faba Posted August 18, 2005 Share Posted August 18, 2005 NHL reaches cable deal with Comcast August 18, 2005 NEW YORK (AP) -- NHL games will air on Outdoor Life Network for at least the next two seasons. The league finalized a two-year deal with Comcast Corp. -- the owner of OLN -- late Wednesday night after ESPN declined to match the agreement that will pay the NHL $65 million this season and $70 million in 2006-07. The agreement between Comcast and the NHL was approved by the league's board of governors last week. ESPN, which resumed regular broadcast of NHL games in 1992, had until Wednesday night to match the contract but decided to pass. ``Over the years, thousands of great NHL moments were presented to our fans through the lenses of ESPN cameras,'' NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said. ``ESPN was a supportive partner, and both the National Hockey League and ESPN enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship. We wish ESPN continued success.'' The new deal can be extended up to six years. For the 2007-08 season, Comcast would pay the NHL $72.5 million but that number could go higher based on contingencies. OLN, best known for providing live coverage of the Tour de France, will show between 58 and 78 regular-season games, as well as conference quarterfinals and the entire conference finals -- with the exception of some weekend windows that could move games to NBC in both playoff rounds. OLN will show Games 1 and 2 of the Stanley Cup finals before NBC takes over for the remainder of the series. The deal with Comcast goes beyond just television rights. Comcast will bring the NHL Network to cable systems in the United States, and provide on-demand game broadcasts and computer streaming of live games. This is the second time in recent months that ESPN has declined a deal with the NHL. In June, ESPN passed on a $60 million option under the previous contract. The network tried to retain the rights for less money in talks with the league. ESPN contended that the value of NHL games had dropped substantially following the lockout that wiped out all of last season. ``We worked very hard to build and sustain our relationship with the league and would have liked to continue,'' George Bodenheimer, the president of ESPN, Inc. and ABC Sports said in a statement late Wednesday night. ``However, given the prolonged work stoppage and the league's TV ratings history, no financial model even remotely supports the contract terms offered. We wish the NHL all the best.'' The NHL will begin a two-year deal with NBC for over-the-air broadcasts beginning with the upcoming season. That is a profit-sharing arrangement, a deal similar to what the network has with the Arena Football League and the National Lacrosse League in which it pays no rights fee to televise games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bugg Posted August 18, 2005 Share Posted August 18, 2005 What's OLN on Directv-600 something? Figures to be sandwiched between "Gilead", golf infomericals and that fat Mrs. Doubtfire betch selling spatulas and omelet pans. Who the eff is that happy about an omelet? They should've begged Spike TV to take'em. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faba Posted August 18, 2005 Author Share Posted August 18, 2005 The Outdoor Life Network- I do not even know if I have it on my comcast package-shows you though the biggest thing on it has been Lance Armstrong cycling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Gun Of Bavaria Posted August 18, 2005 Share Posted August 18, 2005 OLN? Does DirecTV even carry that? I wasn't even aware it was a station. The Stanley Cup on OLN............ wow the NHL has really made the big time with this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bugg Posted August 18, 2005 Share Posted August 18, 2005 It's 608. Fishing shows, taxidermy with Cletus, the fat lady with the omelet pan, Ron Popeil, real estate scams. Let's all give a big hand to that master marketeer, gary Bettman!And to the NHL, from not being on at all, to being on a station you've never heard of and can barely find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Gun Of Bavaria Posted August 18, 2005 Share Posted August 18, 2005 It's 608. Fishing shows, taxidermy with Cletus, the fat lady with the omelet pan, Ron Popeil, real estate scams. Let's all give a big hand to that master marketeer, gary Bettman!And to the NHL, from not being on at all, to being on a station you've never heard of and can barely find. Jesus. If it wasn't for Fox Sports Detroit I wouldn't even know that DTV went into the 600s. Nice Job Bettman. Perhaps there's still time to work out an NHL deal with Telemundo`. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormshadow19 Posted August 18, 2005 Share Posted August 18, 2005 Where you guys are missing the point is, Comcast already has a financial stake in the NHL. They own the Flyers. They have a need for it to succeed. OLN will probably have it's name changed. It will be on close to 80 million homes by the time October rolls around. ESPN didn't want to match the contract that Comcast put out. Comcast wants to put out a true sports network, and they have the money to compete with ESPN. And they have a bid for the Thursday/Saturday NFL package too. They may even have the best bid for that. And, if they get that, they'll be on in just as many, or more, homes as ESPN is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawn306 Posted August 18, 2005 Share Posted August 18, 2005 OLN is in the 600-610 range on directv. