Capitals look to even their series on their home-ice against #2 Boston Bruins, who lead the series 2-1, at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network. Moving to the Western Conference at 8 p.m. ET on CNBC, the #6 Chicago Blackhawks host the #3 Phoenix Coyotes, who lead the series 2-1. Concluding the evening in San Jose, the #7 Sharks take on the #2 St. Louis Blues (lead series 2-1). Tonight’s schedule (all times ET):

7 p.m.	#3 Florida Panthers @ #6 New Jersey Devils (Game 4)	NHL Network
7:30 p.m.	#2 Boston Bruins @ #7 Washington Capitals (Game 4)	NBCSN
8 p.m.	#3 Phoenix Coyotes @ #6 Chicago Blackhawks (Game 4)	CNBC
10:30 p.m.	#2 San Jose Sharks @ #7 St. Louis Blues (Game 4)	NBCSN

COMCAST SPORTSNETS

In addition, three Comcast Sports Nets – Mid-Atlantic (Washington Capitals), Chicago (Blackhawks) and California (San Jose Sharks) – will air first-round coverage in their local markets tonight. Those networks will also surround their live games with Stanley Cup-relayed coverage. Tonight’s CSN schedule (all times ET):

7:30 p.m.	#2 Boston Bruins @ #7 Washington Capitals (Game 4)	CSN Mid-Atlantic
8 p.m.	#3 Phoenix Coyotes @ #6 Chicago Blackhawks (Game 4)	CSN Chicago
10:30 p.m.	#2 St. Louis Blues @ #7 San Jose Sharks (Game 4)	CSN California

Comcast SportsNet New England will air special pre- and post-game coverage for all Bruins games throughout the playoffs, as well as in-depth coverage and analysis of the team’s playoff run throughout all CSNNE programming and online at CSNNE.com.

CHANNEL FINDER

With all 2012 NHL Stanley Cup Playoff games airing nationally for the first time, the NBC Sports Group created a channel finder to help fans find NBC, NBC Sports Network, CNBC or NHL Network in their area by simply entering a zip code.

Click here for the channel finder.

GAMES TELEVISED SO FAR

For the first time in the 95-year history of the NHL, every Stanley Cup Playoff game will be televised nationally. The NBC Sports Group will provide unprecedented access to the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs in April, May and June, televising as many as 105 playoff games and possibly more than 262.5 hours of programming. Games will be presented on NBC, the NBC Sports Network, the NHL Network, and NBCUniversal’s business channel CNBC in primetime.

NBC Sports Network	Fifteen
CNBC	Seven
NBC	Three
NHL Network	Three

That’s all

Day 7 of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs on NBC Sports Group

We’ve just about completed the first full week of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and we’re turning into the second half of the NHL Conference Semifinals for some series.

Tonight, there will be three games, all spread out on the networks of Sports Group. CNBC, NBC Sports Network and NHL Network will share the wealth and due to the scheduling, the latest game will begin at 9 p.m. ET (Phoenix-Chicago on CNBC).

For tonight, we have staggered start times which is a good thing.

Let’s check out what NBC Sports Group has to say about the trio of games that we’ll see tonight on the Networks of NBC Sports Group.

2012 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS – DAY 7

FIRST WEEK OF POST-SEASON COVERAGE CONCLUDES TONIGHT WITH THREE GAMES
Florida @ New Jersey, 7 p.m. ET – NHL Network
Nashville @ Detroit, 7:30 p.m. ET – NBC Sports Network
Phoenix @ Chicago, 9 p.m. ET – CNBC
Coverage begins nightly with NHL Live at 6:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network

NEW YORK – April 17, 2012 – Day 7 – The NBC Sports Group concludes its first week of coverage of the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs tonight with one game each on NBC Sports Network, CNBC, and NHL Network. Coverage begins tonight at 6:30 p.m. ET with NHL Live on NBC Sports Network.

