NHL Network Extends U.S. TV Rights Deal with USA Hockey Through 2021

USA Hockey and NHL Network reached an agreement that gives NHL Network the exclusive U.S. rights to televise the IIHF World Junior Championship, IIHF Women’s World Hockey Championship and the IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championship through 2021.

NHL Network will provide complete coverage of each tournament, including game telecasts and comprehensive previews, highlights and analysis within its studio programming.

The agreement also includes NHL Network’s live coverage of four U.S. Women’s National Team exhibition games against Canada beginning this Sunday (October 22) at 2:00 p.m. ET, live from the Videotron Centre in Quebec. NHL Network will also televise the October 25 game in Boston and contests in Canada on December 5 in Winnipeg and December 17 in Edmonton. The games are part of preparations for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games.

“We’re excited to continue and expand our partnership with NHL Network,” said Pat Kelleher, executive director of USA Hockey. “We appreciate their commitment to coverage of international hockey and also the visibility they provide to USA Hockey overall.”

The partnership between USA Hockey and NHL Network dates back to 2008 when NHL Network acquired exclusive U.S. TV rights for the IIHF World Junior Championship. The upcoming 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship marks the tenth time that NHL Network will be the exclusive U.S. TV home for the event, including telecasts of all of the tournament’s 28 games. Featuring the best men’s up-and-coming young players from 10 nations around the world, the tournament will be held in Buffalo, N.Y., and will include the first-ever outdoor game played in World Junior Championship history when Team USA and Team Canada face off on Friday, Dec. 29, 2017. Additional production details will be announced by NHL Network in the coming weeks.

The rights agreement is part of the comprehensive coverage that NHL Network provides of international ice hockey events year-round. During the 2016-17 season, NHL Network exclusively televised over 150 hours and more than 60 games of international ice hockey competition in the U.S., including gold medal-winning performances by Team USA at the IIHF World Junior Championship (December-January), the IIHF Women’s World Championship (March-April) and the IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championship (April). In 2017-2018, NHL Network plans to televise more than 80 IIHF World Championship contests across varying levels.

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