Media Happenings

[seabeewife]

Nice to see that Insight Sports and TSN can get their deals done! NHL Network owned by them launches in U.S.
http://www.cable360.net/programming/networks/25974.html

October 4, 2007

NHL Network Launches in the U.S.
With Time Warner Cable NY/NJ and Cox CT already offering the channel, major operators start firming up launch markets.
By Shirley Brady
Time Warner Cable today officially confirmed its deal with the National Hockey League to launch the NHL Network on a sports tier. As we reported yesterday, the channel is now on a sports tier in TWC's NY/NJ market, and coming to other TWC divisions including San Antonio.

Time Warner wasn't the only U.S. cable operator to launch the league's network on Oct. 1 to coincide with the start of the regular season.

The Canadian-based channel is now available to Cox Communications subscribers in Connecticut and will expand to Cox's Northern Virginia market on Oct. 30 and its San Diego division Nov. 2.

Bright House Networks, which has a deal to piggyback on Time Warner Cable's programming contracts, will launch the NHL Network on its Central Florida division's sports tier next month.

All of Bright House's Orlando-area digital cable subscribers can check out the channel starting Tuesday, when a free preview of the channel will be available through Nov. 7.

Comcast, which is helping bring the NHL Network to the U.S. as part of its Versus hockey deal (back when it was called OLN), hasn't officially announced its roll-out plans. Fans were hoping the NHL Network would start launching on Comcast systems this week.

At least one Comcast market is confirmed, with this legal notice announcing the channel's "on or after Oct. 16" launch to Comcast's Pittsburgh-area customers. It also looks like the network is coming to Comcast's Livingston, NJ, customers.

The network's schedule includes 50 regular season games, subject to local blackout restrictions, plus NHL on the Fly and other complementary programming to keep hockey fans sated on a 24/7 basis.

"All live NHL games will be televised in High Definition on the full time HD feed," says NHL Network spokesperson Andrea Goldstein.

"We expect to be able to launch NHL Network over the coming weeks on our sports tier," a Comcast spokesperson commented. "We also expect to carry the HD channel as well."

A Time Warner Cable spokesperson confirmed it's launching the NHL Network market by market in standard definition, with the HD channel rollout still being worked out.

Select NHL games are available in high-def in the U.S. on Versus and on HDNet, which this week launched a weekly show, Inside the NHL, to enhance its hockey coverage.

Some hockey games in the NHL's out-of-market Center Ice package are also in HD. U.S. cable operators — including Time Warner Cable, Comcast, Cox and Bright House — this week announced renewed carriage of In Demand Networks' Center Ice subscription package.

In Demand is offering a free preview through Tuesday to whet fans' appetites for the $149/season (which jumps to $169 after Tuesday) package, which is adding a four-screen mosaic to rotate live hockey games.

DirecTV and Dish Network also renewed their respective carriage agreements with the NHL for Center Ice.