Here Are the Full Details of What Will Happen When NBC Sports Net Hits the Air at 4 p.m. ET Today

So the NHL has again pulled a switcharoo on it’s start time for the Winter Classic, though it isn’t nearly as big a flip as last year’s move to prime time. The game will begin at 3 p.m. ET, which provides American rights holder NBC with a bit of a problem: What to do about the sports network we were planning to launch right after the Winter Classic at 4 p.m. ET originally? It’s not as if there are unlimited hours to work with here, as the network needs to fit in a 90-minute movie, a 90-minute studio show, a 30-minute NHL pre-game, and then another NHL game between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m., and include a Winter Classic post-game.

Here’s a little bit more detailed look into what you’ll see tomorrow. NBC Sports Network will still flip on at 4 p.m. ET, with NHL and college football host Liam McHugh explaining a little bit of what you’re about to see, as well as some discussion of the college bowl scoreboard. At around 4:10 p.m. ET, the originally 6:00 p.m. ET-planned edition of NBC Sports Talk will begin, and stay on the air for approximately 90 minutes.

This is when things get a bit tricky. The hope is that the Winter Classic will end around 5:45 p.m. ET, so NBCSN can do a brief post-game with Bob Costas and everyone in Philadelphia, and then get to their documentary feature, Summit Series ’72: Cold War on Ice at 6 p.m. ET. However, if the game is still going on at 5:45 p.m. ET, NBCSN will simulcast NBC’s coverage, then air a short-post game and be done by 6 p.m. ET. If the game runs further, say, to overtime or a shootout, NBCSN will also simulcast that, and then the movie will begin afterwards. NHL Live would then be delayed a little bit, as it serves as the pre-cursor to the network’s broadcast of Sharks-Canucks. NHL Live will then lead-in to a re-run of the film at 11:00 p.m. ET, followed by NHL Overtime at 12:30 a.m. ET.

For those of you who have DVRs and may want to record Cold War on Ice, you can catch re-runs at the following dates and times:

• January 2, 11:00 p.m. ET
• January 3, 7:00 a.m. ET, 8:30 a.m. ET

And here’s you full recap of NBCSN’s schedule today:

4:00 p.m. ET – Intro to NBCSN/College Football Talk with Liam McHugh
4:10 p.m. ET – NBC Sports Talk
5:45 p.m. ET – Winter Classic post-game/Winter Classic overtime and shootout simulcast
6:00 p.m. ET – Summit Series ’72: Cold War on Ice
7:30 p.m. ET – NHL Live
8:00 p.m. ET – San Jose vs. Vancouver
10:30 p.m. ET – NHL Live
11:00 p.m. ET – Summit Series ’72: Cold War on Ice
12:30 a.m. ET – NHL Overtime

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