NFL Takes Games Outside for Thanksgiving

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It makes sense that NBC would be on board, unless, of course, that afternoon replay of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is a real audience grabber.

And unlike the CBA-mandated blackouts on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, there’s nothing preventing the NHL from scheduling on Thanksgiving.

The NHL on NBC is a presentation of National Hockey League (NHL) games that are produced by NBC Sports, and televised on NBC and NBCSN in the United States. While NBC has covered the league at various points in its history, the network’s current relationship with the NHL is the result of NBC Sports acquiring the league’s broadcast television rights from ABC in 2006. Its current contract with the league runs until 2021.

Since 2008, NBC’s regular season coverage includes the annual NHL Winter Classic, an outdoor game usually played on New Year’s Day; one national weekly regular season game each Sunday afternoon after New Year’s Day; one week of regionally televised contests in February for Hockey Weekend Across America; and one nationally televised game on the day after Thanksgiving. NBCSN’s coverage includes 90 regular season games that are mostly aired on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings (the latter dubbed Wednesday Night Rivalry), and later in the season on Sunday evenings. Coverage of the Stanley Cup Playoffs is split between NBC and NBCSN, with CNBC and the USA Network (beginning in 2015) airing selected playoff games during the first two rounds. In 2015, NBC Deportes began to simulcast NHL on NBC broadcasts in Spanish through the Hockey Telemundo banner.

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by Sarah Barshop It’s not like the league has historically abdicated the date to the NFL, either. In 2014, the Oilers hosted the Predators. The year before, the same two teams met in Nashville while the Canucks took on the Senators in Ottawa. All three of those games were evening starts, meaning they missed out on the heaviest traffic during the traditional pre- and post-meal gatherings around the tube, but they at least offered a break from football for the guests who wouldn’t leave.
But if it wants to maximize its exposure, the NHL needs to grab that afternoon audience. And it will need to offer a more compelling matchup than Edmonton vs. Nashville if it hopes to replicate the success of Jan. 1.

There are plenty of options. The league could follow the NFL’s lead by designating the day as an annual home game for one of its most faithfully followed clubs like the Bruins, Red Wings, Blackhawks or Rangers. Trot out a traditional rivalry like Montreal playing Boston, or one involving limited travel, say, a date for the Islanders with the Rangers. Or it could use the date to showcase a hot rookie like Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel. Put any one of those in place and you’ve got yourself an afternoon that’s perfect for sweatpants and second helpings.

Or better yet, the league could go bigger … by going outdoors.

BY ALLAN MUIR

Source: http://www.si.com/nhl/2015/11/27/nhl-outdoor-games-thanksgiving