The National Hockey League (NHL) today announced the national television schedules of NBC, VERSUS, CBC, TSN and RDS for the 2008-09 regular season.
In the U.S., VERSUS and NBC return for a fourth season as the NHL’s national television partners. In Canada, CBC begins its 56th consecutive year of NHL broadcast coverage while TSN, which began covering the NHL in 1985, is once again the national English-language cable partner. RDS, the French-language telecast partner of the NHL, enters its sixth year of NHL coverage. This season, RDS will televise all 82 of the Montreal Canadiens’ games and 29 other NHL games to be announced at a later date. Sister network RIS will carry 45 NHL games. NHL Network begins its fourth season of televising live regular season games in Canada and its second season showing live games in the U.S.
The NHL season opens 51 days from today in Europe when four teams venture overseas for NHL PremiereTM 2008. On Oct. 4-5 the New York Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning will play two regular-season games against each other in Prague, Czech Republic, and the Pittsburgh Penguins and Ottawa Senators will start the regular-season by playing two games against each other in Stockholm, Sweden. It is the second consecutive year the NHL will open regular-season play in Europe. In 2007, the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings faced each other in two games at London’s O2 Arena.
On Jan. 1, NBC in the U.S. and CBC and RDS in Canada will televise NHL Winter ClassicTM 2009, featuring the defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings and the Chicago Blackhawks playing outdoors at historic Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs. The game, which starts at 1 pm ET, will be the second regular-season outdoor NHL game played in the United States and the third regular-season outdoor game in League history.
The 57th NHL All-Star Game will be played Jan. 25 in Montreal, which will host the 2009 game as part of the celebration of the club's 100th anniversary. The game, as well as All-Star Saturday on Jan. 24, will be seen live on VERSUS in the U.S. and CBC and RDS in Canada.
CBC’S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA has a 69-game broadcast schedule for the 2008-09 season headlined by 25 all-Canadian match-ups. CBC’s NHL coverage begins on Oct. 4, and features a week full of must-see hockey including three games from Europe, a Thursday night doubleheader kicking off the NHL season in North America on Oct. 9 and an all-Canadian traditional Saturday night doubleheader on Sat. Oct. 11. CBC'S HOCKEY DAY IN CANADA will celebrate its ninth annual broadcast on Sat., Feb. 21 from Campbellton, New Brunswick.
TSN begins its new six-year broadcast and digital rights agreement with the NHL featuring more coverage of Canadian teams than ever before. The network will televise 70
regular-season games in 2008-09 and, for the first time, all games will feature at least one of the NHL’s Canadian teams and will be available nationally in High Definition. Highlights of the NHL on TSN schedule include two all-Canadian match-ups featuring rivals Ottawa at Montreal (November 11) and Edmonton at Calgary (December 31), and a minimum of 10 games for each of the six Canadian teams.
VERSUS opens its fourth year of NHL coverage with an international doubleheader on Sun., Oct. 5, when the Lightning and Rangers face-off in Prague at 12 p.m. ET, followed by the Penguins-Senators match-up in Stockholm at 2:30 p.m. ET. VERSUS’ schedule includes a season-high eight appearances by the Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Minnesota Wild, New York Rangers and Penguins. The Red Wings, Philadelphia Flyers and Washington Capitals are all making seven appearances each. In total, VERSUS will televise 56 regular-season games, All-Star weekend, games in each round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and the first two games of the Stanley Cup Final. Every game on VERSUS is produced and shown in HD where available.
After NBC launches its NHL coverage New Year’s Day with NHL Winter Classic 2009 from Wrigley Field in Chicago, the NBC NHL “Game of the Week” drops the puck on Sunday, Jan. 18 when the Penguins host the Rangers. The NHL and NBC will again collaborate on flexible scheduling for NBC's regular-season dates, providing fans the most exciting match-up available. NBC will select from up to four games on Sunday afternoons. Thirteen days prior to the scheduled game, a game will be selected for broadcast on NBC. All NBC “Game of the Week” games will be broadcast on Sundays and all games will be presented in High Definition. NBC will again broadcast games in the postseason, including Games 3-7 of the Stanley Cup Final in prime time.
