Ice hockey broadcasting As with most other professional sports , ice hockey is broadcast both on radio and television . History . The first dissemination of game scores via electronic means was done by telegraph , starting in the 1890s . In Montreal ' s Victoria Rink , telegraph lines were installed to send game descriptions to operators in Winnipeg for the 1896 Stanley Cup challenge between Montreal and Winnipeg . On February 8 , 1923 the first radio broadcast of an ice hockey game was made . " Toronto Star " reporter Norman Albert described the third - period action of a game between Midland and North Toronto at Toronto ' s Arena Gardens . The radio station was CFCA , owned by the newspaper . The station also carried the first NHL radio broadcast on February 14 , 1923 , with the broadcast of the third - period of a game between the Toronto St . Patricks and the Ottawa Senators at the same arena . The first complete hockey game carried over the radio was on February 22 , 1923 on CJCG out of Winnipeg , Manitoba of a game between the Winnipeg Falcons and the Port Arthur Bearcats . The first complete broadcast of a professional game was made on March 14 , 1923 on CKCK out of Regina , Saskatchewan and reported by Pete Parker . The game was not an NHL contest , but rather a Western Canada Hockey League featuring the Regina Capitals . The first hockey game televised in Canada was on October 11 , 1952 of a game between the Montreal Canadiens and the Detroit Red Wings , played at the Montreal Forum . As in other sports , television has had a major effect on hockey . The infusion of money has made the major leagues far more professional with vastly higher salaries for players . It has also changed the game as NHL rules now mandate four commercial breaks per period , giving players time to recuperate and allowing the better players to be on the ice longer . However , it also lengthens and slows the games considerably . Television networks also despise how often games go into overtime , destroying set schedules . TV executives have long pushed for a faster shoot out to resolve games . Games today are also broadcast over the Internet . The NHL website allows fans to listen to online broadcasts of every NHL game . Asia . Yes TV ' s All Sports Network signed a multi - year deal with the NHL to broadcast over 130 regular season games , beginning in the 2008 – 09 NHL season to broadcast NHL All - Star games , Stanley Cup playoffs and Stanley Cup Finals , as well as NHL highlight programs . Canada . In Canada , NHL hockey is broadcast every Saturday night on CBC ' s longest running television show , " Hockey Night in Canada " . During the week , other games are shown on cable channels TSN and RIS . Various local channels carry other games as well . During the NHL playoffs , CBC carries the series involving any Canadian teams and the Stanley Cup Finals . TSN covers playoff games in the first three rounds not involving Canadian teams . RDS covers the entirety of the playoffs in French . CBC also carries many international tournaments , such as the World Cup of Hockey . The Winter Olympics in 1998 , 2002 and 2006 were on CBC , but the 2010 games were on CTV and RDS . Major games like those of the 1972 Summit Series or the 2002 Winter Olympics have received some of the highest ratings in Canadian television history . Other well - known tournaments , like the Spengler Cup or the Memorial Cup , are carried on Rogers Sportsnet . TSN and RDS carry all IIHF events , such as the World Junior Championships and World Championships . Several Canadian Hockey League ( CHL ) and American Hockey League ( AHL ) games are broadcast by local channels in Canada , as is the occasional university game . " Hockey Night in Canada " , or " HNIC " , is by far CBC ' s most profitable show and supports many of the corporation ' s other ventures . United States . Main article : History of the National Hockey League on United States televisionHockey has never fared well on American television in comparison to the NBA , MLB , or the NFL . In fact , hockey broadcasting on a national scale was spotty prior to 1981 ; NBC and CBS held rights at various times , but neither network carried anything close to a full schedule , even carrying only selected games of the Stanley Cup Finals . From 1971 – 1995 , there was no exclusive coverage of games in the United States . In 1981 , the fledgling USA Network ( formerly MSG Network ) carried a full schedule of games , supplanted by ESPN in 1986 and SportsChannel in 1989 . ESPN regained the national hockey contract in 1993 , joined by the Fox network in 1995 . Fox had put much effort into trying to stimulate American interests in the game , but had achieved little success . One of their schemes was to make the hockey puck more visible by highlighting it on television with a blue comet , using FoxTrax . When a slapshot over 70 miles per hour was made , the puck would leave a red comet trail on the television . This idea was met with great derision in Canada , especially to diehard hockey fans , and also met with little success in the United States . Fox got out of the hockey business in 1999 after being massively outbid - surprisingly , given Fox ' s low ratings - by ESPN ' s fellow Disney network ABC . This $ 600 million contract was signed in 1998 and was regarded as a failure . Before the 2004 – 05 lockout , the NHL had reached two separate deals with NBC and ESPN . The NBC deal stipulated that the network would pay the league no rights fees - an unheard of practice to that point . NBC ' s deal included six regular season windows , seven postseason broadcasts and games 3 – 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals in primetime . The contracts were to commence when the lockout ended . The NBC deal expires after the 2006 – 07 season , and NBC has picked up the option to renew for the 2007 – 08 season ( Just like the AFL / NBC agreement , which the network did not renew in 2006 ) . The NHL and NBC share in revenues from advertising . ESPN had a two year deal that they opted out of after the lockout , leaving the NHL without a cable partner . In August 2005 , Comcast ( who owns the Philadelphia Flyers ) paid $ 70 million a year for three years to put games on the OLN network , now known as Versus . Due to the abbreviated off - season , the 2005 – 06 schedule did not offer OLN exclusivity , which they received in 2006 – 07 . Versus will also cover the playoffs and will exclusively air Games 1 and 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals . Minor league hockey has more limited national coverage ; the America One network currently holds broadcast rights to select games in the American Hockey League and the ECHL , the two top minor leagues in North America . Individual teams ( both major and minor , though far more common in the major leagues ) have long contracted to air their games on local channels , primarily on Regional sports networks and in a few cases on broadcast channels as well . Collegiate hockey ' s television coverage has expanded in the late 2000s , with national networks CSTV , and ESPNU carrying numerous regular - season contests . ESPNU airs the NCAA ' s Division I tournament ( with the semifinals airing on ESPN2 and the final game on ESPN ) , and CSTV carries games from other levels ' tournaments . Regular - season games can also be found on specialty channels Big Ten Network and Fox College Sports , along with Midwest regional sports networks FSN North , FSN Wisconsin , and FSN Detroit . Europe . In 2004 , the NHL announced that games would be broadcast across the European continent on the ESPN America as part of a four - year deal that would also include live streaming of games across the Internet . The league previously had agreements with the Galaxie network of the Czech Republic and NTV ' s TV7 channel in Russia .