TONIGHT

Beginning at 7 p.m. ET, NHL Network airs the night’s Eastern Conference game with the #3 Florida Panthers looking to break out from a series 1-1- tie with host #6 New Jersey Devils. Moving to Western Conference at 7:30 on NBC Sports Network, the #5 Detroit Red Wings are looking to even their series with a home-ice advantage against the #4 Nashville Predators, who lead 2-1; and concluding tonight’s action, the #3 Phoenix Coyotes travel to Chicago to battle the #6 Blackhawks in a series tied 1-1 on CNBC at 9 p.m. ET. Tonight’s schedule (all times ET):

7 p.m.	#3 Florida Panthers @ #6 New Jersey Devils (Game 3)	NHL Network
7:30 p.m.	#4 Nashville Predators @ #5 Detroit Red Wings (Game 4)	NBCSN
9 p.m.	#3 Phoenix Coyotes @ #6 Chicago Blackhawks (Game 3)	CNBC

COMCAST SPORTSNETS

In addition, Comcast SportsNet Chicago will air live first-round coverage of tonight’s Blackhawks game as well as additional Stanley Cup-related coverage in its local market.

9 p.m.

#3 Phoenix Coyotes @ #6 Chicago Blackhawks (Game 3)

CSN Chicago

CHANNEL FINDER

With all 2012 NHL Stanley Cup Playoff games airing nationally for the first time, the NBC Sports Group created a channel finder to help fans find NBC, NBC Sports Network, CNBC or NHL Network in their area by simply entering a zip code.

Click here for the channel finder.

GAMES TELEVISED SO FAR

For the first time in the 95-year history of the NHL, every Stanley Cup Playoff game will be televised nationally. The NBC Sports Group will provide unprecedented access to the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs in April, May and June, televising as many as 105 playoff games and possibly more than 262.5 hours of programming. Games will be presented on NBC, the NBC Sports Network, the NHL Network, and NBCUniversal’s business channel CNBC in primetime.

NBC Sports Network	Twelve
CNBC	Five
NBC	Three
NHL Network	Two

That’s all here.

Some Sunday Morning Media Thoughts

I haven’t done a sports media thoughts post in a while and there has been so much that has transpired since the last time I wrote one. As always, they’re in bullet form. Let’s do this.

• Just four days into the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs and I like how the networks of NBC are handling the games. With CNBC, NHL Network and NBC Sports Network airing the games, fans can now choose which contest he or she wants to watch. My only pet peeves, there should be more updates on games on other networks. At least give us a drop down menu from the scoreboard bug to update us. Also, I wish NBC Sports Network and CNBC would not rely on simulcasts from CBC, TSN or Comcast SportsNet affiliates. Versus under the old Comcast ownership could get away with it, but not NBC. NHL Network can pull off the simulcasts because its talent is focused on the studio, but not on NBC Sports Network or CNBC. I know there are a lot of games in the first round, but at least try to produce what’s on your network instead of depending on others to do the work for you, especially for games played in the United States.

• To ESPN’s free agent crop and we know that former First Take co-host Dana Jacobsen has already left the Alleged Worldwide Leader. Michelle Beadle could be the next to go. Her representatives are now free to talk with other networks after her exclusive negotiating period with ESPN lapsed on Friday. I think she’s leaving, but exactly where is the $64,000 question. Based on her interview with The Big Lead, one could intelligently wager that one of her potential targets is a morning show like Today or Good Morning America. I honestly don’t think sports is in her long-term plans, although one never knows.

  As far as the other free agents Erin Andrews and Scott Van Pelt, I tend to think both will remain at ESPN. For Erin, her best chance to leave was two years ago. Her options are a bit more limited now. Scott Van Pelt enjoys doing radio and I think he’ll remain at ESPN as CBS’ radio options are not national and NBC doesn’t have radio resources.

• If Fox Sports gets its rumored cable sports network off the ground, it’ll be welcomed by your humble blogger. It would have plenty of inventory with Big 12 and Pac-12 college sports. In addition, if Fox expands its NASCAR inventory, it could place Sprint Cup races on the network. UFC events could go there as well. And there’s always the big wild card that’s up for bid this year, MLB and if the NFL decides to ever put a Thursday night package up for bid, Fox certainly has deep pockets to possibly make a go at ESPN. And there’s the Big East Conference whose rights are up this year as well.

  And in a related note, the announcement by Fox to give a majority of Saturday night primetime hours to sports is a smart move. Saturday nights are a dead night for the networks, although Fox did pretty well with Cops and America’s Most Wanted. Still, getting the coveted 18-49 demographic to watch MLB, NASCAR, UFC, college football and the MLB Postseason on a Saturday night is a very good move. Could this be a harbinger for Fox’s all-sports cable network? Perhaps. But if this does very well, I could see Fox potentially making this move permanent on Saturday nights. It only makes sense.

