October 17, 2017 – USA Hockey and NHL Network today announced 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 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.
About NHL Network: As the TV home for the National Hockey League, NHL Network™ gives viewers an all-access pass to complete hockey coverage both on and off the ice, including live NHL games and special on-site coverage of NHL events, plus three signature studio shows, interviews, highlights and expert analysis from a variety of hockey insiders and former players. Additional programming includes behind-the-scenes features, player profiles and international and amateur hockey competitions. For more information on NHL Network, log on to nhlnetwork.com or follow @NHLNetwork on Twitter.
About USA Hockey: USA Hockey, founded on October 29, 1937, and headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado, provides the foundation for the sport of ice hockey in America; helps young people become leaders, sometimes Olympic heroes; and connects the game at every level while promoting a lifelong love of the sport. USA Hockey is more than a million strong, including players, coaches, officials and volunteers that span all 50 states. The National Governing Body for the sport in the United States, USA Hockey has important partnerships with the National Hockey League, United States Olympic Committee and International Ice Hockey Federation. For more information, visit usahockey.com.
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