NBC Get Broadcasting Rights for Ice Hockey’s NCAA Hockey East
November 3, 2011
Hockey East, NCAA Men’s Division 1 Ice Hockey League has secured the services of NBC who will broadcast a selection of the league’s games on its soon-to-be-rebranded Versus channel.
Included in the package are three regular-season games, one tournament quarterfinal game, both semifinals and the league championship game. The games are part of the network’s renovation of Versus, which will become NBC Sports Network on Jan. 2.
Hockey East commissioner Joe Bertagna said in a statement: “This agreement will play a major role in our ability to stay in a leadership position in our sport.”
Hockey East’s games are part of a 16-game college hockey package Versus/NBC will broadcast this season. The first game to be broadcast will be a New Year’s Eve tilt in South Bend, Ind., between Boston University and Notre Dame, which joins the league in 2013.
BU will play two games on the network, as will Vermont. Boston College visits Vermont in an NBC game on Friday, Feb. 10.
NBC Sports Group president of programming Jon Miller in a statement: “We are excited to be launching our first-ever college hockey package by building a destination on Friday nights on the NBC Sports Network with many of the preeminent brands in the sport.”