Outdoor Life Network (OLN). Versus. NBC Sports Network. NBCSN.
The NBC contract with the NHL ends after the 2021 Stanley Cup final. The NBCSN role ended after Game 2 of the 2021 Stanley Cup finals, though the channel did provide post-game coverage to the NBC telecasts. The channel is going out of business at the end of the calendar year.
We wanted to say a few words on behalf of the channel, since the channel won't have anything Canada-related outside of the Tokyo Olympics.
OLN acquired cable rights to the NHL in 2005 with regular season games on Mondays and Tuesdays and the first two games of the Stanley Cup Finals. OLN became Versus in April 2006. Versus became NBC Sports Network on New Years Day 2012. The NBCSN brand was converted in August 2013.
The Versus approach to covering the NHL, most notably with John Forslund, was that when a Canadian team played an American team, the "national" part of the broadcast was to root for the American team. Broadcasters such as the late Dave Strader ignored that mantra and called the games in a neutral manner.
Back in the Versus days, the idea of an all-Canadian matchup was unheard of for American television.
NBC Sports Network embraces Rogers Sportsnet East feed
NBC pulls the plug on Ottawa Senators playoff game
There were some nice moments when NBC Sports Network in 2013 carried the Ottawa-Boston game via the Rogers Sportsnet East feed. The game had been postponed due to the 2013 Boston Marathon attack.
NBCSN did have Gord Miller, Chris Cuthbert, and sometimes Ray Ferraro as of 2014 after Rogers took over the national NHL deal in Canada.
Versus was involved in the NBC snafu where overtime of Game 5 of the Ottawa-Buffalo Eastern Conference final shifted from NBC to Versus for pre-race coverage of the 2007 Preakness Stakes.
The channel did cover all of the playoff games for the last decade. That should be a given but had not been in the previous decade. We enjoyed that more when NBCSN carried more simsubs from Canada. NBCUniversal later switched to producing every playoff game shown on the network.
Canada would carry multiple NHL games opposite each other. The NBCSN approach was that no other telecast could air at the same time, so often the NHL Network had to change its plans and not carry Canadian teams on a Saturday night.
NBCSN did carry other events such as preliminaries for the Canadian Grand Prix in Montréal.
Is NBCSN carrying the CFL Labour Day 2013 game?
The channel is also remembered for its CFL coverage in 2012-2013. The 2012 coverage went pretty smooth.
The 2013 CFL coverage featured tape-delayed coverage in October, a refusal to carry division semifinal playoff games, and tape-delayed conference finals.
The haunting headline of the 2013 Labour Day game sums up the CFL on NBCSN.
As Versus, the channel did air the 2008 Grey Cup.
CanadianCrossing.com NBCSN coverage
CanadianCrossing.com NHL coverage
CanadianCrossing.com CFL coverage
NBCSN has been involved in a lot of Canadian sports programming, mostly through hockey, and most of that with an anti-Canadian bias. The NBC path to growing hockey in the U.S. was to promote the Americans playing the games and the top American teams.
ESPN and TNT will make their own mistakes. A fresh start was needed.
Thanks to NBCSN for your efforts for all these years, good and bad.
logo credits: the networks involved
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