The NHL on Versus (formerly known as The NHL on OLN) is the National Hockey League's cable programming in the United States for the regular season, playoffs, and Stanley Cup Finals. Versus (previously known as OLN until a name change on September 25, 2006) is a cable television sports channel owned by Comcast and shown in the United States. ... NHL redirects here. ... Image:Stanleycuptrophy. ...

History

The NHL's television deal with Versus was made at the conclusion of the player lockout that caused the cancellation of an entire season. At the time, Versus offered a two year, $130 million contract (with a network option for a third year) that delivered guaranteed money for Commissioner Gary Bettman (ESPN, which previously held the rights, wanted a revenue-sharing deal similar to NBC's). Versus was expected to use NHL coverage to show it was a legitimate suitor for Major League Baseball and National Football League packages that were to be negotiated later in 2005, but they did not land agreements with either league. In 2007, the NHL signed an agreement to extend the NHL on Versus to the 2010-2011 season. Versus payed $72.5 million for 2007-2008 and will pay inflationary increases over the next three years. The 2004-05 NHL Lockout resulted in the cancellation of what would have been the 88th season of the National Hockey League (NHL). ... USD redirects here. ... Gary Bruce Bettman (born on June 2, 1952 in Queens, New York) is the commissioner of the National Hockey League (NHL), a post he has held since February 1, 1993. ... ESPN National Hockey Night is a Super NES action game where the player is cast right straight into NHL action on his TV screen. ... NHL on NBC is a TV show that televises National Hockey League games on NBC and is produced by NBC Sports. ... Major Leagues redirects here. ... NFL redirects here. ...

Terms of the deal

Under the terms of the contract, Versus will show 54 or more NHL games each season under the agreement, generally on Monday and Tuesday nights. They will also provide nightly coverage of as many Stanley Cup Playoff games as possible (generally two per night in the first two rounds; the Conference Finals are usually played on alternating days), and Games 1 and 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals. The National Hockey League (NHL) season is divided into the regular season and the Stanley Cup playoffs. ... Image:Stanleycuptrophy. ...

Coverage

The network broadcasts at least 54 games during the regular season (usually two games per week, sometimes three or just one), plus the All-Star Game, Skills Competition, and YoungStars game. The National Hockey League All-Star Game (French: Match des Étoiles de la Ligue Nationale de Hockey) is an exhibition hockey game that marks the midway point of the National Hockey Leagues regular season, with many of the leagues star players playing against each other. ...

At the end of the year, the network has blanket coverage of the playoffs, culminating in the first two games of the Stanley Cup Finals. Versus also shows the NHL Awards Show and first round of the NHL Draft. Stanley Cup on display at the Hockey Hall of Fame The National Hockey League presents numerous awards and trophies per year; some are given to National Hockey League teams, and other are given to players. ... The NHL Entry Draft is a collective meeting in which the franchises of the National Hockey League systematically select the rights to available amateur players who meet the eligibility requirements to play professional hockey in the NHL. // The first NHL Amateur Draft was held on June 5, 1963 at the...

Versus schedules a few doubleheaders during the regular season (consisting of a game in the Eastern Time Zone, and then a Mountain or Pacific Time Zone game). Playoff coverage usually involves doubleheaders throughout the first two rounds, except weekends prior to 2007-08, when NBC often televised multiple games during its broadcast windows. Metronome, a public art installation showing the time in New York City The Eastern Time Zone (ET) of the Western Hemisphere falls mostly along the east coast of Northern America and the west coast of South America. ... Mountain Standard Time (MST) is UTC-7, Mountain Daylight Time (MDT) is UTC-6 The Mountain Time Zone of North America keeps time by subtracting seven hours from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC-7) during the shortest days of autumn and winter, and by subtracting six hours during daylight saving time... PST is UTC-8, highlighted in red. ... This article is about the television network. ...

For the 2007-08 season, Versus may be experimenting with different days of the week to air games on as a way of avoiding the cable ratings behemoth in Monday Night Football. MNF redirects here. ...

