Changes: NHL on NBC

Revision as of 02:39, 9 November 2016

NHL on NBC is a TV show that televises National Hockey League games on NBC and is produced by NBC Sports.

History

NBC previously televised the National Hockey League on three different occasions.

1960s

NBC was the first United States television network to air a national broadcast of a Stanley Cup Playoff game. They provided coverage of four Sunday afternoon playoff games during the 1966 postseason. On April 10 and April 17, NBC aired semifinal games between the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings. On April 24 and May 1, NBC aired Games 1 and 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals between the Montreal Canadiens and the Detroit Red Wings. Tim Ryan served as the play-by-play man while Ted Lindsay served as the commentators served as the color commentator for the games, with Brian McFarlane as the intermission host

NBC's coverage of the 1966 Stanley Cup Finals marked the first time that hockey games were televised on network television in color^[1]. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation would follow suit the following year. NBC's Stanley Cup coverage preempted a sports anthology series called NBC Sports in Action hosted by Jim Simpson and Bill Cullen, who were between-periods co-hosts for the Stanley Cup broadcasts.

1970s

From 1972–1975, NBC not only televised the Stanley Cup Finals (in actuality, a couple of games in prime time), but also weekly regular season games on Sunday afternoons. NBC also aired several regular season and playoff games in prime time during this period (namely, during the 1972-75). Tim Ryan and Ted Lindsay (with Brian McFarlane as the intermission host) served as the commentators for NBC's NHL coverage during this period. Since most NHL teams still didn't have players' names on the backs of jerseys, NBC persuaded NHL commissioner Clarence Campbell to make teams put on players' names on NBC telecasts beginning with the 1973–74 season to help viewers identify players.

NBC's NHL coverage during the 1970s was probably most notable for the introduction of the animated character Peter Puck. Peter Puck, whose cartoon adventures (produced by Hanna-Barbera) appeared on both NBC's Hockey Game of the Week and CBC's Hockey Night in Canada, explained hockey rules to the home viewing audience.

Besides Peter Puck, the 1970s version of The NHL on NBC had a between periods feature titled Showdown. The concept of Showdown involved with 20 (16 shooters and four goaltenders) of the NHL's greatest players going head-to-head in a taped penalty shot competition. After the NHL left NBC in 1975, Showdown continued to be seen on Hockey Night in Canada and local television broadcasts of U.S.-based NHL teams.

Prior to January 14, 2006, NBC's last regular season NHL game occurred on April 6, 1975. The game in question featured the Minnesota North Stars at the Chicago Blackhawks.

Schedules

1972-73

Date	Teams
January 7^[2]	Boston at Chicago
January 13^[3]	New York Rangers at St. Louis
January 21^[4]	Minnesota at Detroit
January 28^[5]	Detroit at Montreal
February 4^[6]	Pittsburgh at Minnesota
February 11^[7]	Montreal at New York Rangers
February 18^[8]	Montreal at Toronto
February 25^[9]	St. Louis at Detroit
March 4^[10]	Chicago at Boston
March 11	Toronto at New York Rangers
March 18^[11]^[12]	Detroit at Chicago
March 25^[13]	St. Louis at Philadelphia

Note: All start times at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

1973-74

Date	Teams
January 19^[14]	New York Rangers at Chicago
January 27^[15]	Philadelphia at Boston
February 3^[16]	Montreal at Detroit
February 10^[17]	Los Angeles at Atlanta
February 17^[18]	Philadelphia at Montreal
February 24^[19]	Boston at Buffalo
March 3	Chicago at Detroit
March 10	Philadelphia at Boston
March 17^[20]	New York Rangers at Boston
March 24^[21]	St. Louis at Philadelphia
March 31^[22]	Toronto at New York Rangers
April 7^[23]	Pittsburgh at Atlanta
April 14^[24]	Montreal at New York Rangers

Note: All start times at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

1974-75

Date	Teams	Play-by-play	Color commentators	Studio host
January 5	St. Louis at Buffalo	Tim Ryan	Ted Lindsay	Brian McFarlane
January 11	Philadelphia at Montreal	Tim Ryan	Ted Lindsay	Brian McFarlane
January 19	California at Chicago
January 26	Philadelphia at Boston
February 2	Detroit at New York Rangers
February 9	Montreal at Buffalo
February 16	Boston at Philadelphia	Tim Ryan	Ted Lindsay	Brian McFarlane
February 23	New York Rangers at Philadelphia	Tim Ryan	Ted Lindsay	Brian McFarlane
March 2	Chicago at Boston
March 9	Montreal at New York Rangers
March 16	Los Angeles at Philadelphia
March 23	St. Louis at Vancouver
March 30	New York Islanders at Atlanta
April 6	Minnesota at Chicago

Note: All start times (with the exception of the January 19 and February 9 telecasts) at 4:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

Stanley Cup Playoffs

Year	Round	Series	Games covered	Play-by-play	Color commentators
1973	Quarterfinals	Montreal-Buffalo	Game 4	Tim Ryan	Ted Lindsay
	Semifinals	New York Rangers-Chicago	Game 2	Tim Ryan	Ted Lindsay
	Semifinals	Montreal-Philadelphia	Game 4	Tim Ryan	Ted Lindsay
1974	Quarterfinals	Atlanta-Philadelphia	Game 1	Tim Ryan	Ted Lindsay
	Quarterfinals	Montreal-New York Rangers	Game 4	Tim Ryan	Ted Lindsay
	Semifinals	Boston-Chicago	Game 2	Tim Ryan	Ted Lindsay
	Semifinals	Philadelphia-New York Rangers	Games 4, 7	Tim Ryan	Ted Lindsay
1975	Quarterfinals	Toronto-Philadelphia	Game 1	Tim Ryan	Ted Lindsay
	Quarterfinals	Pittsburgh-New York Islanders	Game 4	Tim Ryan	Ted Lindsay
	Semifinals	Montreal-Buffalo	Game 1	Tim Ryan	Ted Lindsay
	Semifinals	Philadelphia-New York Islanders	Games 3, 6	Tim Ryan	Ted Lindsay

1990s

From 1990–1994, NBC only televised the National Hockey League All-Star Game. Mike Emrick and Bill Clement called the action, while Pierre McGuire served as an ice-level reporter in 1990.

