NHL on ABC
The NHL on ABC is the branding formerly used for broadcasts of National Hockey League games televised on the American Broadcasting Company 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.
History
Before the 1992–93 NHL season
After being dropped by NBC after the 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 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".
Initially, the Monday night package was marketed to ABC affiliates; the idea being that ABC carried NFL football games on Monday nights in the fall and Major League Baseball games on Monday nights in the spring and summer, stations would want the hockey telecasts to create a year-round Monday night sports block; however, very few ABC stations chose to pick up the package.
In, ABC was contracted to televise Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Since the Finals ended in five games, the contract was void.
It was also around this time that ABC offered the NHL a limited deal that NHL president John Ziegler Jr. quickly rejected. ABC wanted to split the network and show the NHL in the Northeast and Midwest and NASCAR in the South on Sunday afternoons.
ABC's coverage of the Winter Olympics
Even though ABC didn't yet televise National Hockey League games, they were the American network broadcast home of the Winter Olympic games beginning in 1964 and continuing through the 1988 Winter Games from Calgary. For the ice hockey events, employed Curt Gowdy for play-by-play duties in 1968 and 1976 Games. Gowdy worked with Brian Conacher for the 1976 ice hockey events.For years later at Lake Placid, ABC was on hand for a medal-round men's ice hockey game that would soon become known the "Miracle on Ice". On February 22, 1980, the United States team, made up of amateur and collegiate players and led by coach Herb Brooks, defeated the Soviet team, which consisted of veteran professional players with significant experience in international play. The rest of the United States had to wait to see the game, as ABC decided to broadcast the late-afternoon game on tape delay in prime time. Sportscaster Al Michaels, who was calling the game on ABC along with former Montreal Canadiens goalie Ken Dryden, picked up on the countdown in his broadcast, and delivered his famous call:
Al Michaels would continue serving as ABC's top play-by-play announcer for their ice hockey coverage for their next two Winter Olympics. In 1984 from Sarajevo, Michaels again worked alongside Ken Dryden while Mike Eruzione, who was the captain of the gold medal winning United States ice hockey team from 1980, primarily worked with Don Chevrier. For ABC's final Winter Olympics four years later, Michaels was once again, working with Dryden while Eruzione was this time, paired with Jiggs McDonald.
ABC Radio coverage (1989–1991)
In 1989, the NHL signed a two-year contract 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.Time-buy deal with ESPN (1992–1994)
In the season, ABC televised five weekly playoff telecasts on Sunday afternoons starting on April 18. This marked the first time that playoff National Hockey League games were broadcast on American network television since . In the season, ABC televised six weekly regional telecasts on Sunday afternoons beginning in March. This marked the first time that regular season National Hockey League games were broadcast on American network television since . ABC then televised three weeks worth of playoff games on first three Sundays – the final game was Game 1 between the Boston Bruins and the New Jersey Devils, a game that was aired nationally. The network did not televise the Stanley Cup Finals, which instead, were televised nationally by ESPN and by Prime Ticket in Los Angeles and MSG Network in New York. Games televised on ABC were not subject to blackout.These broadcasts were essentially, time-buys by ESPN. In other words, ABC would sell three-hour blocks of airtime to ESPN, which in return, would produce, supply broadcasters and sell advertising. Also as evidence by ABC's Raycom produced college basketball package around the same time period, this arrangement could also be interpreted as a way to avoid union contracts, which require that 100% of network shows had to use crew staff who were network union members. The main difference is that the graphics used for the telecasts were those used by ABC Sports, instead of the ones seen on ESPN National Hockey Night. In later years, the roles would be reversed as ESPN's graphical style would be used on the broadcasts with the exception of intermission reports. ABC even used ESPN's theme music for the 1992–1994 coverage. During ABC's next stint with the NHL, the network used its own theme music.
Overall, ABC averaged a 1.7 rating for those two seasons. John Saunders was the studio pregame/intermission anchor just like he would be for the 1999-2004 NHL package on ABC.
When the NHL television contract went up for negotiation in early 1994, Fox and CBS competed heavily for the package. On September 9, 1994, the National Hockey League reached a five-year, US$155 million contract with Fox for the broadcast television rights to the league's games, beginning with the 1994–95 season, effectively ending ABC's time-buy deal with ESPN after just two seasons.
