January 14, 2009
by Stephen M. Lepore
Editor’s Note: This is part two of our four-part series, The NHL TV Set, in which we speculate on alternate scenarios for the National Hocke League on broadcast television, where we believe the league can thrive.


NBC is probably in between FOX and ABC on the list of “Best NHL Network partners”, because they show more games than ABC, and show more playoff games than FOX did, but they don’t promote the spot with any of the ferocity that FOX did, so they finish a close second.
My only other real beef with the Peacock network is that the games aren’t shown with the consistency necessary to keep the NHL visible in the eyes of the public. So this is my suggestion today: Use a two-network system, between CBS and NBC, to keep the NHL on every week from January until the Stanley Cup Finals, giving the league and their partners a chance to tell a story throughout the games each week.
CBS, having little going on on weekends after football season, would mix in hockey games on Saturdays and Sundays with it’s college basketball coverage. Show off how the rivalries in hockey are comparable to many college battles throughout the nation, and maybe a few extra folks will flock to it. NBC keeps it’s Sunday “Game of the Week” package with six games beginning in March.
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