The Montreal Canadiens were slated to host the 1990 All-Star Game, but however withdrew their bid to considerations due to the superb hosting by Quebec City of Rendez-Vous '87. This had allowed the Pittsburgh Penguins, who wanted to host an All-Star Game in 1993, to move up three years early. For its part, Pittsburgh's organizers added much more to previous games, creating the first "true" All-Star weekend^[25]. Firstly was the addition of the Heroes of Hockey^[26] game, a two-period oldtimers' game between past NHL greats. The second was the addition of the National Hockey League All-Star Skills Competition, a competition between the players invited to the All-Star Game. The Skills competition was created by Paul Palmer, who adapted the Showdown feature seen on Hockey Night in Canada from 1973 to 1980. All-Star players would be rewarded with $2,500 for any win in the skills competition.

To accommodate the altered activities, the game itself was played on a Sunday afternoon instead of a Tuesday night, as was the case in previous years. This allowed American broadcaster NBC to air the game live across the United States - marking (surprisingly) the first time that a national audience would see Wayne Gretzky^[27] and Mario Lemieux play. Referees and other officials were also wired with microphones in this game, as were the two head coaches. Finally, NBC also was allowed to conduct interviews with players during stoppages in play, to the chagrin of the Hockey Night in Canada crew, whose attempts to do likewise were repeatedly denied by the league in past years.

In 1991, NBC broke away from the telecast in the third period to televise a briefing from the Pentagon involving the Gulf War. SportsChannnel America included the missing coverage in a replay of NBC's telecast. NBC by the way, owned 50% of Rainbow Enterprises, the parent of SportsChannel America^[28].

2000s

Terms of the deal

In May 2004, NBC reached an agreement with the NHL to broadcast a slate of regular season games and the Stanley Cup Finals. The plan called for NBC to air at least six weeks of regular season games (three regional games each week) on Saturday afternoons. Also, NBC was to show 1-2 playoff games per weekend during the playoffs. Up to five games of the Stanley Cup Finals would air in prime time (OLN/Versus received the other two as part of its package). NBC's primary game each week, as well as the Stanley Cup Finals, would air in high definition.

Unlike previous network television deals with the NHL (like Fox, who had the rights from 1994–1999 and ABC, who had the rights from 1999–2004), NBC paid no upfront rights fee, instead splitting advertising revenue with the league after meeting its own production and distribution costs. On the other hand, the league avoided the arrangement some minor sports leagues have, where they pay networks for broadcast time and produce their own telecasts, but keep any advertising revenue.

NBC's out-of-market games were available on NHL Center Ice through 2006–07.

2004–05 NHL lockout

NBC's initial contract with the NHL ran for 2 years, with a network option to renew for 2 more. NBC's NHL coverage was delayed a year because of the 2004–05 NHL lockout, which wound up cancelling the entire season. NBC instead, decided to replace 5 of its scheduled NHL broadcasts with alternate sports programming (such as reruns of NASCAR Year in Review and The Purina Incredible Dog Challenge). NBC also decided to give 1 of the slots back to local affiliates.

2004–05 schedule (all would have been regional games)

Date	Teams	Start times (All times Eastern)
1/22/05	Philadelphia vs. NY Rangers Chicago vs. St. Louis San Jose vs. Colorado	2:00 p.m. 2:00 p.m. 2:00 p.m.
1/29/05	Tampa Bay vs. Boston Colorado vs. Detroit Anaheim vs. Minnesota	1:30 p.m. 1:30 p.m. 1:30 p.m.
2/5/05	Chicago vs. Boston New Jersey vs. Philadelphia Dallas vs. St. Louis	2:00 p.m. 2:00 p.m. 2:00 p.m.
2/19/05	Philadelphia vs. NY Rangers Detroit vs. Tampa Bay Dallas vs. St. Louis	2:00 p.m. 2:00 p.m. 2:00 p.m.
2/26/05	NY Islanders vs. New Jersey Colorado vs. Philadelphia San Jose vs. Detroit	1:30 p.m. 1:30 p.m. 1:30 p.m.
4/9/05	NY Rangers vs. Boston Chicago vs. St. Louis Anaheim vs. San Jose	2:00 p.m. 2:00 p.m. 5:00 p.m. (would have been seen only in the Pacific Time Zone, Alaska and Hawaii)

2005–06 NHL season

The NHL on NBC's new agreement debuted on January 14, 2006, with three regional games (New York vs. Detroit, Colorado vs. Philadelphia, and Dallas vs. Boston) to substantial praise among hockey fans and writers, who often compare national TV network's presentation to Hockey Night in Canada, which is broadcast in full on the NHL Center Ice package (although some writers even speculated that NBC's playoff broadcasts were superior to CBC's, largely because of announcers and HD coverage of games prior to the Finals).