Versus also plans to, like Canadian network TSN, have its broadcasters work an entire game from between the benches of the two teams. Versus has been the main pioneer of using microphones on players, and was the first network to have a head coach (San Jose Sharks coach Ron Wilson) interviewed on the bench in the middle of the game. NHL on TSN is TSNs broadcast of National Hockey League games. ... The head coach in sports coaching is the coach who is in charge of the other coaches. ... The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California, United States. ... Ronald Lawrence Wilson (born May 28, 1955 in Windsor, Ontario, Canada and raised in Riverside, Rhode Island) is an American ice hockey former player and coach. ...

The "Game of the Week"

Included in the schedule is a "Game of the Week" for selected dates. In this "Exclusive" time period, which was created in 2006-07, no other National Hockey League game may be broadcast in the United States and, in most cases, no other game is scheduled unless it involves two Canadian teams. Game of the Week is also the named for the NFL Films show that airs every week on the NFL Network during the pro football season. ... NHL redirects here. ...

Regional carriers are allowed to air games outside Versus' exclusive window. This is usually for about 2 hours and 30 minutes.

Like NBC, games aired on The NHL on Versus usually feature teams based in the United States, with the exception of playoffs. In the case of playoffs, Versus will occasionally simulcast TSN or CBC, although this mostly occurred in 2005-06; Versus has since made a greater commitment to offering its own production whenever possible. NHL on TSN is TSNs broadcast of National Hockey League games. ... Hockey Night in Canada (HNIC) is a popular television broadcast of National Hockey League games in Canada, produced by the CBC. Hockey Night consistently remains one of the highest-rated Canadian programs on television. ...

The selection of teams for The NHL on Versus is somewhat more diverse (possibly due to there being more game slots to air) than its broadcast partner, NBC. Because of inordinately high ratings in the Buffalo, New York and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania markets, Versus has made note to air a significant number of games featuring the Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins. The New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Detroit Red Wings, and Boston Bruins also get selected regularly, frequently at or near the maximum of nine appearances per team during the regular season. The NHL on NBC is a TV show that televises National Hockey League games on the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) and is produced by NBC Sports. ... Nickname: Location of Buffalo in New York State Coordinates: , Country State County Erie Government  - Mayor Byron Brown (D) Area  - City 52. ... Pittsburgh redirects here. ... The Buffalo Sabres is the best professional ice hockey team around. ... The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. ... The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York, New York, U.S.A. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). ... The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ... The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. ... The Boston Bruins are a professional mens ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts. ...

Any regular season game selected by Versus airs exclusively on that network. During the playoffs, Versus' first-round and second-round games may be subject to blackout in the participating teams' regional markets (although they have exclusivity for one second-round series in each Conference). Versus regains full national coverage for its Conference and Stanley Cup Final telecasts.

Personalities

Main article: List of NHL on Versus commentators

// Mike Emrick Jack Edwards(sports caster) Dan Patrick Ed Olczyk Mike Eruzione Ray Ferraro Chris Simpson Bob Harwood Andy Brickley ==2007-2008 Bill Clement Jack Edwards Al Trautwig ==2007-2008 Brian Engblom Keith Jones Mark Messier Categories: | ...

Hockey Central

Versus also provides postgame coverage of every game they broadcast. The postgame show is known as Hockey Central, airing from their Stamford, Connecticut studios. A post-game show or postgame show is a TV presentation that occurs immediately after the live broadcast of a major sporting event. ... Hockey Central is a show that Versus airs after every National Hockey League game the network televises as part of The NHL on Versus. ... Nickname: Location in Connecticut Coordinates: , NECTA Region Settled 1641 Incorporated (city) 1893 Consolidated 1949 Government  - Type Mayor-Board of representatives  - Mayor Dannel Malloy (Dem) Area  - City 134. ...

Ratings

When TV viewers or entertainment professionals in the United States mention ratings they are often referring to Nielsen Ratings, a system developed by Nielsen Media Research to determine the audience size and composition of television programming. ...

2005-06

Versus' games rated substantially higher than any non-Tour de France programming that Versus had ever aired in comparable timeslots (rating between 0.2 and 0.3 during the regular season). Still, these numbers were quite small compared to ratings for most other sports on national cable channels reaching at least as many homes as Versus. For other uses, see Tour de France (disambiguation). ...

