ESPN: ABC's pay TV sports brand.

Versus: NBC's pay TV sports brand.

Plenty of folks will be yapping about the NHL not being on ESPN -- but while ESPN's pretty much maxed out growth and distribution wise -- Versus is now in a very good position to catch up as Comcast owns NBC.

In fact, once Versus gets wider distribution -- they'll be in a better position to negotiate for other sports like the NCAA, NBA, NFL and MLB -- making them a legitimate contender.

The only problem I have with NBC and Versus is their awful on air talent. Since Versus is near Comcast's headquarters in Philadelphia -- it seems that every ex-Flyer who can still fog up a mirror winds up in their studios. Seriously, Keith Jones is the best analyst they can come up with? And Pierre McGuire is just irritating.

Anyway, this isn't the train wreck a lot of people think it is.

Versus is OK with me. Hockey would be pushed aside for basketball on ESPN.

If I can still watch all the games, I don't care if they play on Oprah's new network.

Leave it to the NHL to do the wrong thing again. Even if the games were on ESPN 8, they would still be available in many,many more homes than Versus.

There is a strong conflict of interest with Snider's comcast holdings. In any other league, they wouldn't let him any where near the TV negotiations. But I guess that what's good for the Flyers is, well, good for the Flyers and the rest of the league can just go pound salt.

ESPN The "deathstar of sports programming. Will Luke Skywalker please blow it up. Thank You

psumule, you might be on to something. televise the NHL on Oprah TV then have Dr Phil interview/intervene the combatants of that nights fight. Female viewership would quadruple!

Hockey is supported by a relatively small group of fans. It is a great spectator sport that does not translate well to TV. Not surprising it cannot get traction on TV.Overpriced tickets and a lack of TV exposure are keeping it down.

I am so happy to not have ESPN in my life.

Between your local games (3-4 a week), the VS. games (2, sometimes 3 a week, except during the playoffs when it's 7 nights a week), the games on NBC (one a week during the final months of the season) and the games on the NHL Network (2-4 a week)...there are more than enough games on...

But, if it's not enough...you can buy the subscription package and watch every game on your TV or you computer or your cell phone.

What exactly does the NHL "NEED" ESPN for?

What exactly does the NHL "NEED" ESPN for?

Promotion. People watch other programs on ESPN. Except for hockey, most people dont watch other shows on versus

Right now as it stands any sport not on ESPN is a minor sport and will suffer due to lack of exposure. And the premise that Versus will grow is flawed. Right now they are a flea to the Rhino that is ESPN and they could triple and still not threaten ESPN. If we want to keep all of pour young talent we want rights fees to increase thereby raising the cap.
Typical NHL neanderthal thinking that keeps it from blossoming. And the NHL is no longer not a game that doesn't translate to T.V." get a high def T.V. and join the 20th century. You give David Stern the commish job in the NHL and it would surge within 2 years. Keith Jones, Mike Milbury, Barry Melrose, Don Cherry, Brian Engblom, and the other mullet wearing, clown outfitted Canadian goons that shape the image are pathetic.
The NHL is its own worst enemy.

The NHL needs to get back on ESPN period, just for the extra time that would be spent on ESPN's other programming discussing it along with the games of course. You hardly ever see Barry Melrose on there anymore. Plus, I remember back in the day ESPN 2 had a hockey show at night similar to Baseball Tonight. Getting back on ESPN, especially given the fact that the NFL may be taking an extended vacation and that the NHL is by all accounts improved since the lockout, would be absolutely huge for the NHL.

"If we want to keep all of pour young talent we want rights fees to increase thereby raising the cap.
Typical NHL neanderthal thinking that keeps it from blossoming."

Zig zagging logic. VS. is the one offering the money. ESPN is the one offering pennies for the privilege of being on ESPN.

Plus I laugh at this idea...yes, if only the NHL would resign with ESPN, they would be the lead on Sportscenter every day, just like before, right?

Furthermore, there is now NHL on the Fly on NHL Network, which is superior to NHL2Night in every way. Not enough, NHL Overtime on VS.

Also, did you read the article about Goodell's Nero like Super Bowl?

Let me rephrase my question...sure, getting back on ESPN would be good for the NHL, just like being able to charge $200 to sit outside the game would be good for them, too. So I don't know why so many people seem to care about what is good for the NHL.

Let me rephrase, how is the NHL getting back on ESPN good for NHL FANS?