2005–06 schedule

Date	Teams	Start times (All times Eastern)	Commentator crews
1/14/06	New York Rangers vs Detroit Colorado vs Philadelphia Dallas vs Boston	2:00 p.m. 2:00 p.m. 2:00 p.m.	Mike Emrick, Eddie Olczyk, and Pierre McGuire. Dave Strader, Brian Engblom, and Brian Hayward Kenny Albert, Joe Micheletti, and Cammi Granato
1/21/06	Philadelphia vs Pittsburgh Detroit vs Colorado San Jose vs Los Angeles	2:00 p.m. 2:00 p.m. 6:00 p.m. (West Coast, Alaska, and Hawaii only)	Mike Emrick, John Davidson, and Pierre McGuire. Kenny Albert, Joe Micheletti, and Cammi Granato Dave Strader, Brian Engblom, and Brian Hayward
1/28/06	Detroit vs Dallas Pittsburgh vs New York Rangers Tampa Bay vs Philadelphia	2:00 p.m. 2:00 p.m. 2:00 p.m.	Mike Emrick, Eddie Olczyk, and Pierre McGuire. Kenny Albert, Joe Micheletti, and Cammi Granato Dave Strader, Brian Engblom, and Brian Hayward
2/4/06	Detroit vs Colorado Dallas vs St. Louis New York Islanders vs Pittsburgh	2:00 p.m. 2:00 p.m. 2:00 p.m.	Mike Emrick, Eddie Olczyk, and Pierre McGuire. Kenny Albert, Joe Micheletti, and Cammi Granato Dave Strader, Brian Engblom, and Brian Hayward
4/8/06	New York Rangers vs Boston Colorado vs St. Louis Anaheim vs Los Angeles	2:00 p.m. 2:00 p.m. 6:00 p.m.	Mike Emrick, Eddie Olczyk, and Pierre McGuire. Kenny Albert, Joe Micheletti, and Cammi Granato Dave Strader, Brian Engblom, and Brian Hayward
4/15/06	New York Rangers vs Philadelphia Boston vs Atlanta Minnesota vs. Dallas	2:00 p.m. 2:00 p.m. 2:00 p.m.	Mike Emrick, Eddie Olczyk, and Pierre McGuire. Kenny Albert, Joe Micheletti, and Cammi Granato Dave Strader, Brian Engblom, and Brian Hayward

2006–07 NHL season

For the 2006–07 season, NBC broadcast three regional games per weekend of coverage during the regular season. They also scheduled ten coverage windows during the playoffs (not including Stanley Cup Finals). The additional broadcasts were expected to replace the Arena Football League, which NBC dropped after the 2006 season. NBC also produced two games per week in high definition, up from one in 2005-06.

The newly titled NHL on NBC Game of the Week premiered for a second season January 13, 2007 with three regional games (LA vs. STL, BOS vs. NYR, PIT vs. PHI) at 2:00 p.m. ET. Games started at various times, ranging from 12:30 to 3:30 during the season (this variation primarily resulted from NBC's commitments to the PGA Tour and other programming).

2006–07

Date	Teams	Start times (All times Eastern)	Commentator crews
1/13/07	Pittsburgh vs Philadelphia Boston vs. NY Rangers Los Angeles vs. St. Louis	2:00 p.m. 2:00 p.m. 2:00 p.m.	Mike Emrick, Eddie Olczyk, and Joe Micheletti. Dave Strader, Brian Engblom, and Darren Pang Chris Cuthbert and Brian Hayward
1/28/07	Colorado vs Detroit Dallas vs Anaheim Philadelphia vs Atlanta	3:30 p.m. 3:30 p.m. 3:30 p.m.	Mike Emrick, Eddie Olczyk, and Joe Micheletti. Dave Strader, Brian Engblom, and Darren Pang Chris Cuthbert and Brian Hayward
2/11/07	Colorado vs Dallas Tampa Bay vs New Jersey Chicago vs Columbus	3:30 p.m. 3:30 p.m. 3:30 p.m.	Mike Emrick, Eddie Olczyk, and Joe Micheletti. Dave Strader, Brian Engblom, and Darren Pang Chris Cuthbert and Brian Hayward
2/18/07	Washington vs Pittsburgh Chicago vs NY Rangers San Jose vs Dallas	3:30 p.m. 3:30 p.m. 3:30 p.m.	Mike Emrick, Eddie Olczyk, and Joe Micheletti. Dave Strader, Brian Engblom, and Darren Pang Chris Cuthbert and Brian Hayward
3/4/07	Philadelphia vs Pittsburgh Colorado vs Detroit	12:30 p.m. 12:30 p.m.	Mike Emrick, Eddie Olczyk, and Joe Micheletti. Dave Strader, Brian Engblom, and Darren Pang
3/11/07	Boston vs Detroit Carolina vs NY Rangers	12:30 p.m. 12:30 p.m.	Mike Emrick, Eddie Olczyk, and Joe Micheletti. Dave Strader, Brian Engblom, and Darren Pang
3/25/07	Boston vs Pittsburgh NY Rangers vs NY Islanders	12:30 p.m. 12:30 p.m.	Mike Emrick, Eddie Olczyk, and Joe Micheletti. Dave Strader, Brian Engblom, and Darren Pang
4/1/07	Detroit vs Columbus Los Angeles vs San Jose	12:30 p.m. (seen on all NBC stations in the Eastern, Central and Mountain Time Zones) 6:00 p.m. (West Coast, Alaska, and Hawaii)	Mike Emrick, Eddie Olczyk, and Joe Micheletti. Chris Cuthbert and Brian Hayward
4/8/07	Chicago vs DallasBuffalo vs Philadelphia	1:00 p.m. 1:00 p.m.	Mike Emrick, Eddie Olczyk, and Joe Micheletti. Chris Cuthbert and Brian Hayward

The NHL on NBC moved to Sundays after its season premiere (listed above) for the final 8 dates of the season. NBC's nine games amounted to the league's most extensive U.S. broadcast television coverage since 1998, during Fox's tenure.

