| NEW YORK – December 27, 2011 – January 2 is an important day for the NBC Sports Group as it broadcasts the 2012 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic at 1 p.m. ET on NBC and launches the NBC Sports Network, currently VERSUS, immediately following the game at 4 p.m. ET with a special NHL Live post-game show hosted by Bob Costas from Philadelphia.
NHL WINTER CLASSIC: This year’s game features an intense rivalry between the top two teams in the Atlantic Division as the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers battle outdoors at Citizen’s Bank Park in Philadelphia, home of the Phillies. This is the fifth iteration of the NHL Winter Classic, an event created by both NBC Sports and the NHL, and that has already been described as “a holiday tradition” by Newsday.
NBC’s coverage of the Winter Classic will be hosted by Costas, a 22-time Emmy Award-winner. He will be joined by NBC Sports Group studio analysts Mike Milbury and Jeremy Roenick for coverage on NBC and post-game coverage on NBC Sports Network. NBC’s game coverage will be led by Emmy Award-winner Mike “Doc” Emrick (play-by-play) Eddie Olczyk (analyst), and Pierre McGuire (inside-the-glass reporter).
Last year’s Winter Classic was the most-watched NHL regular-season game in 36 years. Played between the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins from Heinz Field in Pittsburgh and broadcast on New Year’s Day in primetime due to a weather delay, the game was watched by 4.5 million viewers.
Highlights of the NBC Sports Group’s Jan. 2 Schedule (all times ET, subject to change):
TIME NETWORK PROGRAM
7:30 a.m. VERSUS Replay of 2010 NHL Winter Classic
10 a.m. VERSUS Replay of 2011 NHL Winter Classic
1 p.m. NBC 2012 NHL Winter Classic
3 p.m. VERSUS NBC Sports: A Storied History
4 p.m. NBC Sports Network NHL Live Post-Game (from Philadelphia)
4:30 p.m. NBC Sports Network Cold War on Ice: 1972 Summit Series
6 p.m. NBC Sports Network NBC SportsTalk
7:30 p.m. NBC Sports Network NHL Live Pre-Game
8 p.m. NBC Sports Network NHL: San Jose at Vancouver
10:30 p.m. NBC Sports Network NHL Live Post-Game
11 p.m. NBC Sports Network Replay of NBC SportsTalk
12:30 a.m. NBC Sports Network NHL Overtime
[NBC Sports Group] |
