NHL on SportsChannel America

NHL on SportsChannel America was the presentation of NHL broadcasts on the now defunct SportsChannel America cable television network.

Terms of the Deal
Taking over for ESPN, SportsChannel's contract paid $51 million ($17 million per year[4]) over three years, more than double what ESPN had paid ($24 million) for the previous three years SportsChannel America managed to get a fourth NHL season for just $5 million.

SportsChannel's Availability
Unfortunately, SportsChannel America was only available in a few major markets and reached only a 1/3 of the households that ESPN did at the time. SportsChannel America was seen in fewer than 10 million households.

In comparison, by the 1991–92 season, ESPN was available in 60.5 million homes whereas SportsChannel America was available in only 25 million.

As a matter of fact, in the first year of the deal (1988–1989), SportsChannel America was available in only 7 million homes when compared to ESPN's reach of 50 million.

When the SportsChannel deal ended in 1992, the league returned to ESPN for another contract that would pay $80 million over five years.

SportsChannel America took advantage of using their regional sports networks' feed of a game, graphics and all, instead of producing a show from the ground up, most of the time.

Distribution of SportsChannel America across the country was limited to cities that had a SportsChannel regional sports network or affiliate.

Very few cable systems in non-NHL territories picked it up as a stand alone service.

Regional affiliates of the Prime Network would sometimes pick up SportsChannel broadcasts, but this was often only during the playoffs.

SportsChannel America also did not broadcast 24 hours a day at first, usually on by 6:00 p.m. and off by 1:00 or 2:00 a.m., then a sportsticker for the next 16 hours.

Philadelphia
Since SportsChannel Philadelphia did not air until January of 1990, PRISM (owned by Rainbow Media (the owners of SportsChannel at the time) picked up the 1989 Stanley Cup Finals.

Other than that, there was no NHL television coverage in Philadelphia except for the Flyers for the first half of the original deal.

Lawsuit
As previously mentioned, the NHL would return to ESPN following the 1991-92 season.

Shortly after the ESPN deal was signed, SportsChannel America would contend that its contract with the NHL gave them the right to match third-party offers for television rights for the 1992–93 season.

SportsChannel America accused the NHL of violating a nonbinding clause. They argued that it had been deprived of its contractual right of first refusal for the 1992–93 season.

Appellate Division of New York State Supreme Court justice Shirley Fingerwood would deny SportsChannel America's request for an injunction against the NHL.

Upholding that opinion, the appellate court found the agreement on which SportsChannel based its argument to be "too imprecise and ambiguous" and ruled that SportsChannel failed to show irreparable harm.

In the aftermath of losing the NHL, SportsChannel America was left with little more than outdoors shows and Canadian Football League games. For SportsChannel, the deal was a disaster overall.

While the cable channel three years later, was available in 20 million homes (as previously mentioned), the broadcaster lost as much as $10 million on the agreement, and soon faded into obscurity.

Some local SportsChannel stations (which carried NHL games in their local markets) were not affected.

Regular Season Coverage
SportsChannel America would televise about 80–100 games a season (whereas ESPN aired about 33 in the 1987–1988 season).

Whereas the previous deal with ESPN called for only one nationally televised game a week, SportsChannel America televised hockey two nights a week in NHL cities and three nights a week elsewhere.

It was very rare to have a regular-season game on SportsChannel America that wasn't a regional SportsChannel production from the Chicago Blackhawks, Hartford Whalers, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders or the Philadelphia Flyers. The San Jose Sharks were added in 1991–1992.

As previously suggested, SportsChannel America for the most part, used the local telecasts.

The dedicated SportsChannel America station was little more than an overflow channel in the New York area for SportsChannel New York.

Special Programming
In 1989, SportsChannel America provided the first ever American coverage of the NHL Draft.

In September of 1989, SportsChannel America covered the Washington Capitals' training camp in Sweden and pre-season tour of the Soviet Union.

The Capitals were joined by the Stanley Cup champion Calgary Flames, who held training camp in Prague, Czechoslovakia and then ventured to the Soviet Union.

Each team played four games against Soviet National League clubs. Games were played in Moscow, Leningrad, Kiev and Riga.

The NHL clubs finished with a combined 6–2 record against the top Soviet teams, including the Red Army club and Dynamo Moscow.

Five of the eight contests were televised by SportsChannel America.

All-Star Game Coverage
SportsChannel America was the exclusive American broadcaster of the 1989 NHL All-Star Game.

The following year, they covered the first ever NHL Skills Competition and Heroes of Hockey game.

SportsChannel America would continue their coverage of these particular events through 1992.

In 1991, SportsChannel America replayed the third period of the NHL All-Star Game on the same day that it was played.

That was because NBC broke away from the live telecast during the third period in favor of Gulf War coverage.