2007 playoffs controversy

On May 19, 2007, during the Stanley Cup playoffs, NBC angered many fans and journalists when it pre-empted coverage of the overtime period of the tied Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Ottawa Senators and Buffalo Sabres, instead going directly to pre-race coverage of the 2007 Preakness Stakes (a horse racing broadcast generally contains about two hours of pre-race coverage, with the actual races lasting two or three minutes). Coverage of the overtime period was shunted to Versus, the league's cable partner, although viewers in the Buffalo and Rochester markets were able to continue watching the game on WGRZ and WHEC, their local NBC affiliates.

The move was originally seen not only as a snub of small-market teams (such as the Sabres), but of hockey in general. However, NBC and the NHL later revealed that the Preakness deal had been made several years before and contained mandatory advertising commitments during the pre-race build-up. Both sides could have agreed that the entire game would air only on Versus or begin earlier in the day, but the NHL wanted at least one Eastern Conference Finals game to air on NBC, and said that it does not schedule with the assumption that games will go into overtime. Moreover, an earlier start time could not be arranged because the broadcast window was fixed in advance, and both the NHL and NBC needed the flexibility to pick the Western Conference Finals for that window if they so desired.

In 2006, NBC televised Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Buffalo Sabres and the Carolina Hurricanes on the same day as the Preakness Stakes. Before the game, Bill Clement advised the audience that in the event that the game went into overtime, it would be televised on Versus, or OLN as it was known at the time. The Buffalo Sabres won the game in regulation.

NHL on NBC Faceoff

For the 2006–07 season, NBC added an online, broadband-only pregame show to its NHL coverage. This is similar to what it does with its Notre Dame football coverage. Titled NHL on NBC Countdown to Faceoff, it airs for a half-hour before every NHL on NBC telecast on NBCSports.com. The show features a breakdown of upcoming action, as well as reports from the game sites and a feature on an NHL player.

2007 and beyond

On March 27, 2007, NBC Sports and the NHL agreed to a one-year contract extension with a network option for a second year.

Beginning in 2007–08, NBC has "Flex Scheduling", similar to NFL broadcasts. The league selects at least three potential games at the start of the season for most of NBC's regular-season coverage dates. Thirteen days prior to the game, NBC selects one to air as its Game of the Week. The other two games move outside of NBC's broadcast window and return to teams' regional carriers. Since the league made network coverage a priority in the 1990s, regionalized coverage had been the norm; NBC is the first network to try regularly presenting one game to the entire nation. Additionally, studio segments now originate from the game site instead of 30 Rockefeller Center. All games are produced in 1080i high definition.

On New Years Day, January 1, 2008, NBC began its 2007–08 schedule with an outdoor hockey game (the AMP NHL Winter Classic) between the Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins at Ralph Wilson Stadium. The game went head to head with some of the New Year's Day college football bowl games, but none of the feature Bowl Championship Series games. While never expected to beat or directly compete with football ratings the timing was designed to take advantage of the large audience flipping between channels to watch the different bowl games. It was the first such game to be televised live by an American network and the NHL's first outdoor regular season game since the Edmonton Oilers and Montreal Canadiens played the Heritage Classic, which aired on CBC. CBC also showed the 2008 outdoor game. Although originally maligned as a mere publicity stunt by some in the media, the 2008 Winter Classic drew a 2.6 Nielsen rating in the U.S. (or about 2.9 million viewers), the highest rating for a regular-season contest since February 1996, when Fox was the league's network partner.^[29]^[30]^[31] By comparison, CBS received a 2.7 rating for the Gator Bowl, which also had a 1 p.m. start.^[32]

New Year's Day aside, all regular-season telecasts now air on Sunday afternoons.

In April 2008, NBC announced the activation of its option to retain broadcasting rights for the 2008–2009 season. NBC's scheduling will be similar to the 2007–2008 season (flex scheduling for regular-season games, up to five games of the Stanley Cup Finals—changing in 2009 to include Games 1, 2 and 5-7) except that all (or nearly all) of the Sunday-afternoon games will begin at 12:30 p.m. Eastern time. Coverage again included an outdoor game, which was between the Detroit Red Wings and the Chicago Blackhawks at Wrigley Field on January 1, 2009.

In 2010, NBC would retain the rights to the NHL. They continued to broadcast the Winter Classic, Sunday-afternoon games at 12:30 p.m. Eastern time, six weekends of playoff action, and Games 1, 2, and 5-7 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

Innovations

Some of NBC's innovations include putting a star clock underneath the scoreboard at the top of the screen. During each game, NBC takes one player from each team and clocks how long that player is out on the ice each time he comes out for a shift. Also, goalies like Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre Fleury may wear cameras inside their masks, much like Major League Baseball on Fox asks catchers to do. Finally, NBC puts one of its analysts in between the two teams' benches for what they call Inside the Glass reporting. In addition to providing color commentary, this allows the analyst to observe and report on the benches, as well as interviewing the coaches periodically.

Personalities

Main article: NHL on NBC commentators

Ratings

Main article: Ratings for The NHL on NBC

References

This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at NHL on NBC. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Ice Hockey Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY-SA).

[1] Apr 10, 1966 - It will start at 1:30 o clock, in Chicago Stadium, under the direction of NBC-TV, which will beam it across the United States an- other first at ... This is a National Hockey league deal, and Chicago is blacked out of all of them. But elsewhere they will be shown in brilliant colors. ...

[2] Jan 7, 1973 - NBC Children's Theater All About. Me 11 am4. Lidsville1130 am7. Archie's FunniesNoon2. Elementary News1230 pm11 Mouse Factory730 pm4. SPECIALS ... WHA Hockey1030 am2. NHL Hocker Bruins vs Black Hawks. noon 14. American Bowl Football5th annual. North vs South game13 ...

[3] Jan 13, 1973 - Super Sundays Channel 4 at 11 am highlights of the previous Super Bowls narrated by Hugh O'Brian Then at noon NBC delivers Preview Super Bowl VII ... Meanwhile the New York Rangers have a TV date to day with the St Louis Blues at noon over Channel 4 in the NHL feature Last weekend the ...

