Gray Media said it made a deal with the National Collegiate Hockey Conference that will put some of the league’s games on Gray’s over-the-air broadcast stations and national networks.
The first game covered by the new deal will show No. 2 rank Denver, the defending national champion, face off against No. 8 Colorado College on December 13,
The game will air in more than 20 Gray markets including St. Louis on Metrix Midwest Sports, in Louisiana on the Gulf Coast Sports & Entertainment Network, and across South Carolina on the Palmetto Sports & Entertainment Channel.
The majority of the games that will air on Gray’s stations are scheduled for Saturday nights starting in January.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
With cord-cutting reducing the number of cable subscribers, broadcasters have become more aggressive in getting rights to sports rights, in particular local sports rights. Teams and leagues are turning to broadcast to reach more fans than they can as the cable TV business shrinks.
“We’re excited to partner with Gray Media to expand the Conference’s linear television offerings,” said NCHC Commissioner Heather Weems. “This will put a premier NCHC game each week on several local TV stations in non-NCHC markets, as well as some of our own media markets, growing exposure for the Conference and the high-quality product that defines college hockey. Combining Gray’s reach with our already existing CBS Sports Network agreement and NCHC.tv, fans will be provided more options than ever to enjoy NCHC hockey.”
Gray said its stations have already logged many hours of ice time with local teams. For example, Gray stations air games of the Carolina Hurricanes of the NHL, the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL, the Kansas City Mavericks of the ECHL and the NCAA Great Lakes Invitational.
“Hockey is a fan favorite in many of our local markets,” said Sandy Breland, Chief Operating Officer of Gray. “We are pleased to bring this top-notch conference and highly ranked teams to local viewers.”
All NCHC games airing on Gray’s stations will also still be available on NCHC.tv, the Conference’s official streaming platform.
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