Hope y'all get Comcast

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Comcast wins NHL rights after ESPN declines

Comcast Corp. on Thursday said it closed a multiyear deal with the National Hockey League to broadcast games on its Outdoor Life cable network, after ESPN declined to match Comcast's offer.

Financial terms and contract length were not disclosed.

The league previously had a five-year deal with ABC and ESPN, divisions of Walt Disney Co. But according to press reports, the networks chose not to exercise an option to broadcast games for the 2005 to 2006 and 2006 to 2007 seasons.

Comcast's deal hinges on several advanced video technologies including video-on-demand highlights and library footage of greatest hockey moments, high-definition video coverage, and the ability to view two games that are streamed over the Internet.

OLN will broadcast at least 58 regular-season games, beginning Oct 5.

Some on Wall Street have expected Comcast to take on cable sports network leader ESPN with its OLN network.

But on a recent conference call with analysts, top executives shot down the speculation, and said they were more likely to fashion a new sports network that emphasized high-tech features such as video on demand.

Renaming the network, once known as the Outdoor Life Network, was likely key: professional hockey is an indoor game.