Comcast Corp.’s high-speed-data customers will be able to watch one of two live National Hockey League games each night on their PCs as part of the new NHL-Comcast-OLN deal.
This marks the first time that many games of a professional-sports league have been available over the Internet. Local blackout restrictions will apply to protect home-team viewing and gate attendance.
The deal is exclusive to Comcast subscribers. “We are offering our customers a fast, reliable connection and content they can’t get from any other broadband provider,” Comcast Online senior vice president of marketing and business development Greg Butz said in a prepared statement.
In addition to the live games -- which will amount to 300 over the course of the season – high-speed subscribers will have access to archives of streamed games up to 48 hours after airing, video clips of game highlights, previews, reviews and interviews, links to OLN’s TV schedule, links to the NHL schedule and merchandise and the NHL scoreboard.
For the live streams, a Comcast-branded Microsoft Corp. “Windows Media Player,” dubbed “Hockey Live Video Player,” will be used.