[:11-4] Jan 20, 1973 - NBC today Channel 4 at 2 pm carries Dean Martin's Tucson Open Golf Tournament with the final round on Sunday at 1130 am Martin serves as ... In hockey Minnesota battles Detroit Sunday on the NHL telecast over Channel 4 at 9 am then the Red Wings return for a TV date with the Los ...

[:12-5] Jan 26, 1973 - World Championship Tennis Rod Laver Stan Smith Roy Emerson Cliff Drysdale and other big names are in the lineup leading to the men s singles finals prefaced by an hour of pro celebrity competition NBC. National Hockey League game It is the Detroit Redwings vs Montreal Canadiens NBC ...

[:13-6] Feb 2, 1973 - A Conversation with Dr Abraham J Heschel Professor of Jewish ethics and mysticism he talks with correspondent Carl Stern NBC. NHL game Pittsburgh Penguins face the Minnesota North Stars in this hockey contestNBC. Two hour McCloud This special segment of the Sunday Mystery Movie stars Dennis ...

[:14-7] Feb 11, 1973 - NBC Children's Special The Flower. Boxes 11 am4. Elementary News1130 am11. Children's Film Festival The Johns ... NHL Hockey Montreal vs New York. 11 am4. NBA Basketball i am7. Golf Bob Hope Desert Classic 2 pm. 4. NHL Hockey Los Angeles vs Boston. 8 pm51Tapedelay ...

[:15-8] Feb 17, 1973 - NBC offers a tennis hockey doubleheader on Sunday delivering the World Championship Tennis series at 10 am featuring Rod Laver followed at noon by the NHL match between the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto. NBC offers a tennis hockey doubleheader on Sunday delivering the World ...

[:16-9] Feb 25, 1973 - NBC Children's Special Jennifer and. Me 10 am4. Talking With a Giant Patty Duke. John Astin 11304. Elementary Newti 1130 am11. Children;s Film Festival pm2 Mouse ... WHA Hockey1030 am2. Pro Tennis USLTA Indoor Winter. Championship 10 30 am28. NHL Hockey Blues vs Red Wings ...

[:17-10] Mar 2, 1973 - World Championship Tennis The finals of this tournament are offered in a two hour telecast NBC. NHL hockey The Chicago Black Hawks square off against the Boston Bruins NBC. Chester Yesterday's Horse His role usurped by machinery Chester the draft horse is befriended by a 14yearold boy in ...

[:18-11] Mar 18, 1973 - NHL Hockey Detroit at Chicago noon. 4. NBA Basketball1230 pm7. Baseball Angels vs Indians I pm. 5. MONDAY. Foran Biinng1130 pm5. TUESDAY ... NBC Religious Special tin the Be. ginning 10 am4. Your Choice for the Oscars Viewers choice for this year s Academy Awards 6 pm9 ...

[:19-12] Mar 18, 1973 - Coverage of the National Invitational Tournament from Madison Square Garden in New York2 hri. a NBC Religious Special NBC news ... by Bill White and a balanced scoring attack that has kept them atop the NHL Western Division throughout the year Tim Ryan Ted Lindsey report 12 hr ...

[:20-13] Mar 24, 1973 - Peppery tangy racetrack drama. ood atmosphere 7)Like It Is: Gil Noble, Melba Tolliver (9) *HOCKEY: Rangers vs. Boston (13)Zoom (R) 2:30 (13) Electric Company (R) 3:00 (7)0: JuUus Boros. Houseboat Holiday" (lI) Movie: "Arizona" ,(1940), William Holden, Jean Arthur, Warren Williams. ...

[:0-14] Jan 15, 1974 - Rangers are here Saturday afternoon for an NBC NHL national telecast Should the game be sold out 72 hours in advance President Nixon says It must be shown locally tapes and all. We plan to go by the letter of the new blackout law said Black Hawk president Bilt Wirtz We have about 2000 ...

[:1-15] Jan 27, 1974 - I62324 NHL Hockey. Flyers vs Bruins 117 147 Putnstut26 first Baptist29 Help. 130 Fresiio City College Apprie. rt Wurld Illeater ... 24 NBC Special Report I26 7UO Club. tO3C12 Mancini Generation. 17 THE CIt. 24 Community ChAIenqe i9 News. 101 Llcy Show 471 Evi Touch ...

[:2-16] 3, 1974 - 0 Newsmakers OO NHL Hockey Live. Montreal Canadiens vs Detroit Red Wings at Olympia in Detroit Tim Ryan Ted Lindsey report212 hr ... SANTA BARBARA31 KEYTABC SAN DIEGO 17o KGTVNBC 6 XETVND 5PBS8 KFMBCBS 39 KCSTABC SAN BERNARDINO24 KVCRPBS PALM SPRINGS38 KMIRNBC |not in log42 1PMABC* ...

[:3-17] Feb 10, 1974 - 0 NHL Hockey Live. Scheduled Los Angeles Kings vs Atlanta Flames at Atlanta Tim Ryan Ted Lindsey report2 hrl ... n KNBCNBC M KWHYIND 0 KTLAIND E3 KCETPBS 9 KABCABC iEIND o KHIIND 1 KMEXIND ID KTTVIND MIND WI KCOPIND50 KOCEPBS. 3IND OUTOFTOWN STATIONS ...

[:4-18] Feb 17, 1974 - 0 Newsmakers Interview a CWD NHL Hockey Live. Philadelphia Flyers vs Montreal Cana diens at the Forum in Montreal Tim Ryan Ted Lindsey report2 hr ... SANTA BARBARA CJ KETTABC SAN DIEGO 1W KGTVNBC 6 XETVIND UPBS CC KFMBCBS L KCSTABC SAN BERNARDINO 4 KYCRPBS PALM SPRINGS38NBCnot listed in ...

