The NHL to return to ESPN

[BigMcK]

The rumors and reports are true. ESPN is once again a broadcast home of the National Hockey League.

ESPN announced on Wednesday that it has agreed to a seven-year deal with the NHL that will see the league return to The Worldwide Leader for the 2021-2022 season. NHL games last aired on an ESPN network in 2004, although ESPN+ carries local broadcasts of games on its streaming service.

As was previously reported, ABC will broadcast four Stanley Cup Final series as part of the agreement. Twenty-five regular-season games will be featured on either ABC or ESPN each year. ESPN+ and Hulu "will be the home to 75 ESPN-produced exclusive telecasts per season," and NHL.TV will relocate to ESPN+.

https://www.yardbarker.com/nhl/articles ... 2_34317569" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[brwi]

ESPN finally put it on their own website
https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/310 ... tform-deal" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Fast B]

Does this mean the return of Steve Levy?

CENTERING FEED!!!

[Daniel]

The rumors and reports are true. ESPN is once again a broadcast home of the National Hockey League.

ESPN announced on Wednesday that it has agreed to a seven-year deal with the NHL that will see the league return to The Worldwide Leader for the 2021-2022 season. NHL games last aired on an ESPN network in 2004, although ESPN+ carries local broadcasts of games on its streaming service.

As was previously reported, ABC will broadcast four Stanley Cup Final series as part of the agreement. Twenty-five regular-season games will be featured on either ABC or ESPN each year. ESPN+ and Hulu "will be the home to 75 ESPN-produced exclusive telecasts per season," and NHL.TV will relocate to ESPN+.

https://www.yardbarker.com/nhl/articles ... 2_34317569" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Here is some more information, looks like not an exclusive deal.

https://nypost.com/2021/03/09/nhl-espn- ... edicament/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[DelPen]

Hoping the move to ESPN+ for NHL TV is included in the subscription. Paying $24.99 a month to stream it now. This part makes sense though since the current service is owned by Comcast.

Also hoping the games on ESPN are not blacked out on ESPN+.

[Sigwolf]

Hoping the move to ESPN+ for NHL TV is included in the subscription. Paying $24.99 a month to stream it now. This part makes sense though since the current service is owned by Comcast.

Also hoping the games on ESPN are not blacked out on ESPN+.

I already saw something that indicated NHL TV is done after this year, replaced by ESPN+. Regional and national broadcast blackouts will still apply.

[DelPen]

Bob McKenzie reporting that NBC is completely out and Turner Sports is in for the rest of the package.

[Sigwolf]

Bob McKenzie reporting that NBC is completely out and Turner Sports is in for the rest of the package.

NBC sucks, but I use Fubo, which does not have Turner channels... so this kind of blows even more.

[DelPen]

Bob McKenzie reporting that NBC is completely out and Turner Sports is in for the rest of the package.

NBC sucks, but I use Fubo, which does not have Turner channels... so this kind of blows even more.

Sling Orange has both ESPN and TNT and is $35 a month. You would also need HBOMax possibly at I guess $10 and ESPN+ for I think $7 and it remains to be seen how much of CenterIce is moving over and at what cost.

[no name]

espn+ is 5.99 a month more on fubo.

[relantel]

Bob McKenzie reporting that NBC is completely out and Turner Sports is in for the rest of the package.

NBC sucks, but I use Fubo, which does not have Turner channels... so this kind of blows even more.

Sling Orange has both ESPN and TNT and is $35 a month. You would also need HBOMax possibly at I guess $10 and ESPN+ for I think $7 and it remains to be seen how much of CenterIce is moving over and at what cost.

Centre Ice has always been about the regional sports networks, which won't be going away anytime soon. But I can see where Centre Ice would not cover ESPN+.

[DelPen]

All of the out of market games that are not national broadcasts will be available on ESPN+ at no additional charge above the regular subscription. Penguins will be on ESPN one time, TNT 5 times (which might also be on HBoMax) and then local market games will always be blacked out, so in may case 3 hurricanes games.

[Sigwolf]

All of the out of market games that are not national broadcasts will be available on ESPN+ at no additional charge above the regular subscription. Penguins will be on ESPN one time, TNT 5 times (which might also be on HBoMax) and then local market games will always be blacked out, so in may case 3 hurricanes games.

Correct, as reported previously in this thread, Center Ice no longer exists. NHL Live is only for Canadian users, and NHL.TV is only for non-US/Canadian viewers. Regional sports networks still cover local markets, otherwise nationwide coverage is ESPN/TNT, or ESPN+. There will be no NHL specific pay-per-view option any longer.

As someone that has spent nearly 25 years routinely fighting with incorrectly applied blackout restrictions on Center Ice despite living well outside blackout zones, this is a welcome change. Hopefully this will signal the end of regional sports networks coverage of professional sports altogether and lead to people being able to view games regardless of where they live. Maybe not yet, but one can hope.

[DelPen]

Just confirming that there won’t be any premium tier on ESPN+ to get all the games.

[Posterboy]

So I've been an NHL.TV subscriber since moving to streaming platforms a few years ago. I assume they have removed the app from the stores? Since I have it installed already I noticed that while live game feeds are no longer accessible they are being archived for playback later, at least for preseason games that are being broadcast. I wonder if this will continue for the regular season and if it will contain the home and away feeds from the reginal networks. Does anyone know if that will be the case? I wonder if the ESPN+ games will end up on there as well. I know NHL.TV is still there for non-US and Canadian regions and I think you can still have a subscription. Can anyone shed any light on that? Any info is much appreciated.

[DelPen]

Nothing to confirm but I do see home and away feeds for some preseason games, right now not a lot of teams were sending their crews on the road like today, the wings rebroadcast the Penguins stream. Looks like we will get both though. As far as replays, ESPN+ looks to have an on demand section with past preseason games too so you can watch past games. NHL Tv is dead, they don’t have the rights to stream anything now, ESPN+ is cheaper anyways.