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bugg Posted August 18, 2005 Share Posted August 18, 2005 One thing that sucks, big time-ESPN, for all their faults, broadcasts it's signature channel in HDTV. OLN doesn't have it, and I see nothing that says they will broadcast anything in HDTV. Let's face it-HDTV cameras and equipment cost money. And supposedly HDTV was the technology that was going to make the NHL the next big thing. Way to go, Gary-want to buy a spatula? Smack this moron in the head with a stinky day-old bluefish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanDoug Posted August 21, 2005 Share Posted August 21, 2005 I'll give you a Canadian perspective on this, FWIW. Cable companies and satellite providers cannot legally provide ESPN (and ESPN2) here. We have TSN which is part of the ESPN family but broadcasts different stuff than ESPN, like Curling OLN is part of just about everybody's cable packages, so most fans here will be able to see more hockey at home than before, so your average hockey fan in Canada is quite happy. d Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Gun Of Bavaria Posted August 21, 2005 Share Posted August 21, 2005 I'll give you a Canadian perspective on this, FWIW. Cable companies and satellite providers cannot legally provide ESPN (and ESPN2) here. We have TSN which is part of the ESPN family but broadcasts different stuff than ESPN, like Curling OLN is part of just about everybody's cable packages, so most fans here will be able to see more hockey at home than before, so your average hockey fan in Canada is quite happy. d Doug, That could very well be the first time in 15+ years that the NHL has done something GOOD for their Canadian fans besides rip franchises out of great hockey cities like Winnipeg, jack salaries so high that Canadian clubs couldn't compete and piss all over well established hockey traditions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormshadow19 Posted August 21, 2005 Share Posted August 21, 2005 Uh... not to rain on the parade too much, but from what I've read from other Canadiens on the HFBoards.com... the OLN in Canada is different from the one in the States and they won't be carrying the NHL games. I imagine that they'll be still carried on TSN or the Score or something. And CBC still has hockey night in Canada. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanDoug Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 Uh... not to rain on the parade too much, but from what I've read from other Canadiens on the HFBoards.com... the OLN in Canada is different from the one in the States and they won't be carrying the NHL games. I imagine that they'll be still carried on TSN or the Score or something. And CBC still has hockey night in Canada. Figures about the OLN being different. Bravo is different here too. You see, our government enforces a Canadian content rule for radio and TV. They don't want us exposed to too much American stuff our we might lose our precious Canadian identity. What a bunch of crap. No wonder OLN won't show hockey up here, not much Canadian about that is there? d Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormshadow19 Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 I figure something might be worked out. Isn't the Canadian OLN owned by Comcast too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Gun Of Bavaria Posted August 22, 2005 Share Posted August 22, 2005 It would be PURE SUICIDE for OLN to not get this onto the "canadian" OLN. I'm sure it will happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R44 Posted August 28, 2005 Share Posted August 28, 2005 I still don't know were to get that channel....Luckly, this area has 3 teams, so the NHL should be on frequently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormshadow19 Posted August 28, 2005 Share Posted August 28, 2005 Rigs, if you don't know where to get the channel, I'd suggest calling, emailing, or snail mailing your cable/satelite provider, asking them to add OLN to your channel line up. Or, I'd check the channel line up that you've got, it may be on there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bugg Posted August 28, 2005 Share Posted August 28, 2005 As per the NY Post, OLN is not carried by Cablevision nor Time Warner cable, the 2 largest cable companies in and around the NY met area. So it's plausible that given the NHL's Monday night regional exclusive OLN games, you could have fans of all 3 NY area teams being essentially blacked out from watching their team sveral times a month during the season. Once again, thank God for Directv.Story noted that almost the only cable companies that don't carry the NFL Network are of course the Dolan Gang and TW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R44 Posted August 28, 2005 Share Posted August 28, 2005 All too familar with the NFL Network situation with Dolan... I can remember listening to Dolan on the FAN in the early 1990's and him saying the day would come when his company would offer EVERY cable network available and customers would simply chose their favorites--like going to the Supermarket. I guess that never happened on both front Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Gun Of Bavaria Posted August 29, 2005 Share Posted August 29, 2005 All too familar with the NFL Network situation with Dolan... I can remember listening to Dolan on the FAN in the early 1990's and him saying the day would come when his company would offer EVERY cable network available and customers would simply chose their favorites--like going to the Supermarket. I guess that never happened on both front The first cable or satellite TV provider to provide an 'ala carte' or 'pick X amount of stations for X dollars' will have my buisness. I love my DirecTV but I watch about 25 of the 250 channels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bugg Posted August 29, 2005 Share Posted August 29, 2005 Some better news per today's Post, Comcast/OLN announced they wille ase blackout restrictions in markets(NYC, Phoenix, Buffalo and Dallas) which currenlty have cable momopolies which don't carry OLN. Further they are in negotiations with Cablevision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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