[:5-19] Feb 24, 1974 - 0 rio NHL Hockey Live. Boston Bruins vs Buffalo Sabres at Buffalo Tim Ryan Ted Lindsey report 121z hr. 0 Church With a Vision Religion 6 Movie Mystery 11937 ... OI KNBCNBC Co KWHND 0IND E1 KCETPBS 3 KABCABC DIND 0 KHJIND CD KMEXIND mD KTTV IND CD OND 0 KCOPIND50 KOCEPBS ...

[:6-20] Mar 17, 1974 - NBC Reports10 pm4. MONDAY. Uncle Sam Requests the Pleasure Of. Report on volunteer Army 8 pm28. Billy Graham St Louis Crusade 9 ... NHL Hockey Rangers vs Bruins 11. am4. NBA Basketball Bucks vs Bulls. 1130 am2. Baseball Angels vs Giants 1 pm5. World Championship Tennis 130 ...

[:7-21] Mar 24, 1974 - OU NHL Hockey Live. St Louis Blues vs Philadelphia Flyers Tim Ryan Ted Lindsey report212 hr 9 Church With A Vision Religion X MovieDrama1957 ... 6_ XETVINDOis KPBSPBS1 KFMSCBS 0 l KVCRPBS SAN BERN36 KMIRNBC * PALM SPRINGS O KCSrABCnot listed in log42ABC* indicates an advertisement ...

[:8-22] Mar 30, 1974 - Meanwhile on NBCs coverage of the Heritage Golf tourney last weekend another pair of exhibitionists set sail off the greens but NBC ignored them ... On Sunday Prep Sports World covers CIF Wrestling Championships 9 am4 NHL Hockey matches Toronto Maple Leafs New York Rangers 11 am4 ...

[:9-23] Apr 6, 1974 - Well the stage is set today for NBC's opening Major League Game of the Week telecast Stage manager Hank Aaron took care of that Thursday when ... Sunday the Pittsburgh Penguins of the NHL make their first network appearance with the Atlanta Flames the match replacing the one listed in ...

[:10-24] Apr 13, 1974 - Last December prior to Its first hockey telecast NBC organized a task force to promote the sport A primary target area was virgin Georgia the battle cry Get the South oriented to NHL hockey through the new Atlanta Flames franchise Sixty network and NHL officials toured 13 Southern ...

[25] Oct 13, 1989 - NEW FORMAT The NHL will begin a weekend format for its all star game in 1990 that will include skills competitions an oldtimers game and a national broadcast by NBC the league said. The 1990 game will be played in Pittsburgh on Sunday Jan 21 The Heroes of Hockey game and the skills ...

[26] Mar 29, 1989 - NBC is going to televise the next two NHL all- star games, the first time the league will be on US network television in nearly a decade. The games, on Sundays Jan. 20, 1990, and Jan. 21, 1991, will be accompanied by a televised "Legends" game on SportsChannel America cable on the ...

[27] May 11, 1989 - The NHL will be spared the embarrassment of Gretzky drawing viewers away from the Stanley Cup playoffs No playoff game is scheduled to go head to head against Saturday Night Live. NBC has an interest in Gretzky because it will televise the NHL All Star Game next season ...

[28] The NHL's national TV contract is with SportsChannel America, which is half-owned by NBC. It would be feasible for the partners to peel off one playoff game each Saturday afternoon for NBC.

[29] Bleacher Report > NHL Winter Classic

[30] Bloomberg.com > News

[31] Winter Classic Ratings

[32] Zelkovich, Chris. "'Ice Bowl' proves to be hot ticket for league, NBC", TheStar.com, January 3, 2008.