Versus' playoff viewership did not increase as much as it or the league might have hoped. Versus reached a viewership of 610,836 households for Game 1 of the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals. This figure was 39% fewer households than what ESPN drew for the Stanley Cup series opener two years earlier (though ESPN has a larger reach than Versus). Game 2 was seen in slightly fewer households (605,501). The NHL unveiled a new logo for the 2006 Stanley Cup Playoffs. ... ESPN National Hockey Night is a Super NES action game where the player is cast right straight into NHL action on his TV screen. ...

2006-07

Versus averaged a 0.2 Nielsen Media Research household rating, about level with the 2005-06 regular season NHL numbers and its 2006 prime time average. Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is a U.S. firm, headquartered in New York City, and operating primarily from Oldsmar, FL, which measures media audiences, including television, radio and newspapers. ... The modernized NHL shield logo was introduced for the 2005-06 season. ... Prime time is the block of programming on television during the middle of the evening. ...

Versus' coverage of the 2007 All-Star Game garnered a .7 rating (474,298 viewing homes and 672,948 total viewers). Ratings were down 76% from ABC's ratings in 2004, the last time the game was played, and down 82% from ABC's coverage in 2000. However, some of that significant drop can be attributed to the game being played on a weeknight (Wednesday) as opposed to the traditional weekend game, and the fact that Versus is a cable television network unlike ABC which is a broadcast network. The 2008 All-Star Game was scheduled for a Sunday. Date January 24, 2007 Arena American Airlines Center City Dallas, Texas MVP Daniel Briere (Buffalo) Attendance 18,532 The 55th National Hockey League All-Star Game was held in Dallas, Texas on January 24, 2007. ... The NHL on ABC is a former TV show that televised National Hockey League games on the American Broadcasting Company and was produced by ABCs corporate sibling (under the Walt Disney Company umbrella) ESPN. // 1992-1994 Version From the 1992-1993 season to the 1993-1994 season, ABC televised... The 54th National Hockey League All-Star Game took place during the 2003-04 NHL Season and was held on February 8th, 2004 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. ... The 50th National Hockey League All-Star Game was part of the 1999-2000 NHL season, and took place in Torontos Air Canada Centre on February 6, 2000. ... Cable TV redirects here. ... A broadcast network is an organization, such as a corporation or other association, that provides live or recorded content, such as movies, newscasts, sports, and public affairs programs for broadcast over a group of radio or television stations. ...

2007-08

2007-08 NHL audiences on Versus in the United States remain small, but have increased over the previous two seasons. Versus is averaging 246,154 viewers a game, up 24 percent from last year at this time. Over the past year, channel distribution has increased to 73.6 million households from 70.8 million.

- Globe & Mail

See also

• The NHL on NBC
• The NHL on ABC
• The NHL on FOX
• The NHL on ESPN
• Hockey Night in Canada
• The NHL on TSN
• La Soirée du hockey
• List of Stanley Cup Finals broadcasters
• 55th National Hockey League All-Star Game
• 2006 NHL Entry Draft
• 2007 NHL Entry Draft

The NHL on NBC is a TV show that televises National Hockey League games on the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) and is produced by NBC Sports. ... The NHL on ABC is a former TV show that televised National Hockey League games on the American Broadcasting Company and was produced by ABCs corporate sibling (under the Walt Disney Company umbrella) ESPN. // 1992-1994 Version From the 1992-1993 season to the 1993-1994 season, ABC televised... FOX NHL Saturday (or The NHL on FOX) is a former TV show that televised National Hockey League games on the Fox Broadcasting Company and produced by Fox Sports. ... ESPN National Hockey Night is a Super NES action game where the player is cast right straight into NHL action on his TV screen. ... Hockey Night in Canada (HNIC) is a popular television broadcast of National Hockey League games in Canada, produced by the CBC. Hockey Night consistently remains one of the highest-rated Canadian programs on television. ... NHL on TSN is TSNs broadcast of National Hockey League games. ... La Soirée du hockey is a very popular hockey show in Quebec, where the activity is the national sport. ... The following is a list of the television networks (American, Canadian, and French Canadian) and announcers that have broadcast Stanley Cup Final games over the years. ... Date January 24, 2007 Arena American Airlines Center City Dallas, Texas MVP Daniel Briere (Buffalo) Attendance 18,532 The 55th National Hockey League All-Star Game was held in Dallas, Texas on January 24, 2007. ... The 2006 NHL Entry Draft Logo. ... The 2007 NHL Entry Draft Logo. ...

External links

• Official Website