  And if Fox does really well, could other networks follow? ESPN already programs ABC during college football season. Would NBA games make a move to Saturday night? What about NBC placing the NHL during Saturday primetime to possibly market the game even further? Would CBS be interested in airing college basketball during the winter as a lead-in to “48 Hours”? In 2011, CBS aired North Carolina-Duke in primetime to great success. Would the Tiffany Network want to move games to primetime in advance of the NCAA Tournament? Fox’s move to sports in primetime is not only a Great Experiment, but also a potential for other networks to bring their inventories to a new timeslot.

• I may be one of the few who’s watching, but count me as one who enjoys viewing the NBC Sports Network’s CNBC Sports Biz: Game On! with Darren Rovell and Erin Sharoni. While Darren has alienated some with his Super Bowl party rant on Playboy Playmates and at Jaime Edmondson plus creating social media accounts for his newborn daughter and we can’t forget his Twitter feuds with Richard Deitsch, Richard Sandomir and Bomani Jones, I can look past them and enjoy his sport business show. Darren knows his stuff and has helped to make sports business a viable news beat. I’ve enjoyed the pace of Game On! and it’s obvious that Darren knows what he’s taking about. The show’s ratings could be better, but it appears NBC is committed to airing it through this year. And it’s hit its stride as the show has explored the price of tickets to the economics of the NFL and college sports.

That’s all. Enjoy your Easter Sunday.

The NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Continue on NBC Sports Group

We have the latest press release from The Group regarding the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. So far, the playoffs on NBC platforms have gone swimmingly well. Like the NCAA Tournament on CBS/Turner, we can switch to games on NBC Sports Network, CNBC and NHL Network. My only pet peeve is that NBC should keep us more updated on the scores of the other games. They don’t have to have a constant scoreboard bug like CBS/Turner, but perhaps a five or ten minute ticker like the network used to do with the NFL in the 1980′s. That’s a way to keep fans interested and informed.

This weekend, NBC gets into the act after the cable side has had a head start. NBC will have one game on Saturday with Game 2 of the Washington-Boston series and then a doubleheader on Sunday.

NBC Sports Network will have doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday nights.

Here’s The Group’s press release.

2012 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS — DAYS 3-5

POST-SEASON WEEKEND COVERAGE BEGINS TONIGHT:
New Jersey @ Florida, 7 p.m. ET – NHL Network
Philadelphia @ Pittsburgh, 7:30 p.m. ET – NBC Sports Network
Detroit @ Nashville, 7:30 p.m. ET – CNBC
Los Angeles @ Vancouver, 10 p.m. ET – NBC Sports Network
Coverage begins nightly with NHL Live at 6:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network

NEW YORK – April 13, 2012 – Days 3-5 – The NBC Sports Group continues to present the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs tonight with four Conference Quarterfinal games across NBC Sports Network (doubleheader), CNBC, and NHL Network. Over the weekend, the networks will air a combined total of 12 games.

TONIGHT

At 7 p.m. ET on NHL Network, the #3 Florida Panthers host the #6 New Jersey Devils in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference series. Then at 7:30 p.m. ET, the #4 Pittsburgh Penguins host #5 Philadelphia Flyers for Game 2 of their action-packed Eastern Conference rivalry on NBC Sports Network (Flyers lead 1-0), while the #4 Nashville Predators host the #5 Detroit Red Wings on CNBC at the same time in a Western Conference matchup (Predators lead 1-0). The final game of the night is at 10 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network also in the West between the #1 Vancouver Canucks and the #8 Los Angeles Kings in Game 2 (Kings lead 1-0). Coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. ET with NHL Live on NBC Sports Network. Tonight’s schedule (all times ET):

7 p.m.	#6 New Jersey Devils @ #3 Florida Panthers (Game 1)	NHL Network
7:30 p.m.	#5 Philadelphia Flyers @ #4 Pittsburgh Penguins (Game 2)	NBCSN
7:30 p.m.	#5 Detroit Red Wings @ #4 Nashville Predators (Game 2)	CNBC
10 p.m.	#8 Los Angeles Kings @ #1 Vancouver Canucks (Game 2)	NBCSN