NHL Network this season will televise 75 live games for its American audience and 40 live NHL games for its Canadian viewers. All games shown in the U.S. will be in HD. More information on the dates and times of NHL Network’s 2008-09 schedules will be released in the near future. In addition, the network’s signature show, “NHL On The Fly,” returns nightly providing highlights and analysis of every NHL game.
Select Read More to see the complete CBC television schedule for the 2008-2009 NHL season(Versus coming shortly)
It was a day that altered the face of the NHL, and set into motion an escalation in the interest of the game Stateside.
On August 9, 1988, Wayne Gretzky was traded from the Stanley Cup champion Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings. The Kings were considered to be nothing more than a footnote to the league at the time.
The trade changed the fortunes of the Kings, was a driving force for National Hockey League expansion into the 'Sun Belt’, and generated extensive growth of the game at the grassroots level in “non-traditional†hockey markets.
To commemorate the anniversary, The NHL Network will highlight its "Wayne Gretzky
Week" programming by presenting a one-hour special that features exclusive interviews with Gretzky, former Oilers owner Peter Pocklington and former Kings’ owner Bruce McNall, among others, at 9 p.m., ET, on Wednesday, August 6. A VNR of the interview with Gretzky will be provided Tuesday.
NHL NETWORK SCHEDULE FOR GRETZKY WEEK
Wednesday, August 6th
9:00 ET A Day That Changed The Game: August 9, 1988
- One-hour documentary chronicling the Gretzky trade. Features interviews with Wayne
Gretzky, Peter Pocklington and Bruce McNall
10:00 ET Red Wings @ Kings from October 6, 1988 – Gretzky’s first Kings game in Los Angeles.
Thursday, August 7th
9:00 ET Frozen In Time: Wayne Gretzky Trade
9:30 ET Top 10 Wayne Gretzky Moments
10:00 ET Kings @ Oilers from October 19, 1988 – Gretzky’s first game as a visitor in Edmonton
Friday, August 8th
9:00 ET Top 10 Wayne Gretzky Moments
9:30 ET NHL Cool Shots: Extended Play – Wayne Gretzky
10:00 ET Kings @ Oilers from October 15, 1989 – Gretzky breaks Gordie Howe’s career points record
Saturday, August 9th
7:00 ET Kings @ Maple Leafs from May 29, 1993 – Gretzky’s Game 7 Hat Trick propels
LA into the Stanley Cup Final
9:00 ET A Day That Changed The Game: August 9, 1988
10:00 ET Canucks @ Kings from March 23, 1994 – Gretzky becomes the NHL’s all-time goal scoring leader
Source: National Hockey League
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As first reported Thursday, the overnight Neilsen ratings, which look at large markets were up for Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals, now the final figures show how well the NHL and NBC did.
Wednesday night’s deciding Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final on NBC drew an average of 6.8 million viewers making it the most-watched Game 6 since the NHL returned to network television in 1995 and the third most-watched Stanley Cup Final game overall in that same span. The 4.0 national rating and 7 share is a 111 percent increase over Game 6 in 2006 (Edmonton-Carolina, 1.9/4).
NBC’s Stanley Cup average (3.2/6, 4 telecasts) earned the best rating and was the most-viewed series (5.4 million average viewers) since the 2002 Final (Carolina-Detroit, 3.6/7, 5.8 million viewers, 3 telecasts).Â
NBC finished No. 1 for the night in all key adult-male demographics and No. 2 overall for the night. The 2.9 (Adults 18-49) is NBC’s highest Wednesday average in that demo since Jan. 23. From 10-11 p.m. ET, NBC’s Stanley Cup coverage dominated the competition in key demographics, beating the combined ABC-CBS rating for that hour in Adults 18-49, Adults 18-34 and all key adult-male demos.
“Two great teams, at the top of their game, generated significant interest,†said NBC Sports President Ken Schanzer. “Hopefully this provides a launching point for future growth. We can’t wait for our season to begin, somewhere outdoors, next season.â€
Source: National Hockey League
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The overnight television ratings for the decisive game of the Stanley Cup finals were double the last Game 6 in 2006.
The Detroit Red Wings' clinching 3-2 victory Wednesday over the Pittsburgh Penguins drew a 4.4 overnight rating and a 7 share on NBC, the network said Thursday. The Game 6 between Edmonton and Carolina two years ago earned a 2.2,
The rating is the percentage watching a program among homes with televisions, and the share is the percentage tuned into the broadcast among those households with TVs on at the time.
