NHL on ABC
| NHL on ABC | |
|---|---|
NHL on ABC logo used from 1999 to 2004
|
|
| Genre | Hockey telecasts |
| Presented by |
John Saunders Gary Thorne Mike Emrick Al Michaels Bill Clement Jim Schoenfeld John Davidson Al Morganti Barry Melrose Chris Berman Steve Levy Dave Strader Darren Pang Brian Engblom Erin Andrews Sam Ryan |
| Theme music composer | Bob Christianson |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 (1992–94 version) 5 (1999–2004 version) 7 (total) |
| Production | |
| Location(s) | Various NHL stadiums (game telecasts) |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 180 minutes or until end of game |
| Production company(s) |
ABC Sports ESPN |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Picture format |
480i (SDTV), 1080i (HDTV) |
| Original release |
|
| Chronology | |
| Followed by | NHL on NBC |
| Related shows | ESPN National Hockey Night |
The NHL on ABC is the branding formerly used for broadcasts of National Hockey League (NHL) games televised on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States. The network first broadcast NHL games during the 1992–93 season under a time-buy agreement with ESPN; ABC resumed regular season game telecasts on February 6, 2000, as part of a joint contract with ESPN that also gave ABC the rights to select games from each round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
After being dropped by NBC after the 1974–75 season, the NHL did not maintain a national television contract in the United States. In response to this, the league put together a network of independent stations covering approximately 55% of the country.
Games typically aired on Monday nights (beginning at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time) or Saturday afternoons. The package was offered to local stations without a rights fee. Profits would instead be derived from the advertising, which was about evenly split between the network and the local station. The Monday night games were often billed as "The NHL Game of the Week".
In 1979, ABC was contracted to televise Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Since the Finals ended in five games, the contract was void.
In 1989, the NHL signed a two-year contract (lasting through the 1990–91 season) with ABC Radio for the broadcast rights to the All-Star Game and Stanley Cup Finals. ABC Radio named Don Chevrier and Phil Esposito as their main commentating crew.
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