Announcers
Studio host
- John Saunders
Play-by-play">Sports commentator">Play-by-play
- Gary Thorne
- Tom Mees
- Mike Emrick
- Al Michaels
- Bob Miller
- Sam Rosen
[Color commentator]s
- Bill Clement
- John Davidson
- Darren Pang
- Joe Micheletti
- Jim Schoenfeld
Reporters
- Al Morganti
- Bob Neumeier
- Brenda Brenon
- Mark Jones
Schedules
1993–94
| Date | Teams | Start times |
| March 27 | Boston at Washington Detroit at Chicago New York Rangers at Winnipeg Los Angeles at Vancouver | 1 p.m. 2 p.m. 2 p.m. 3 p.m. |
| April 3 | Boston at Pittsburgh Dallas at Washington St. Louis at Detroit Edmonton at Los Angeles | 1 p.m. 1 p.m. 1 p.m. 4 p.m. |
| April 10 | New York Rangers at New York Islanders Boston at Philadelphia Los Angeles at Chicago Dallas at St. Louis | 1 p.m. 1 p.m. 1 p.m. 1 p.m. |
April 17, 24, May 1: Playoffs
Stanley Cup playoff commentator crews
1993
1994
The NHL returns to ABC (1999–2004)
In August 1998, ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2 signed a five-year television deal with the NHL, worth a total of approximately US$600 million. The $120 million per year that ABC and ESPN paid for rights dwarfed the $5.5 million that the NHL received from American national broadcasts in the 1991–92 season. As previously mentioned, as was the case with the 1992-1994 deal, ABC's subsequent NHL coverage was in reality, made up of time–buys from ESPN. This was noted in copyright beds at the conclusion of the telecasts, i.e. "The preceding program has been paid for by ESPN, Inc." ESPN then signed a similar television rights contract in 2002 so it could produce and broadcast National Basketball Association games on ABC.Regular season
This time around, ABC televised four to five weeks worth of regional games on Saturday afternoons beginning in January.Announcers
Studio hosts
- John Saunders
- John Davidson
- Barry Melrose
Stanley Cup Finals hosts
- Al Michaels
- Chris Berman
Play-by play men
- Gary Thorne
- Steve Levy
- Mike Emrick
- Dave Strader
[Color commentator]s
- Bill Clement and John Davidson
- Darren Pang
- Barry Melrose
- Brian Engblom
- Jim Schoenfeld
Schedules
1999–2000
| Date | Teams | Start times | Commentator crews |
| March 18 | Pittsburgh at Boston New York Rangers at Philadelphia Dallas at Chicago Detroit at Colorado | 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. | Mike Emrick and Barry Melrose Steve Levy and Darren Pang Dave Strader and Jim Schoenfeld Gary Thorne and Bill Clement |
| March 26 | Pittsburgh at Philadelphia New York Rangers at Detroit St. Louis at Chicago Colorado at Dallas | 1 p.m. 1 p.m. 1 p.m. 1 p.m. | Steve Levy and Darren Pang Dave Strader and Jim Schoenfeld Mike Emrick and Barry Melrose Gary Thorne and Bill Clement |
| April 1 | New York Rangers at Boston Philadelphia at Pittsburgh Detroit at St. Louis Anaheim at Los Angeles | 1 p.m. 1 p.m. 1 p.m. 6 p.m. | Dave Strader and Jim Schoenfeld Mike Emrick and Barry Melrose Gary Thorne and Bill Clement Steve Levy and Darren Pang |
| April 9 | Philadelphia at New York Rangers St. Louis at Chicago Phoenix at Dallas Detroit at Colorado Los Angeles at Anaheim | 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. | Steve Levy and Darren Pang Dave Strader and Jim Schoenfeld Mike Emrick and Barry Melrose Gary Thorne and Bill Clement Dave Ryan and Joe Micheletti |
2000–01
| Date | Teams | Start times | Commentator crews |
| March 10 | New Jersey at Philadelphia Detroit at St. Louis Colorado at Dallas | 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. | Mike Emrick and Barry Melrose Gary Thorne and Bill Clement Steve Levy and Darren Pang |
| March 17 | New York Rangers at Philadelphia Detroit at Colorado San Jose at Los Angeles | 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. | Steve Levy and Darren Pang Gary Thorne and Bill Clement Mike Emrick and Barry Melrose |
| March 24 | Detroit at New York Rangers Colorado at Boston Anaheim at Los Angeles | 1 p.m. 1 p.m. 6 p.m. | Mike Emrick and Barry Melrose Gary Thorne and Bill Clement Steve Levy and Darren Pang |
| March 31 | New York Rangers at New Jersey Detroit at Philadelphia St. Louis at Pittsburgh Colorado at Los Angeles | 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. | Mike Emrick and Barry Melrose Steve Levy and Darren Pang Gary Thorne and Bill Clement Dave Strader and Jim Schoenfeld |
| April 7 | Pittsburgh at Philadelphia Colorado at Detroit Dallas at San Jose New York Rangers at Florida | 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. | Mike Emrick and Barry Melrose Gary Thorne and Bill Clement Steve Levy and Darren Pang Dave Strader and Jim Schoenfeld |
2001–02
| Date | Teams | Start times | Commentator crews |
| January 5 | Colorado at Detroit Pittsburgh at New York Rangers Washington at Boston | 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. | Gary Thorne and Bill Clement Mike Emrick and Barry Melrose Steve Levy and Darren Pang |
| January 12 | New York Rangers at Philadelphia St. Louis at Pittsburgh Dallas at Detroit | 1 p.m. 1 p.m. 1 p.m. | Gary Thorne and Bill Clement Mike Emrick and Barry Melrose Steve Levy and Darren Pang |
