FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, April 18th, 2014

DAYS 3-5 – NBC SPORTS GROUP’S “NHL PLAYOFF PASS”

Game 2 – (3) Canadiens-(2) Lightning at 7 p.m. ET on CNBC

Game 1 – (4) Red Wings-(1) Bruins at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN

Game 2 – (4) Stars-(1) Ducks at 10 p.m. ET on NBCSN

2013-14 Is Most-Watched NHL Regular Season on NBC; Opening Night Viewership of 2014 Stanley Cup Playoff Coverage Up 53% vs. 2013

All Games on NBC, NBCSN and CNBC Will Be Streamed Live Via NBC Sports Live Extra

STAMFORD, Conn. – April 18, 2014 – Day 3 of NBC Sports Group’s comprehensive coverage of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs continues tonight with three games across NBCSN and CNBC, highlighted by a doubleheader on NBCSN starting at 7:30 p.m. ET, when the (4) Detroit Red Wings visit the (1) Boston Bruins in Game 1 of their best-of-seven series.

NBCSN’s coverage continues at 10 p.m. ET when the (1) Anaheim Ducks host the (4) Dallas Stars in Game 2. Game coverage begins tonight on CNBC at 7 p.m. ET, when the (3) Montreal Canadiens face the (2) Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 2 of their first-round series.

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“NHL Playoff Pass” on NBC Sports Group Press Box provides a quick daily overview of NBC Sports Group’s Stanley Cup Playoff coverage, plus information and highlights. The Pass will be published weekdays to preview that evening’s games. On Fridays, a weekend edition will be posted.

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All Stanley Cup Playoff games will be presented on NBC, NBCSN, CNBC (in primetime), and NHL Network. In addition, all Stanley Cup Playoff games airing on NBC, NBCSN and CNBC will be live streamed via NBC Sports Live Extra – NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets.

For more information on NBC Sports Group’s overall NHL Playoff coverage, please click here.

THE PASS – FRIDAY, APRIL 18 – SUNDAY, APRIL 20 (All times ET)

 

FRIDAY, APRIL 18
Time Coverage Network Commentators
6:30 p.m. NHL Live NBCSN Liam McHugh, Jeremy Roenick, Keith Jones
7 p.m. Game 2 – (3) Montreal at (2) Tampa Bay CNBC Jim Hughson, Craig Simpson,
Glenn Healy, David Amber
7:30 p.m. Game 1 – (4) Detroit at (1) Boston NBCSN Mike “Doc” Emrick,
Pierre McGuire
. NHL Live (Intermission Reports) CNBC Russ Thaler, Anson Carter
10 p.m. Game 2 – (4) Dallas at (1) Anaheim NBCSN John Walton, Butch Goring

SATURDAY, APRIL 19
3 p.m. Game 2 – (3) Chicago at (2) St. Louis NBC Dave Strader, Brian Engblom,
Eddie Olczyk
7 p.m. Game 2 – (4) Columbus at (1) Pittsburgh NBCSN Gord Miller, Pierre McGuire
9:30 p.m. Game 2 – (4) Minnesota at (1) Colorado NBCSN John Forslund, Tripp Tracy

SUNDAY, APRIL 20
Noon Game 2 – (3) Philadelphia at (2) N.Y. Rangers NBC Kenny Albert, Joe Micheletti
3 p.m. Game 2 – (4) Detroit at (1) Boston NBC Doc Emrick, Pierre McGuire, Eddie Olczyk
7 p.m. Game 3 – (2) Tampa Bay at (3) Montreal NBCSN Jim Hughson, Craig Simpson, Glenn Healy, David Amber
10 p.m. Game 2 – (3)  Los Angeles at (2) San Jose NBCSN Randy Hahn, Drew Remenda

 

TONIGHT – APRIL 18

NHL Live, hosted by Liam McHugh, Jeremy Roenick and Keith Jones, begins at 6:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Russ Thaler and Anson Carter will anchor CNBC’s studio coverage.

Game coverage starts at 7 p.m. ET tonight on CNBC with Game 2 between the (3) Montreal Canadiens and (2) Tampa Bay Lightning, as Montreal looks to build off of Wednesday night’s overtime victory and take a 2-0 series lead. Jim Hughson, Craig Simpson, Glenn Healy and David Amber will have the call from the Tampa Bay Times Forum in Tampa, Fla.

NBCSN’s game coverage begins at 7:30 p.m. ET, when Jimmy Howard and the (4) Detroit Red Wings begin their first-round series against Zdeno Chara and the (1) Boston Bruins. Emmy Award-winning play-by-play commentator Mike “Doc” Emrick and Emmy Award-winning ‘Inside-the-Glass’ analyst Pierre McGuire will have the call from TD Garden in Boston, Mass.

NBCSN’s doubleheader continues at 10 p.m. ET with Game 2 between the (4) Dallas Stars and (1) Anaheim Ducks, as Anaheim aims for a 2-0 series lead following its 4-3 win over Dallas on Wednesday night in Game 1. John Walton (play-by-play) and Butch Goring (analyst) will provide live commentary from the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

In the event that a game runs late and beyond puck drop of the following game on NBC, NBCSN or CNBC, the start of the later game will air on NHL Network, and will remain on NHL Network until the early game has concluded on NBC, NBCSN or CNBC. The late game will then return to its original network where it will be seen in its entirety.