Overnight ratings measure the country's largest markets.
Source: National Hockey League
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TSN and the NHL have agreed to a new six-year broadcast and digital rights deal that provides the NHL on TSN with more coverage of Canadian teams than ever before, it was announced today by NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly and Rick Brace, President, Revenue, Business Planning and Sports, CTV Inc. The agreement commences with the 2008-09 season and runs through 2013-14.
Reportedly, the deal is worth approx. $100 million, with TSN’s rights fees possibly half that.
“This landmark agreement provides TSN with its strongest NHL package ever. Giving Canadian hockey fans more coverage of their teams has always been a top priority for TSN and this new deal delivers with greater access to Canadian teams and expanded hockey coverage on the digital platforms,†said Brace. “The deal underscores TSN’s valued partnership with the NHL and we look forward to reaching new audiences and achieving new milestones with our all-encompassing NHL programming.â€
"TSN does an outstanding job of capturing all aspects of NHL hockey, and we are extremely pleased that our fans in Canada can look forward to six more seasons of creative, innovative and passionate NHL coverage," said Daly.
Under terms of the deal, TSN secures exclusive Canadian specialty television rights for national English-language broadcast and digital coverage of NHL games. Details of the agreement are as follows: Â
TSN will televise 70 regular-season games annually; for the first time, all games will feature at least one Canadian team
TSN will televise the first three rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, with the possibility of featuring a Canadian team in the Conference Quarter-Finals; marks the first time TSN would have coverage of a Canadian team in the post-season
Vast majority of games will be in High Definition on TSN HD
Suite of digital rights for TSN telecasts includes broadband, wireless and video-on-demand
Continued exclusivity of Wednesday Night Hockey, in which there are no other national or local telecasts
Continued exclusive Canadian coverage of the NHL Entry Draft and NHL Draft Lottery Special
Under the current television deal set to expire at the end of the season TSN only showed playoff games in the U.S.
Headlining TSN’s increased Canadian team coverage is the Toronto Maple Leafs with 17 appearances annually, followed by Montreal with 15, and 10 appearances each for Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Ottawa.
TSN’s relationship with the National Hockey League dates back to 1987.  Since then, TSN has aggressively worked to grow its NHL telecasts to marquee status. In fact, audience levels have increased 32% in the last five seasons, going from 311,000 viewers in 2002-03 to a season-ending national average audience of 410,000 viewers in 2007-08 (2+). Audience levels have also increased 30% over the past five seasons in the key A25-54 demo coveted by advertisers. TSN has continually reached and surpassed audience levels previously attained only on conventional networks, with the crowning moment occurring on opening night of the 2005-06 season when a record 2.1 million viewers tuned in to TSN’s Senators-Maple Leafs telecast. It was the largest audience ever for an NHL on TSN telecast.
TSN previously owned the NHL national package from 1987-88 to 1997-98 and from 2002-03 to 2007-08. Under the current expiring agreement, TSN owned the broadcast rights to 70 regular-season games annually and the first three rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Source: The National Hockey League, The Globe and MailÂ
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Last night's Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final, a game on NBC earned a 4.3 overnight rating and an 8 share (8 p.m.-12:45 a.m. ET), the best overnight rating for a Stanley Cup Final Game 5 in six years (2002 - Carolina-Detroit, 4.5/8) and the best for an NHL game on NBC since NBC reacquired the NHL in 2004. The rating, which peaked at a 5.8/10 from 11-11:30, was up 79 percent over last year's Game 5 on NBC (Anaheim-Ottawa, 2.4/4). Also, NBC's Saturday night Game 4 coverage captured the night in Adults 18-49, the first primetime victory for the NHL in seven years (see below).
The Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 triple overtime “instant classic†victory over the Detroit Red Wings delivered a 35.4/52 in Pittsburgh and a 29.6/46 in Detroit. Pittsburgh's Petr Sykora scored the winning goal at 9:57 of the third overtime period after forecasting his goal in the second overtime to NBC's Inside-the-Glass reporter Pierre McGuire, who was stationed between the teams' benches. McGuire reported on the air: "Usually you don't have people tell you they're going to score in overtime, they just go out and do it. Petr Sykora just tapped the glass, pointed to his chest and said 'I'm going to score.'"