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 NBC's NHL coverage during the 1970s was probably most notable for the introduction of the animated character [[Peter Puck]]. Peter Puck, whose cartoon adventures (produced by Hanna-Barbera) appeared on both ''NBC's Hockey Game of the Week'' and CBC's [[Hockey Night in Canada|'''Hockey Night in Canada''']], explained hockey rules to the home viewing audience.
+Besides Peter Puck, the 1970s version of ''The NHL on NBC'' had a between periods feature titled '''''Showdown'''''. The concept of ''Showdown'' involved with 20 (16 shooters and four goaltenders) of the NHL's greatest players going head-to-head in a taped [[Penalty shot (ice hockey)|penalty shot]] competition. After the NHL left NBC in 1975, ''Showdown'' continued to be seen on ''Hockey Night in Canada'' and local television broadcasts of U.S.-based NHL teams.
-Besides Peter Puck, the 1970s version of ''The NHL on NBC'' had a between periods feature titled '''''Showdown'''''. The concept of ''Showdown'' involved with 20 (16 shooters and four goaltenders) of the NHL's greatest players going head-to-head in a taped [[Penalty shot (ice hockey)|penalty shot]] competition. After the NHL left NBC in 1975<ref>[http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=33&ved=0CJ0BEM8BMCA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdocs.newsbank.com%2Fg%2FGooglePM%2FSP%2Flib00249%2C0EB5DBE274DCDC82.html&ei=n2MgTK-RFJOBnQeS-Zlh&usg=AFQjCNEHhZ3hPR4kyFkK2bEYj8dNzvf67g&sig2=46X7i67C9pPrtwMzQLP2Tg May 25, 1975 - Because, in the 15 years John Ziegler was president of the league, it failed to get a major US network TV contract. The NHL left NBC on May 25, 1975, and hasn't returned to network TV on a regular basis since. Industry insiders predict it won't be back ..]</ref><ref>[http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=35&ved=0CKMBEM8BMCI&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpqasb.pqarchiver.com%2Flatimes%2Faccess%2F646468042.html%3Fdids%3D646468042%3A646468042%26FMT%3DABS%26FMTS%3DABS%3AAI%26type%3Dhistoric%26date%3DMay%2B31%252C%2B1975%26author%3D%26pub%3DLos%2BAngeles%2BTimes%26desc%3DVIEWING%2BSPORTS%26pqatl%3Dgoogle&ei=n2MgTK-RFJOBnQeS-Zlh&usg=AFQjCNFa-wE5GuffwMsdTbYX5u17OtZREw&sig2=smaSls9XyYovmvnZDW0lFw May 31, 1975 - The programs also shed light on that cheating ages scandal in the Little League World Series which the Taiwan five out of last six The president ... NBC has offered to carry only the playoffs next season If the NHL wants its season schedule on a network it will have to shop elsewhere ...]</ref><ref>[http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=36&ved=0CKcBEM8BMCM&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpqasb.pqarchiver.com%2Fchicagotribune%2Faccess%2F610430782.html%3Fdids%3D610430782%3A610430782%26FMT%3DABS%26FMTS%3DABS%3AAI%26type%3Dhistoric%26date%3DJun%2B03%252C%2B1975%26author%3D%26pub%3DChicago%2BTribune%26desc%3DNBC%2Bwants%2Bto%2Bget%2Bout%2Bafter%2Bmessing%2Bup%2BNHL%2Btelecasts%26pqatl%3Dgoogle&ei=n2MgTK-RFJOBnQeS-Zlh&usg=AFQjCNH-gql0CIf3thyl-9n6CadBe3Vx2g&sig2=diCy0UCg1MqhNKJ1OL1Lbw Jun 3, 1975 - And one week ago as the Flyers were shutting out the Sabres in the fierce exciting windup to a splendid NHL season NBC the network with the catch slogan about being No 1 etc was beaming Adam12 and a cheap jack made for TV movie. NOW COMES the inevitable word that NBC wants out of hockey In ...]</ref><ref>[http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CDsQzwEwAw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpqasb.pqarchiver.com%2Fcsmonitor_historic%2Faccess%2F98939391.html%3Fdids%3D98939391%3A98939391%26FMT%3DABS%26FMTS%3DABS%3AAI%26date%3DJun%2B09%252C%2B1975%26author%3DBy%2BRoss%2BAtkin%2BSports%2Bwriter%2Bof%2BThe%2BChristian%2BScience%2BMonitor%26pub%3DChristian%2BScience%2BMonitor%26desc%3DSports%2Bcheck%2Bon%2Bwhat%2527s%2Bnew%26pqatl%3Dgoogle&ei=pHcgTKevOoe5nAf1rLV_&usg=AFQjCNE10Im15L2HdZBbi5ZB17Te0MoQCw&sig2=uF-gYaIRpCxjGHD-d7IECg Jun 9, 1975 - NHL telecasts slip off air. The National Hockey League has failed as a major television attraction. NBC has offered the league a limited contract for the 1975-76 season, but it includes only Stanley Cup playoff games. A network spokesman said the offer was made based on disappointing ...]</ref>, ''Showdown'' continued to be seen on ''Hockey Night in Canada'' and local television broadcasts of U.S.-based NHL teams.
 Prior to January 14, 2006, NBC's last regular season NHL game occurred on April 6, 1975. The game in question featured the [[1974–75 Minnesota North Stars season|Minnesota North Stars]] at the [[1974–75 Chicago Black Hawks season|Chicago Blackhawks]].
@@ Line 181: / Line 181: @@
 |'''Games covered'''
 |'''Play-by-play'''
-|'''Color commentator(s)'''
+|'''Color commentators'''
 |-
 | rowspan="3" |1973
@@ Line 187: / Line 187: @@
 |Montreal-Buffalo
 |Game 4
-|Tim Ryan
+|[[Tim Ryan (sportscaster)|'''Tim Ryan''']]
-|Ted Lindsay
+|[[Ted Lindsay|'''Ted Lindsay''']]
 |-
 | rowspan="2" |Semifinals
 |New York Rangers-Chicago
 |Game 2
-|Tim Ryan
+|[[Tim Ryan (sportscaster)|'''Tim Ryan''']]
-|Ted Lindsay
+|[[Ted Lindsay|'''Ted Lindsay''']]
 |-
 |Montreal-Philadelphia
 |Game 4
-|Tim Ryan
+|[[Tim Ryan (sportscaster)|'''Tim Ryan''']]
-|Ted Lindsay
+|[[Ted Lindsay|'''Ted Lindsay''']]
 |-
 | rowspan="4" |1974
@@ Line 205: / Line 205: @@
 |Atlanta-Philadelphia
 |Game 1
-|Tim Ryan
+|[[Tim Ryan (sportscaster)|'''Tim Ryan''']]
-|Ted Lindsay
+|[[Ted Lindsay|'''Ted Lindsay''']]
 |-
 |Montreal-New York Rangers
 |Game 4
-|Tim Ryan