SATURDAY

Coverage on NBC begins tomorrow when the Eastern Conference’s #2 Boston Bruins host the #7 Washington Capitals in Game 2 of the series (Boston leads 1-0) at 3 p.m. ET. Later that night the #1 New York Rangers host the #8 Ottawa Senators on NBC Sports Network (Rangers lead 1-0) at 7 p.m. ET followed by #7 San Jose Sharks at #2 St. Louis Blues on CNBC (Sharks lead 1-0) at 7:30 p.m. ET. The night concludes on NBC Sports Network with Game 2 of #6 Chicago Blackhawks at #3 Phoenix Coyotes at 10 p.m. ET (Coyotes lead 1-0). Coverage begins on cable at 6:30 p.m. ET with NHL Live on NBC Sports Network. Saturday’s schedule (all times ET):

3 p.m.	#7 Washington Capitals @ #2 Boston Bruins (Game 2)	NBC
7 p.m.	#8 Ottawa Senators @ #1 New York Rangers (Game 2)	NBCSN
7:30 p.m.	#7 San Jose Sharks @ #2 St. Louis Blues (Game 2)	CNBC
10 p.m.	#6 Chicago Blackhawks @ #3 Phoenix Coyotes (Game 2)	NBCSN

SUNDAY

NBC will feature one Game 3 in both the Eastern and Western Conferences with a double-header on Sunday. First, at Noon ET, #5 Detroit hosts #4 Nashville, immediately followed by #4 Pittsburgh hosting #5 Philadelphia. Later that night, coverage continues with two games on NBC Sports Network when #3 Florida hosts #6 New Jersey at 7:30 p.m. ET, followed by #1 Vancouver at #8 Los Angeles at 10 p.m. ET. NHL Live will begin NBC Sports Network’s coverage at 6:30 p.m. ET. Sunday’s schedule (all times ET):

Noon	#4 Nashville Predators @ #5 Detroit Red Wings (Game 3)	NBC
3 p.m.	#4 Pittsburgh Penguins @ #5 Philadelphia Flyers (Game 3)	NBC
7:30 p.m.	#6 New Jersey Devils @ #3 Florida Panthers (Game 2)	NBCSN
10:30 p.m.	#1 Vancouver Canucks @ #8 Los Angeles Kings (Game 3)	NBCSN

COMCAST SPORTSNETS

In addition, four Comcast SportsNets – California (San Jose Sharks), Chicago (Blackhawks), Mid-Atlantic (Capitals) and Philadelphia (Flyers) — will air live first-round coverage in their local markets. Those networks will also surround their live games with additional Stanley Cup-related coverage. Tonight’s CSN schedule (all times ET):

Fri., 7:30 p.m.	#4 Pittsburgh Penguins @ #5 Philadelphia Flyers (Game 3)	CSN Philadelphia
Sat., 7:30 p.m.	#7 San Jose Sharks @ #2 St. Louis Blues (Game 2)	CSN California
Sat., 10 p.m.	#6 Chicago Blackhawks @ #3 Phoenix Coyotes (Game 2)	CSN Chicago

Comcast SportsNet New England will air special pre- and post-game coverage for all Bruins games throughout the playoffs, as well as in-depth coverage and analysis of the team’s playoff run throughout all CSNNE programming and online at CSNNE.com.

CHANNEL FINDER

With every 2012 NHL Stanley Cup Playoff game airing nationally for the first time, the NBC Sports Group created a channel finder to help fans find NBC, NBC Sports Network, CNBC or NHL Network in their area by simply entering a zip code.

Click here for the channel finder: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/46907840/ns/sports-nhl/

GAMES TELEVISED SO FAR

For the first time in the 95-year history of the NHL, every Stanley Cup Playoff game will be televised nationally. The NBC Sports Group will provide unprecedented access to the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs in April, May and June, televising as many as 105 playoff games and possibly more than 262.5 hours of programming. Games will be presented on NBC, the NBC Sports Network, the NHL Network, and NBCUniversal’s business channel CNBC in primetime.

NBC Sports Network	Four
CNBC	Two
NHL Network	One
NBC	none

There you have it.