The game was the fifth-longest Stanley Cup Final game in history going 109:57
The Game 5 ratings bonanza came on the heels of Saturday night's Game 4, which earned a 2.3/5 national rating, up 21 percent over last year (Anaheim-Ottawa, Monday, June 4, 1.9/3). NBC ranked No. 1 in primetime on Saturday in Adults 18-49, Adults 18-34 and all key adult-male demographics. This marks the first time Stanley Cup coverage has scored a primetime win since Saturday, June 9, 2001 (Stanley Cup Final Game 7, Colorado-New Jersey).
The two-game average of a 2.4/4 is 60 percent higher than last year (1.5/3). In the coveted Men 18-49 demo, NBC has scored 109 percent higher than the first two games of last year's Final, 2.3 to 1.1.
NBC Sports is broadcasting Games 3-7 of the Stanley Cup Final in primetime. Coverage resumes with Game 6 tomorrow night at 8 p.m. ET in Pittsburgh, with the Red Wings leading the series 3-2. "We're going to a Game 7," said NBC's McGuire. "The Penguins have all the momentum, the crowd's going to be nuts and I can't see them not coming up with anything but their best effort of the Final."
Source: National Hockey League
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The NHL on NBC scored a huge increase in ratings for Game Three of the Stanley Cup Finals compared to last year's Game Three between Ducks and Senators.
With the talent ladened Red Wings and Penguins, with Sidney Crosby, NBC saw a 2.8/5 overnight Nielsen rating compared to 1.5/3 for last year's Game Three, an increase of 86.7%.
NBC had the advantage of airing the game this year in primetime on a Saturday.
According to the Sports Business Daily, "In Detroit, the game earned a 18.2/28 up against Pistons-Celtics Game Five on ESPN, which earned a 15.9 rating locally. The 2.9/5 marks the highest Stanley Cup Finals Game Three overnight rating since ’02, when Red Wings-Hurricanes earned a 3.8."
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VERSUS, the exclusive cable home of the NHL in the U.S., garnered a 1.9 national rating and 2,537,560 total viewers for its Game 2 telecast of the 2008 Stanley Cup Final Monday, making it the most-watched program in network history. Other highlights:
* Game 2 eclipsed Game 1 of this year’s Final (1.8 rating, 2,351,582 total viewers) as the highest-rated and most-watched Stanley Cup Final cable telecast since 2002. Further, the combined ratings for Games 1 and 2 show an increase of 111 percent from 2006 (.9) and a 171-percent increase from last year’s first two games (.7). The combined viewership for Games 1 of 2 of the 2008 Stanley Cup Final (2,426,692) show even greater increases over the past two years; up 181 percent from 2006 (863,206) and a whopping 273 percent from 2007 (649,779).
* The 1.9 rating is up 217 percent from VERSUS' Game 2 rating in 2007 (.6) and up 111 percent from Game 2 of the 2006 Stanley Cup Final (.9).
* Locally, the Detroit market received an 11.7 rating, the highest rating ever in the Detroit market for an NHL game on VERSUS and a 39% increase over Game 1 (8.4). The Pittsburgh market garnered a 21.3 rating, making VERSUS the #1 rated television network in Pittsburgh for the time period. The 21.3 rating is up 12 percent from Game 1 (19.0).
* VERSUS concluded its coverage of the 2007-08 NHL season with tremendous gains in ratings and viewership compared to the first two years of the NHL on the network. Compared to last season, the 2007-08 regular season saw an increase of 50 percent in HH ratings and 28 percent in total viewership; HH ratings for the 2008 Conference Quarterfinals were up 33 percent and total viewership was up 24 percent; Conference Semifinals were up 50 percent in HH rating and 51 percent in total viewership. During the Conference Final round, in which VERSUS aired nine exclusive games, the network witnessed dramatic increases in household ratings (up 71%) and total viewership (up 77%), making it the best-rated, most watched Conference Finals since 2002.
* The combination of Games 1 and 2 made this the highest-rated and most-watched opening two games of the finals since Detroit faced Carolina in 2002. Versus' combined ratings went up 273 percent from last year when Anaheim played Ottawa and 181 percent from the Carolina-Edmonton matchup in 2006.
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The National Hockey League (NHL) today announced the national television schedules of NBC, VERSUS, CBC, TSN and RDS for the 2008-09 regular season.