I would like to see the NHL back on ESPN for the sole reason that it might slightly cut into the overload of NBA coverage on SportsCenter and Mike & Mike. For someone like me who couldn't care less about today's NBA (but was once a big fan of the league), those two programs have become unwatchable.

written by Brant, February 10, 2011 - 06:02 AM
I would like to see the NHL back on ESPN for the sole reason that it might slightly cut into the overload of NBA coverage on SportsCenter and Mike & Mike. For someone like me who couldn't care less about today's NBA (but was once a big fan of the league), those two programs have become unwatchable.

Exactly...that's just what I want...to give up the WALL TO WALL playoff coverage I get on Versus in exchange for 2 games a week on the "Deuce" in between the 20 NBA playoff games a week.

No, thank you.

Hockey would always be the ugly step child to disgusting college basketball. I stopped watching ESPN when they stopped televising hockey and I can't say that leaving has diminished the quality of my life in any way.

Lol, ESPN has done just fine without the NHL. The 200-300 hockey fans who have stopped watching ESPN have not seemed to hurt their bottom line.

The NHL without ESPN? Not so much.

ESPN = NBA network and NHL would still only get the terrible coverage they get now. When ESPN has NHL in the past they still didn't do much for them.

Now that Comcast owns VS watch it show up on people basic package and that will expand the availability.

There's a notion that having the NHL on ESPN would create new NHL fans. That's the same notion that dictated sending the best NHL players to the Olympics. The NHL is probably at its peak in the US for attracting new fans. Being on NBC is not only sufficient, it's pretty impressive in my book.

Being on NBC is not only sufficient, it's pretty impressive in my book.

More people have seen the Ovechkin sportscenter commercial than have seen any part of an NHL game in the last 7 years.

If this is the case then Versus needs to bring in the guys like Thorne and Clement who in my opinion were the best team hockey announcers ever next to Mike Lange and the old 29'er....ha-ha had to throw that in there.

Additionally nothing is more annoying than listening to Pierre McQuire and Mike Milbury. I pray McQuire takes a puck to his jaw and has to get his mouth wired shut just so we don't have to listen to him. I still get PO's when I think about the time he said Crosby took a dive but he was sitting ont he bench with blood coming out of his mouth. He's a jabrone of epic proportion. And forget milbury he is just an idiot. Anyone who will sit on the NBC broadcast and belittle his leagues All-Star game should be fired. He's an idiot.

I like Vs coverage and the hockey wrap up show. I enjoy Edzo and Doc is outstanding. The lesser tiered announcers they've got are fair as well although I'm not too fond of the guy with the heavy Boston accent.

NBC/VS production values are very poor...sitting McGuire and Milbury in a studio to "argue" for beween periods is high school AVish. Watch ANY TSN/CBC game to see how it's really done.

Announcers on VS (Benanati especially) are horrible..."Steel Town" hasn't been steel town for 30+ years!

BTW, whatever happended to Buccigross writing for espn.com/nhl? He's about the only advocate for hockey there...and hasn't done his excellent column there since T'giving...

Most top notch announcers have little experience broadcasting hockey. NBC has to take what it can get. As for analysts you pretty much use former hockey players.

ESPN does not care one whit about hockey. They were perfectly happy to throw the NHL overboard in order to get the NBA. Even when they did carry the NHL, someone forgot to tell their sports anchors that an NHL Stanley Cup final was more important than an NBA quarterfinal. Granted, John Buccigross and Linda Cohn are hockey fans, but they aren't the producers or movers & shakers that determine priorities during SportsCenter. And notice that since they no longer carry the NHL, "Hockey2Night" was tossed in the dumpster.

The only thing ESPN could possibly want the NHL for is to fill time if they make "The Ocho" (think "Dodgeball") a reality, but apparently the network considers poker tournaments to be better filler material than hockey...maybe they are.

As far as the booth goes, Mike "Doc" Emrick is as good as any Canadian play-by-play host and maybe better, and most Canadians who have a chance to hear him agree. He's has been doing hockey since the early 70s, earning a doctorate in Communications along the way (hence the nickname). He's a notch better than Gary Thorne, but Gary's not too far behind. Emrick...good. Beninati...bad.

For all the complaints about Milbury and McGuire, CBC and TSN would have fired them long ago if they were that bad (and considering Milbury is born & raised American, that's saying something that they even hired him in the first place, although his former coach Don Cherry may have had a hand in that).

Versus' production has come a long ways (and frequently they get the video feed from a TSN broadcast), but they need to can their, ahem, theme song. That was annoying from Day One. License either the TSN "Hockey Song" (that used to be on CBC until the contract expired) or the "new" CBC "Hockey Night in Canada" theme. Those are as classic and memorable as anything on American sports networks.