CBC will be airing a documentary about the return of the Winnipeg Jets this weekend. It will premiere Friday night with an encore on Sunday prior to the Jets game against the Montreal. The press release and full details are after the jump.
Daily Archives: October 6, 2011
NHL Statement On Euro Rights
The folks at the NHL were kind enough to send me this statement about the NHL’s European TV Rights. Here it is in its entirety.
“The NHL’s goal this season is to bring more programming content and live games than ever to our passionate and loyal European fans. In connection with that pursuit, today we have launched six native-language Web sites (Czech, Finnish, German, Russian, Slovak, Swedish), while NHL GameCenter LIVE enables our international fans to enjoy live and on-demand games via streaming video on broadband, mobile and tablet devices.
“On the television side, we continue to work throughout Europe to bring NHL hockey to our fans. While these negotiations are ongoing, we remain optimistic that we soon will soon have agreements to announce. We thank you for your continued patience, as we continue to work diligently toward this goal.”
The following are the local broadcast listings for the 2011 Compuware NHL Premiere:
Friday, October 7:
2011 Compuware NHL Premiere Stockholm
7:00pm: New York Rangers vs. Los Angeles Kings
TV10 and online via Viaplay (Sweden)
2011 Compuware NHL Premiere Helsinki
8:00pm: Anaheim Ducks vs. Buffalo Sabres
Nelonen Sport Pro (Finland)
Saturday, October 8:
2011 Compuware NHL Premiere Stockholm
7:00pm: New York Rangers vs. Anaheim Ducks
TV6/Viasat Hockey and online via Viaplay (Sweden), Nelonen Sport Pro (Finland)
NHL Live Games Online:
The 2011 Compuware NHL Premiere Games will be available through NHL GameCenter LIVE everywhere except Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark. In those countries, the 2011 Compuware NHL Premiere games will be made available online via “Viaplay.”
The Confusion Continues
Yesterday, I reported that Viasat had gained rights to air NHL games. For some reason, the NHL then pulled Gamecenter’s availability in several countries without any explanation. The situation has only gotten more confusing.
The folks at Medge report that the Viasat deal is only for the NHL Premiere games. This deal seems to be the same one that Viasat cousin Nelonen recently made.
So, why is GCL blacked out if this only covers a couple of games? The short answer is nobody knows. Many reports have Viasat gaining the rights for the entire year so there’s plenty of conflicting info out there. I’m still waiting on an official response from the league. Perhaps they are just as confused.
Meanwhile, there’s still no deal to air any games on ESPN America. Negotiations continue on that front but things look grim with only a few hours until the puck drops on the new season.
Notes: NBC Confirms College Hockey Deal With ND & Oil Change Moves to Sportsnet/Citytv
In all the digging for clues over the NHL Euro rights debacle, I’ve fallen behind on a couple of other stories so let’s play catch up.
NBC OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCES IT WILL CARRY ND HOCKEY GAMES
Notre Dame made their move to Hockey East official this afternoon, and with it came confirmation that the new NBC Sports Network will be showing Notre Dame hockey beginning in 2013-14 to go along with the Irish’s move to HE. From a press conference transcript -
JOHN MILLER: I think the question is how much hockey, how much Notre Dame? The exciting thing is we’re working with Tom Nevala and the Notre Dame team as we lay that out starting the year after next.
Our hope is to get a very robust schedule on our air of Notre Dame games, and, obviously, when the opportunity arises, Hockey East games as well.
That quote is from the president of programming at Versus. I fail to see how Notre Dame hockey has earned a deal like this. While ND has improved the last 5 years or so, it is hardly an elite hockey program. NBC is promoting this the opposite of how it should be. Hockey East should be the priority, not ND hockey. Apparently the HE members were willing to take this deal if it meant they would gain some TV time and another status school in the conference.
While rumors have been swirling for months that Versus will be airing college hockey this season, that is yet to be confirmed. This is an interesting move for NBC as college hockey does not draw many viewers and even the most diehard NHL fans are often unfamiliar with it.
OIL CHANGE SET TO RETURN FOR A SECOND SEASON
The terrific documentary style series that follows the Edmonton Oilers, Oil Change, is returning for a second season beginning on October 21. The biggest change is what channel will be carrying it. The series will move from TSN to Edmonton’s Citytv and will also air throughout Canada on Sportsnet. The second season will have six episodes. The full press release and schedule can be found here. The series is also available on demand at oilers.com. Last season, the NHL Network aired the show in the United States but there is yet to be an announcement on whether they will show it this year.
