The VS network has agreed to pick up the option to continue broadcasting NHL Games through the 2007-2008 season.

The NHL has an option following next season to continue a relationship with the VS Network.

The option for the 2008-2009 season is a league option. A decision must be made by December 31, 2007.

It is a critical decision that must be made by the league in December of this year. If the NHL decides to pick up the option in December, the contract with VS will be extended three years through the 2010-2011 season.

A long-term contract is necessary to give announcers some security. It isn't fair to have everyone working on one-year deals every year.

Comcast is pushing to make VS available in more households. The network is adding more mainstream sports such as Mountain West Football and Basketball along with professional indoor lacrosse. Mixed Martial Arts will be added soon. It is pretty much the same as the Ultimate Fighting Championships but a different league.

We all know hockey is a tough ratings sport. VS will need to justify the money spent with the poor ratings.

They could always help themselves by improving the way they cover hockey. Broadcasting the World Junior Championships and adding another day a week of NHL coverage would be a good start.

Why not Broadcast highlight driven shows such as an NHL 2 night type program or a weekly NHL magazine show which would certainly enhance their coverage. They also need to do more to promote the sport by adding pre season specials. You can't just show up on day one of the season and say oh yeah, the NHL starts today.

It is more about volume, even if the ratings aren't as strong as they would like. Ratings in hockey will likely always be bad when compared to other sports, and it isn't a fair comparison anyway. Hockey is not a popular sport among minorities and therefore eliminates nearly an entire demographic from the ratings.

More to come,

Andy Strickland

[email protected]

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