More National Coverage in NCHC TV Schedule
Sep 24, 2014 | Hockey
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – After having NCHC games televised nationally on CBS Sports Network in its inaugural season, fans will be able to enjoy even more National Collegiate Hockey Conference games on television sets nationwide in 2014-15 as the conference has expanded its national distribution for the upcoming season. In addition to games on CBS Sports Network, NCHC teams will be featured regionally on FOX Sports North with most of those games also shown nationally on FOX College Sports, as the NCHC released a majority of its TV schedule Wednesday, Sept. 24. More nationally televised NCHC games on FOX College Sports will be announced in the near future.
The Mavericks will appear just once on CBSSN in their Jan. 30 home game against North Dakota. They also are schedule to appear on Fox College Sports on Feb. 21 at St. Cloud State and Feb. 28 at Minnesota Duluth. A schedule of games on NET, Nebraska's PBS, will be released at a later date.
After the NCHC completed its inaugural season, the NCHC Board of Directors has been focused on ways to expand the NCHC's national television distribution, maximizing exposure and providing NCHC fans more opportunities to watch some of the best college hockey in the country. However, the NCHC's Tier I television partner, CBS Sports Network, remains the primary home for NCHC hockey on TV.
“This strategic move to expand national and regional distribution for our programs was about providing our fans more opportunities to watch NCHC hockey,” Fenton said. “Our membership believes that we have passionate fans across the country and we must do our best to maximize opportunities to watch great college hockey. Our continued strong partnership with CBS Sports Network and others allows us to accomplish this objective.”
CBS Sports Network will still be at the heart of the NCHC's television coverage, as the network will air 14 conference games from eight different venues, including Target Center for the 2015 NCHC Frozen Faceoff. CBSSN's broadcasts will all occur during the second half of the season as the eight NCHC teams battle it out down the stretch to capture the Penrose Cup.
The first CBSSN broadcast will be on Friday, Jan. 9 from Lawson Ice Arena as Western Michigan hosts Notre Dame in the lone non-conference game on CBSSN's slate. The following night feature's North Dakota hosting Minnesota Duluth. All eight NCHC teams will be featured at least once on CBS Sports Network with seven of the eight teams hosting a broadcast. A pair of doubleheaders are on the network's schedule, the first on Friday, Feb. 20 (North Dakota at Western Michigan and Denver at Colorado College), and the second on Friday, March 6 when Miami welcomes North Dakota and St. Cloud State hosts Denver on the final weekend of the regular season. It all leads up to the NCHC Frozen Faceoff, with both semifinals airing live on CBS Sports Network Friday, March 20, followed by the championship game on Saturday, March 21. A complete CBSSN schedule can be seen here.
Back for another season of calling the NCHC on CBS Sports Network will be Ben Holden handling play-by-play duties, Dave Starman providing color analysis, and Shireen Saski serving as the rinkside reporter. CBSSN will also once again provide all the NCHC features, coverage and branding fans became accustomed to during their telecasts last season.
CBS Sports Network is the 24-hour home of CBS Sports and is available in 96 million homes across the country through local cable and video providers and via satellite on DirecTV Channel 221 and Dish Network Channel 158. To find CBS Sports Network in your area, access the CBS Sports Network channel finder here.
New to the NCHC's broadcast partners in 2014-15 is FOX Sports, which will provide another platform for NCHC games to air. FOX Sports North will show nine NCHC games across their five state viewing area, providing great exposure for the NCHC in an important market. All broadcasts on FOX Sports North (FSN) or FOX Sports North Plus (FSN+) will be games originating from either Minnesota Duluth (four from AMSOIL Arena) or St. Cloud State (five from the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center), with eight of those games also shown on FOX College Sports.
“Partnering with the FOX brand is an incredible opportunity to grow our own conference brand regionally and nationally,” Fenton said. “We are excited to deliver NCHC hockey through both FOX Sports North and FOX College Sports during the 2014-2015 season.”
The first broadcast on FOX Sports North will feature Minnesota Duluth hosting Minnesota State on Friday, Oct. 17. A complete schedule of NCHC games to be aired on FOX Sports North and FOX College Sports can be seen here.
All games scheduled on FCS and FOX Sports North are subject to change with more games to be added to FOX College Sports.
FOX Sports North is available in more than two million homes throughout Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and North and South Dakota and is carried by local and national cable and satellite providers. A complete lineup of FOX Sports North channels can be found here.
Through the partnership with FOX College Sports (FCS), certain games broadcast at the local and regional level will be shown at the same time on the FCS national platform. Along with the eight FOX Sports North games that will also air on FCS, the complete FOX College Sports NCHC schedule will be announced soon.
FOX College Sports airs over 900 NCAA live events annually and features three distinct networks - FCS Pacific, FCS Central and FCS Atlantic. FCS is available in more than 60 million homes nationwide and is seen by viewers in the nation's 25 largest cities. FOX College Sports can be seen on several local cable providers and on satellite. To find FCS in your area, click here.
The NCHC's second season begins with four exhibition games Saturday, Oct. 4 while regular-season play begins Friday, Oct. 10 with seven of the eight teams in action. Conference play opens the following Friday, Oct. 17 as Omaha travels to Western Michigan and North Dakota heads to Colorado College. Fans can watch even more NCHC action on NCHC.tv, where over 100 NCHC games will be streamed live during the season.
About CBS Sports Network
CBS Sports Network, the 24-hour home of CBS Sports located in New York City, televises 350 live games and 2,200+ hours of original programming every year including live college football, college basketball, college hockey and more from the Mountain West, Conference-USA, Atlantic-10, Army, Navy, the NCHC and the Patriot League. CBSSN is also the home to Professional Bull Riding and Major League Lacrosse, as well as in-depth documentaries, original programs and studio shows, including BOOMER AND CARTON, THE DOUG GOTTLIEB SHOW and ROME. CBS Sports Network also provides extensive shoulder programming around CBS Sports' Championship events, including the Super Bowl, The Masters, PGA Championship and US Open Tennis Championships. The Network is available in 96 million homes nationwide.
About FOX College Sports
With over 900 NCAA live events each year, FOX College Sports (FCS) leaves no rivalry uncovered. With three distinct networks - FCS Pacific, FCS Central and FCS Atlantic– Fox College Sports gives displaced college fans a home for the big game. Plus, a full lineup of the country's top coaches' shows and access to exclusive collegiate programs makes FCS the network where college never ends. FOX College Sports is available to over 60 million homes and is seen by viewers in the nation's 25 largest cities. Key distribution partners include Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Charter Communications, Cox Communications, Cablevision Systems, Verizon FiOS, AT&T U-Verse, Mediacom Communications, and Cable One.
