LONDON, UK – Four NHL teams took to the ice in Europe this week, but still Europe is without NHL television coverage this season. A last minute deal allowed the NHL Premiere games to be shown on Viaplay and Nelonen Sport Pro in Sweden and Finland. However, the rest of Europe had no television coverage, and there are no plans for games to be broadcast in Scandinavia and the rest of the continent. The Premiere games were a sell-out with competitive games taking place in Stockholm, Helsinki and Berlin. Exhibition games also took place in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Switzerland – where EV Zug beat the New York Rangers 8-4. A spokesperson from the NHL said, “We continue to work throughout Europe to bring NHL hockey to our fans. While these negotiations are ongoing, we remain optimistic that we soon will have agreements to announce.” The NHL has opened up its online GameCentre Live coverage to Europe, but it is more expensive to fans than last season’s ESPN Player. It appears ESPN America are the front-runner to win a deal for the television rights. Although ESPN America’s contract with the NHL expired this year, a statement from ESPN said, “We remain in discussions with the current NHL rights holders about the potential for English-language NHL rights in Europe. We are still interested in continuing our coverage if the right opportunity exists, and continue to have a valued relationship with the NHL.” Although the NHL has eased the frustration dished out to European fans with the launch of native-language websites, the fans still feel let down. Jonathan Northall runs the fan site – European NHL fans. Northall said, “The NHL have misjudged the feelings of fans. You can’t want us to love a sport then not protest if we can’t get access to it on our TV screens. “It’s an obvious oxymoron that Europe has opening games but few can watch it on TV. For me personally, it’s a huge miscalculation of the fan base and of the limitations of selling off broadcasting rights to a third party.” The NHL sold international TV rights to Medge Consulting and Advisers Media International. However, they have so far been unable to sell their rights to broadcasting companies – with rumours circulating that prices are too high. Pro Hockey News will be bringing you the latest updates should a deal be struck to bring the NHL back to European televisions. Contact the author david.bol@prohockeynews.com
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