As the NHL "sought a new partner for its annual all-access television show" chronicling the Bridgestone Winter Classic at Nationals Park, two "important requests sprung to the fore," according to Alex Prewitt of the WASHINGTON POST. NHL COO John Collins said, "Commercial-free and unfiltered language. ... While I think we’ve always taken great pains to make sure that the cursing, the language, wasn’t gratuitous, it’s part of what gives fans the feeling that they’re getting access and are really inside the locker room. Those were two of the things Epix lived up to that we felt were critically important to proceed with the series.” Collins said that the eight-part series "will split into two four-episode segments," first focusing on the Jan. 1 Blackhawks-Capitals Winter Classic at Nationals Park, and the second featuring the Feb. 21 Kings-Sharks Coors Light NHL Stadium Series game at Levi's Stadium. Collins: "We got to know the Epix guys, who really stepped up in two big asks that we had. One is that we wanted to do an eight-episode series so we could really capture both games. That was really important, that we keep that expectation, live up to the expectation that fans have. The second is every NHL fan who wants to get the series should get the series.” As for public access, Epix "plans to offer a free pass to hockey fans without Epix in their homes." Collins: “While HBO is working out their distribution as a premium-pay cable, (Epix is) going to make an offer to NHL fans where you come in, register, get a special code which will basically allow you to sample, not just our eight-part series but Epix programming for the entire eight-week period. It’s more distribution than we’ve ever had before in the U.S.” (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 9/23).