SATURDAY, APRIL 19

Saturday’s action begins at 3 p.m. ET on NBC, when Game 1 hero Alexander Steen and the (3) St. Louis Blues host the (2) Chicago Blackhawks in Game 2 of their best-of-seven series, following St. Louis’ thrilling triple-overtime victory on Thursday night. Dave Strader, Eddie Olczyk and Brian Engblom will call the action from Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo.

Coverage continues at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN with Game 2 between the (4) Columbus Blue Jackets and (1) Pittsburgh Penguins, as Sidney Crosby and the Pens look to earn a 2-0 series lead. Gord Miller (play-by-play) and McGuire will provide live commentary from CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pa.

Game 2 of the first-round series between the (4) Minnesota Wild and (1) Colorado Avalanche airs at 9:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, following Blue Jackets-Penguins. John Forslund (play-by-play) and Tripp Tracy (analyst) will have the call from Pepsi Center in Denver, Colo., as the Avs look to take a 2-0 series lead following their 5-4 overtime win on Thursday night.

McHugh, Milbury and Jones will provide analysis during studio coverage throughout Blackhawks-Blues on NBC. McHugh will host pre-game coverage of NHL Live on NBCSN at 6:30 p.m. ET, while Thaler, Milbury and Roenick will host studio coverage throughout the evening on NBCSN.

SUNDAY, APRIL 20

NBC and NBCSN will each present Stanley Cup Playoff doubleheaders on Sunday, starting on NBC at Noon ET with the (3) Philadelphia Flyers and (2) New York Rangers in Game 2 of their series, followed by (4) Detroit and (1) Boston in Game 2 at 3 p.m. ET on NBC. Kenny Albert (play-by-play) and Joe Micheletti (analyst) will call Flyers-Rangers from Madison Square Garden in New York, while Emrick, Olczyk and McGuire will have the call of Red Wings-Bruins in Boston.

NBCSN’s doubleheader begins at 7 p.m. ET, when (3) Montreal hosts (2) Tampa Bay in Game 3 of their series, followed by Game 2 between (3) Los Angeles and (2) San Jose. Hughson, Simpson, Healy and Amber will provide commentary of Lightning-Canadiens from the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, while Randy Hahn and Drew Remenda will have the call of Kings-Sharks from SAP Center at San Jose in San Jose, Calif.

McHugh, Milbury and Roenick will handle studio coverage throughout NBC’s doubleheader, while Kathryn Tappen will host NBCSN’s studio coverage alongside Jones and Carter.

REMINDER: Games airing on cable in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs are subject to local blackouts.

2013-14 IS MOST-WATCHED NHL REGULAR SEASON ON NBC; OPENING NIGHT VIEWERSHIP OF 2014 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFF COVERAGE UP 53% VS. 2013

REGULAR SEASON ON NBC

With all final figures now available, NBC’s coverage of the 2013-2014 NHL regular season (12 games) averaged 1.683 million viewers, making it the most-watched NHL regular season on NBC since 2005-06. This year’s viewership on NBC was up 19% from last year’s lockout-shortened season, and up 4% from the previous best (2010-11 regular season, 1.621 million viewers), according to data from the Nielsen Company.

For information on NBCSN’s regular-season viewership, click here.

OPENING NIGHT

NBC Sports Group also saw marked increases in its Day 1 coverage of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs on CNBC and NBCSN, averaging 472,000 viewers across three games, up 53% from Day 1 coverage on those networks in 2013. NBCSN’s coverage of Blue Jackets-Penguins and Stars-Ducks averaged 486,000 viewers, up 22% from 2013 (397,000), while CNBC’s coverage of Canadiens-Lightning averaged 450,000 viewers, its best audience for a playoff opening night, up 153% from CNBC’s early game on opening night last year (Kings-Blues).

STREAMING

Last night’s Blackhawks-Blues game set streaming records on NBC Sports Live Extra. The triple-overtime thriller set the record for most live starts for an authentication-required NHL game (161,000), beating two Stanley Cup Final games from 2013. The game also set first-round records in live minutes (2.7 million), uniques (52,000), and visits (60,814), beating all unauthenticated first-round games in 2012 and 2013 in those categories.

NBC SPORTS LIVE EXTRA

NBC Sports Live Extra — NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets — will stream all Stanley Cup Playoff games that air on NBC, NBCSN and CNBC, including the comprehensive coverage of the Stanley Cup Final. The vast majority of games will be live streamed via “TV Everywhere,” the media industry’s effort to make quality content available to authenticated customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms.

For desktops, NBC Sports Live Extra can be accessed at NBCSports.com/liveextra. The NBC Sports Live Extra app for mobile devices and tablets is available at the App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, and on select Android handset and tablet devices within Google Play.

Games airing on:

  • NBC will live stream to PCs, mobile devices and tablets through NBC Sports Live Extra;
  • NBCSN will live stream to PCs, mobile devices and tablets through NBC Sports Live Extra, and to the digital platforms of participating cable, satellite, and telco services, via “TV Everywhere,” which is available on an authenticated basis to subscribers of participating MVPDs;
  • CNBC will live stream exclusively through NBC Sports Live Extra via “TV Everywhere.”

For more information about NBC Sports Group shows and properties, including press releases, photos, talent and executive bios and headshots, please visit NBCSportsGroupPressBox.com.

— NBC Sports Group —