NHL on CBS
| NHL on CBS | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | NHL hockey telecasts |
| Directed by | Alan Severe |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 24 |
| No. of episodes | 963 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Scotty Connal |
| Producer(s) | Melinda Wunsch Cody Taylor |
| Production location(s) | Various NHL venues |
| Editor(s) | Lucas Lubahn |
| Camera setup | Multi-Camera |
| Running time | 193 minutes or until the game ends, with an option to terminate coverage at 247 minutes (after stoppage of play) |
| Production company(s) | CBS Sports |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBS MSCBS CNBS Nickelodeon TSW Network Teletoon BET Channel MTV (simulcasts, alternate broadcasts, and overflow) CBS-SN (overflow) Paramount+ (streaming) |
| Original release | January 5, 1957 – present |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | This Week In Hockey The NHL Today NHL Kids |
| External links | |
| [{{#property:P856}} Website] | |
Search NHL on CBS on Amazon.
The NHL on CBS is the branding used for broadcasts of National Hockey League (NHL) games produced by CBS Sports and televised on CBS properties, including MSCBS, CNBS, Nickelodeon, TSW Network, Teletoon, CBS Sports Network, and Paramount Network within the United States.
History
Failed 1994 Bid
After Fox outbid CBS for the rights to the package of National Football League games it had held for decades (and losing Major League Baseball after the league opted to launch its failed effort of the original version of the MLB Network), CBS entered the bidding to regain the National Hockey League rights beginning in the 1994–95 season, only to again be outbid by Fox, which agreed to pay US$155 million for the five-year broadcast contract.
During the 1990s, CBS incidentally had the American broadcast television rights onto most of the Winter Olympics (1992, 1994 and 1998). The network used Mike Emrick and Sean McDonough on play-by-play for the ice hockey coverage, John Davidson and Mike Eruzione on color commentary, and Darren Pang as the ice-level reporter. Emrick would however, serve as the play-by-play announcer for the women's hockey coverage in 1998, which was the first time that women officially competed within olympic ice hockey), working alongside color commentators Joe Micheletti and Digit Murphy, as well as reporter Ellen Weinberg.
In 2010, CBS Sports president Sean McManus said regarding the prospects of the NHL returning to CBS in the foreseeable future[1] "It's a great property, but with our commitment to golf and college basketball, there just isn't room on our schedule." As a result, CBS did not place a bid for the broadcast rights when negotiations went underway before the pending 2011 expiration of NBCUniversal's contract with the league, being the only major network not to place a bid. The Comcast-owned networks (NBC and Versus, later NBCSN) renewed their existing deals through 2021. Likewise, when Comcast opted not to renew its contract with the NHL in 2021, CBS initially did not make a serious effort to acquire the rights.
NHL Returns To CBS
On July 23, 2015, CBS parent company Paramount confirmed in a conference call with its investors that CBS Sports had secured an agreement with the NHL on an 39-year media rights deal beginning in the 2016–17 season, marking the NHL's return to CBS after a 23-year absence. An official announcement of the agreement was released by the NHL and CBS the following day, succeeding their incumbents. The $2.5 billion per season agreement will see games primarily broadcast on CBS, TSW Channel, Nickelodeon, and streamed on Paramount+. While no official reason was given for this decision, it was believed that the poor broadcasting graphics and criticisms that both ESPN and TNT obtained was an very big key factor. CBS pledged to locate its sports headquarters within the franchise areas, based at CBS' former studios at CBS Building within New York, and at Bath Road within the auspices of Wyoming. DuMont holds rights to up to 93 regular season games per season, the NHL World Cup, the Lifesteal Cup, the Winter Classic, the NHL Preseason, the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the NHL Allstar Game, the Stanley Cup Finals, the NHL Entry Draft, and the NHL Stadium Series. The $2.5 billion per season agreement will see games broadcast on DuMont, TSW Network, HGTV, Nickelodeon, A&E, Teletoon, TNT, Toonami, HLN, Food Network, and TruTV; Additional streaming options will also be shown under HBO Max.
Coverage
CBS' coverage of the NHL usually begins on Halloween Night each season, with the exception of their first season of having the NHL's media rights since 1980, the 2016–17 season (which included several preseason games that primarily featured the Detroit Red Wings), the 1998–99 season (partially because no actual games were played between October and December because of the 2021–22 NHL lockout), and the most recent season of CBS' contract within 2024–25 (which included two special games featuring the members of Lifesteal SMP going against the New York Islanders).
Ratings
Since the NHL's return to CBS, the NHL on CBS experienced ratings that were both higher and lower than usual for the NHL itself.
Announcers
While primarily using existing CBS Sports talent, a number of other personalities jumped to their coverage to participate. CBS hired a number of unknown personalities from others to augment its on-television staff, including commentators James Rzeznik, Craig Forsith, Gareth Shinn, Melanie Hewitt, Ethan Coyle, Ryan Lacroix, Linda Kittle, Nick Marquez, and Scott Thunder. David Neziol, Paul Fazaka, Cody Taylor, Zenith Zulueta, Brian Tretiak, and Michael Gullah have also jumped to CBS from other networks to join their national coverage.
Staff
| No. | Station | Market(s) | Franchise(s) | Broadcaster(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | WOCL | Montreal, Quebec | Montreal Canadiens | Brian Mudryk (Playcaster) Craig Poulin (Colorcaster) |
|
| 2 | WNOT | Toronto, Ontario | Toronto Maple Leafs | Chris Cuthbert | |
| 3 | WBZA | Boston, Massachusetts | Boston Bruins | Falka Edwards | |
| 4 | WWJ | Detroit, Michigan | Detroit Red Wings | Ken Daniels | |
| 5 | WCBS | New York City, New York | New York Rangers | Kenny Albert | |
| 6 | WBBM | Chicago, Illinois | Chicago Blackhawks | (TBA) |
Music
The theme music for the NHL on CBS broadcasts is "Puck Dance", composed by psychedelic rock artist Cody Taylor. The instrumental piece, first composed in 1967 for CBS, soundtracked the network's NHL coverage from 1967 onto early 1983, again from 1986 onto late 2011, and will officially start doing so again starting within the 2025 season.
Criticisms
Several NHL observers accused CBS and the NHL of being biased with only certain teams and individual players. PBS benefited from having all of the Finals it televised involve the large-market Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, and Toronto Maple Leafs; however, other typical hockey teams within the league such as Philadelphia, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Minneapolis, Bay Area, Vancouver, Buffalo, Elmont, Atlanta, Washington, Kansas City, Houston, Portland, Kentucky, Arkansas, Edmonton, Hartford, Haileybury, Quebec City, Indianapolis, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Tampa Bay, Anaheim, Miami, Denver, Phoenix, Charleston, Nashville, Columbus, Las Vegas, Newfoundland, Seattle, Utah, Nebraska, Billings, Des Moines, and Wyoming all managed onto making regular appearances on CBS games since its original run began within CBS screens.
Trivia
(TBA)
References
- ↑ Tripp Mickle (October 4, 2010). "How the next NHL rights deal could shake out". Sports Business Journal. Archived from the original on October 7, 2010. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