| March 2 | Philadelphia at New York Rangers Detroit at Pittsburgh Dallas at Colorado | 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. | Mike Emrick and Barry Melrose Steve Levy and Darren Pang Gary Thorne and Bill Clement |
| March 9 | New York Rangers at Pittsburgh Detroit at St. Louis Los Angeles at Colorado | 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. | Mike Emrick and Barry Melrose Gary Thorne and Bill Clement Steve Levy and Darren Pang |
| March 16 | Detroit at Boston New York Rangers at New Jersey Colorado at Philadelphia | 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. | Gary Thorne and Bill Clement Mike Emrick and Barry Melrose Steve Levy and Darren Pang |
2002–03
| Date | Teams | Start times | Commentator crews |
| January 11 | Colorado at Dallas Detroit at Philadelphia New York Rangers at Pittsburgh | 1 p.m. 1 p.m. 1 p.m. | Steve Levy and Darren Pang Gary Thorne, Bill Clement, and John Davidson Mike Emrick and Brian Engblom |
| February 8 | Pittsburgh at Boston Detroit at Colorado New York Rangers at Philadelphia | 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. | Steve Levy and Darren Pang Gary Thorne, Bill Clement, and John Davidson Mike Emrick and Brian Engblom |
| March 15 | Colorado at Detroit New York Rangers at New Jersey Philadelphia at Pittsburgh | 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. | Gary Thorne, Bill Clement, and John Davidson Mike Emrick and Brian Engblom Steve Levy and Darren Pang |
| March 22 | New York Rangers at Philadelphia Chicago at Colorado Detroit at St. Louis | 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. | Steve Levy and Darren Pang Mike Emrick and Brian Engblom Gary Thorne, Bill Clement, and John Davidson |
| March 29 | Detroit at St. Louis New York Rangers at Boston Phoenix at Colorado | 1:30 p.m. 1:30 p.m. 6 p.m. | Gary Thorne, Bill Clement, and John Davidson Steve Levy and Darren Pang Mike Emrick and Brian Engblom |
2003–04
| Date | Teams | Start times | Commentator crews |
| January 10 | Detroit at Boston Colorado at Dallas New York Rangers at New York Islanders | 1 p.m. 1 p.m. 1 p.m. | Steve Levy and Darren Pang Gary Thorne, Bill Clement, and John Davidson Mike Emrick and Brian Engblom |
| February 14 | New York Rangers at Philadelphia Colorado at Detroit Boston at Chicago | 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. | Steve Levy and Darren Pang Gary Thorne, Bill Clement, and John Davidson Mike Emrick and Brian Engblom |
| March 13 | Dallas at Detroit New Jersey at Philadelphia Los Angeles at San Jose | 3 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m. | Gary Thorne, Bill Clement, and John Davidson Steve Levy and Darren Pang Mike Emrick and Brian Engblom |
| March 20 | New York Rangers at Philadelphia St. Louis at Dallas | 3 p.m. 3 p.m. | Gary Thorne, Bill Clement and John Davidson Steve Levy and Darren Pang |
| March 27 | Colorado at Detroit New York Rangers at Philadelphia Los Angeles at Calgary | 1:30 p.m. 1:30 p.m. 6 p.m. | Gary Thorne, Bill Clement, and John Davidson Steve Levy and Darren Pang Mike Emrick and Brian Engblom |
NHL All-Star Game
Stanley Cup Playoffs 2000–2004
Besides the National Hockey League All-Star Game, ABC televised Games 3–7 of the Stanley Cup Finals in prime time. In the league's previous broadcast television deal with Fox, the network split coverage of the Stanley Cup Finals with ESPN. Games 1, 5 and 7 were usually scheduled to be televised by Fox; Games 2, 3, 4 and 6 by ESPN. However, from 1995 to 1998, the Finals were all four-game sweeps; 1999 ended in six games. The consequence was that – except for 1995, when Fox did televise Game 4 – the decisive game was never on network television.2003 was the only year that ABC broadcast both the NBA and the Stanley Cup Finals that involved teams from one city in the same year, as both the New Jersey Nets and the New Jersey Devils were in their respective league's finals. During ABC's broadcast of Game 3 between the San Antonio Spurs and the Nets in New Jersey on June 8, Brad Nessler, Tom Tolbert and Bill Walton said that ABC was in a unique situation getting ready for both that game and Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals between the Devils and the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim the following night, also at Continental Airlines Arena. Gary Thorne, Bill Clement and John Davidson mentioned this the following night, and thanked Nessler, Tolbert and Walton for promoting ABC's broadcast of Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals.
Following the 2003–04 season, ESPN was only willing to renew its contract for two additional years at $60 million per year. ABC refused to televise the Stanley Cup Finals in prime time, suggesting that the Finals games it would telecast be played on weekend afternoons. Disney executives later conceded that they overpaid for the 1999–2004 deal, so the company's offer to renew the television rights was lower in 2004.
Stanley Cup playoffs commentating crews
Stanley Cup Final commentating crews
Nielsen ratings
National Hockey League coverage on ABC owned-and-operated television stations
| Team | Stations | Years |
| Philadelphia Flyers | WPVI-TV 6 | 1983-1986 |
| San Jose Sharks | KGO-TV 7 | 1991-1994 |