+|[[Tim Ryan (sportscaster)|'''Tim Ryan''']]
-|Ted Lindsay
+|[[Ted Lindsay|'''Ted Lindsay''']]
 |-
 | rowspan="2" |Semifinals
 |Boston-Chicago
 |Game 2
-|Tim Ryan
+|[[Tim Ryan (sportscaster)|'''Tim Ryan''']]
-|Ted Lindsay
+|[[Ted Lindsay|'''Ted Lindsay''']]
 |-
 |Philadelphia-New York Rangers
 |Games 4, 7
-|Tim Ryan
+|[[Tim Ryan (sportscaster)|'''Tim Ryan''']]
-|Ted Lindsay
+|[[Ted Lindsay|'''Ted Lindsay''']]
 |-
 | rowspan="4" |1975
@@ Line 228: / Line 228: @@
 |Toronto-Philadelphia
 |Game 1
-|Tim Ryan
+|[[Tim Ryan (sportscaster)|'''Tim Ryan''']]
-|Ted Lindsay
+|[[Ted Lindsay|'''Ted Lindsay''']]
 |-
 |Pittsburgh-New York Islanders
 |Game 4
-|Tim Ryan
+|[[Tim Ryan (sportscaster)|'''Tim Ryan''']]
-|Ted Lindsay
+|[[Ted Lindsay|'''Ted Lindsay''']]
 |-
 | rowspan="2" |Semifinals
 |Montreal-Buffalo
 |Game 1
-|Tim Ryan
+|[[Tim Ryan (sportscaster)|'''Tim Ryan''']]
-|Ted Lindsay
+|[[Ted Lindsay|'''Ted Lindsay''']]
 |-
 |Philadelphia-New York Islanders
 |Games 3, 6
-|Tim Ryan
+|[[Tim Ryan (sportscaster)|'''Tim Ryan''']]
-|Ted Lindsay
+|[[Ted Lindsay|'''Ted Lindsay''']]
 |}
@@ Line 255: / Line 255: @@
 To accommodate the altered activities, the game itself was played on a Sunday afternoon instead of a Tuesday night, as was the case in previous years. This allowed American broadcaster NBC to air the game live across the United States - marking (surprisingly) the first time that a national audience would see [[Wayne Gretzky]]<ref>[http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=66&ved=0CIYCEM8BMEE&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdocs.newsbank.com%2Fg%2FGooglePM%2FWO%2Flib00067%2C0EADE68262DDF66A.html&ei=EmggTMysLIv9nAepi5lS&usg=AFQjCNGrEe18F0LNXcKz0-0jdGQszMymPQ&sig2=ij1dAIZhGL2rq63G5dPs3w May 11, 1989 - The NHL will be spared the embarrassment of Gretzky drawing viewers away from the Stanley Cup playoffs No playoff game is scheduled to go head to head against Saturday Night Live. NBC has an interest in Gretzky because it will televise the NHL All Star Game next season ...]</ref> and [[Mario Lemieux]] play. Referees and other officials were also wired with microphones in this game, as were the two head coaches. Finally, NBC also was allowed to conduct interviews with players during stoppages in play, to the chagrin of the ''Hockey Night in Canada'' crew, whose attempts to do likewise were repeatedly denied by the league in past years.
-In [[42nd National Hockey League All-Star Game|1991]]<ref>[http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=22&ved=0CHoQzwEwFQ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdocs.newsbank.com%2Fg%2FGooglePM%2FCSTB%2Flib00225%2C0EB3732F98404F57.html&ei=wnIgTPyXHZiJnAeXwZR6&usg=AFQjCNHLQLW65DonqlA_qjcXrZEJoudwZw&sig2=yjgkyrmCcy9tXosi3Nttwg Jan 20, 1991 - Yet, anyone unfamiliar with hockey who watched the game in its rare network appearance on NBC-TV must have wondered why there had been so much ... The NHL could have sold the seats in the penalty box at fancy prices for the first two periods. In the final period, the Winnipeg Jets' ...]</ref>, NBC broke away from the telecast in the third period to televise a briefing from the Pentagon involving the Gulf War. [[NHL on SportsChannel America|SportsChannnel America]] included the missing coverage in a replay of NBC's telecast. NBC by the way, owned 50% of Rainbow Enterprises, the parent of SportsChannel America<ref>[http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/61416437.html?dids=61416437:61416437&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Feb+12%2C+1989&author=Jack+Craig%2C+Globe+Staff&pub=Boston+Globe+%28pre-1997+Fulltext%29&desc=WILL+THE+NHL+PINCH+HIT%3F+WITH+SHIFT+OF+BASEBALL+TO+CBS%2C+NBC+NEEDS+TO+FILL+HOLE+IN+ITS+LINEUP&pqatl=google The NHL's national TV contract is with SportsChannel America, which is half-owned by NBC. It would be feasible for the partners to peel off one playoff game each Saturday afternoon for NBC.]</ref>.
+In [[42nd National Hockey League All-Star Game|1991]], NBC broke away from the telecast in the third period to televise a briefing from the Pentagon involving the Gulf War. [[NHL on SportsChannel America|SportsChannnel America]] included the missing coverage in a replay of NBC's telecast. NBC by the way, owned 50% of Rainbow Enterprises, the parent of SportsChannel America<ref>[http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/61416437.html?dids=61416437:61416437&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Feb+12%2C+1989&author=Jack+Craig%2C+Globe+Staff&pub=Boston+Globe+%28pre-1997+Fulltext%29&desc=WILL+THE+NHL+PINCH+HIT%3F+WITH+SHIFT+OF+BASEBALL+TO+CBS%2C+NBC+NEEDS+TO+FILL+HOLE+IN+ITS+LINEUP&pqatl=google The NHL's national TV contract is with SportsChannel America, which is half-owned by NBC. It would be feasible for the partners to peel off one playoff game each Saturday afternoon for NBC.]</ref>.
 ===2000s===
@@ Line 481: / Line 481: @@
 Chris Cuthbert and Brian Hayward
-|}The'' '''''NHL on NBC''' moved to Sundays after its season premiere (listed above) for the final eight dates of the season. NBC's nine games amounted to the league's most extensive U.S. broadcast television coverage since [[1997–98 NHL season|1998]], during [[NHL on Fox|'''Fox''']]'s tenure.
+|}The'' '''''NHL on NBC''' moved to Sundays after its season premiere (listed above) for the final 8 dates of the season. NBC's nine games amounted to the league's most extensive U.S. broadcast television coverage since [[1997–98 NHL season|1998]], during [[NHL on Fox|'''Fox''']]'s tenure.
 =====2007 playoffs controversy=====