Editor's note: This story is revised from the print edition.
When the NHL and MLB Advanced Media struck a six-year deal for the league’s digital rights in August 2015, NHL Network’s daily operations moved from Toronto to MLB Network’s Secaucus, N.J., headquarters, in the midst of the baseball pennant race.
That left little time to prepare for a hockey season less than two months away. But after a year of learning, NHL Network has had a chance to expand not only its footprint in the shared space, but also its programming schedule.
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The “NHL Tonight” studio that debuted in the spring is back, along with more programming.
Photo by: NHL NETWORK
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“We’ve found that there is room for more on TV for hockey fans, who I think have been long underserved,” said Rob McGlarry, the president of both networks. “We want to take the approach we have in respect to production and studio quality for baseball, and bring it to hockey.”
That approach will result in an increase in programming of more than 25 percent this season over last, McGlarry said.
Much of that will come through starting the programming day an hour earlier, with the introduction of a new weekday studio show, “NHL Now,” at 4 p.m. ET. It will launch on the NHL’s opening night, Oct. 12.
Josh Bernstein, senior coordinating producer of NHL Network, said the new show will deliver information from morning skates across the NHL. The network’s flagship show, “NHL Tonight,” will follow at 6 p.m. ET, an hour earlier than last year, with previews, highlights and studio demonstrations throughout the night. “On the Fly,” the network’s nightly highlight and recap show, will follow.
“NHL Tonight” will have a full season to take advantage of its new 1,200-square-foot studio space, which made its debut during the Stanley Cup playoffs. The space features a 20-foot-wide, 12-foot-high LCD display, a touch-screen display for analysts, and hockey-themed elements such as walls etched with the names of the last 10 Stanley Cup champions. It is the first space built specifically for NHL Network. Previously, the network mostly used branding and graphical updates to hide the baseball-themed design of MLB Network studios.
NHL Network’s audience is not measured by Nielsen, and officials would not reveal internal viewership numbers.
The network will look to build off the launch of its first documentary series, “NHL Network Originals,” with more additional original content. The first installment, which chronicled the U.S. victory over Canada in the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, debuted at the start of this year’s tournament.
For the first time, NHL Network also produced offseason studio programming, airing a countdown series ranking the best players this past summer.
An increased emphasis on live games will include hockey beyond the NHL. The network holds exclusive rights to the annual IIHF World Junior Championship through 2018, which features the top under-20 players in the world. The 2017 tournament will be played Dec. 26 through Jan. 5 in Toronto, and McGlarry said the network is looking to further enhance its coverage around the event. NHL Network also has aired NCAA college hockey games, and recently aired U.S. women’s team games at the world championships.
The network will look to increase its presence at NHL tentpole events, opening up more opportunities for live coverage. McGlarry noted that at last year’s All-Star Game in Nashville, the network approached the league about building a much larger on-site set than it had at previous All-Star Games. Before the first game of the final of the World Cup of Hockey, the network had the first interviews with both NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Wayne Gretzky after announcing the league’s centennial plans.