Day 2 of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs on NBC Sports Group

Tonight, The Group has four NHL postseason games and all of NBC’s cable platforms assigned to carry the contests will be utilized. CNBC will carry San Jose at St. Louis, NHL Network has Ottawa at the New York Rangers while NBC Sports Network has a doubleheader with the defending Stanley Cup Champions Boston Bruins hosting the Washington Capitals and the Chicago Blackhawks visiting the Phoenix Coyotes.

Four games played tonight. Four games being aired nationally. This is the way things are supposed to be done. Again, we don’t have announcing assignments. I was told they were coming today, but they’re not here.

But we do have the schedule of games and let’s check what NBC Sports Group is saying.

2012 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS — DAY 2

FOUR POST-SEASON SERIES START TONIGHT
Ottawa @ New York Rangers, 7 p.m. ET – NHL Network
Washington @ Boston, 7:30 p.m. ET – NBC Sports Network
San Jose @ St. Louis, 7:30 p.m. ET – CNBC
Chicago @ Phoenix, 10 p.m. ET – NBC Sports Network
Coverage begins nightly with NHL Live at 6:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network

NEW YORK – April 12, 2012 – Day 2 – The NBC Sports Group continues to present the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs tonight with four Conference Quarterfinal Game 1’s across NBC Sports Network (double-header), CNBC, and NHL Network.

TONIGHT

At 7 p.m. ET on NHL Network, the Eastern Conference’s top-seeded New York Rangers host the #8 Ottawa Senators to begin the night. Then at 7:30 p.m. ET, the #2 Boston Bruins host #7 Washington Capitals in an Eastern Conference battle on NBC Sports Network, while the #2 St. Louis Blues host the #7 San Jose Sharks on CNBC at the same time. The final game of the night is with the #3 Phoenix Coyotes hosting the #6 Chicago Blackhawks at 10 p.m. ET. Coverage begins every game night at 6:30 p.m. ET with NHL Live on NBC Sports Network. Tonight’s schedule (all times ET):

7 p.m.	#8 Ott @ #1 NYR (Game 1)	NHL Network
7:30 p.m.	#7 Was @ #2 Bos (Game 1)	NBCSN
7:30 p.m.	#7 SJ @ #2 STL (Game 1)	CNBC
10 p.m.	#6 Chi @ #3 Pho (Game 1)	NBCSN

COMCAST SPORTSNETS

In addition, four Comcast SportsNets – California (San Jose Sharks), Chicago (Blackhawks), Mid-Atlantic (Capitals) and Philadelphia (Flyers) — will air live first-round coverage in their local markets. Those networks will also surround their live games with additional Stanley Cup-related coverage. Tonight’s CSN schedule (all times ET):

7:30 p.m.	#7 SJ @ #2 STL (Game 1)	CSN California
10 p.m.	#6 Chi @ #3 Pho (Game 1)	CSN Chicago

Comcast SportsNet New England will air special pre- and post-game coverage for all Bruins games throughout the playoffs, as well as in-depth coverage and analysis of the team’s playoff run throughout all CSNNE programming and online at CSNNE.com.

CHANNEL FINDER

With every 2012 NHL Stanley Cup Playoff game airing nationally for the first time, the NBC Sports Group created a channel finder to help fans find NBC, NBC Sports Network, CNBC or NHL Network in their area by simply entering a zip code.

Click here for the channel finder: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/46907840/ns/sports-nhl/

HIGHLIGHTS FROM LAST NIGHT

Milbury on Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau: “Their legacies are on the line for me…This is a chance for them to re-cement themselves as premium players. I think they’re ready to do it, actually.”

Emrick on Flyers-Penguins: “These two teams are neighbors. They’re not friends.”

Milbury on Mike Smith: “Don Maloney does a brilliant job getting him for $2 million bucks, and he turns out to be one of the finest goaltenders on the planet. Who saw this coming?”

GAMES TELEVISED SO FAR

For the first time in the 95-year history of the NHL, every Stanley Cup Playoff game will be televised nationally. The NBC Sports Group will provide unprecedented access to the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs in April, May and June, televising as many as 105 playoff games and possibly more than 262.5 hours of programming. Games will be presented on NBC, the NBC Sports Network, the NHL Network, and NBCUniversal’s business channel CNBC in primetime.

NBC Sports Network	Two
CNBC	One
NHL Network	None
NBC	None

That’s all.