NHL Network to televise 2008 World Junior Championships

NHL Network to televise 2008 World Junior Championships
COURTESY of NHL .com Dec 19, 2007, 5:13 PM EST

New York, NY -- NHL Network, the first national network dedicated entirely to hockey, today announced it has secured the exclusive U.S. rights to the International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship in Pardubice and Liberec, Czech Republic, Dec. 26, 2007 – Jan. 5, 2008. The upcoming tournament marks the first time the World Junior Championship will be telecast live on NHL Network in the United States.

NHL Network in the U.S. will televise live coverage of the entire medal round of the 2008 World Junior Championship, including both quarterfinal games, both semifinal contests, the bronze-medal game and the gold-medal game. All games will be televised in HD and will receive at least one primetime re-air on the network.

Coverage on NHL Network in the U.S. gets underway on Wednesday, January 2nd with LIVE telecasts of the two quarterfinal games at 10:00 am ET/7:00 am PT and 2:00 pm ET/11:00 am PT. For the 2008 tournament, the second- and third-place teams from each of the two groups after the round-robin portion will play in the quarterfinals. The winners of each group after the round-robin games advance to the semifinals. The final four teams square off LIVE on NHL Network at 10:00 am ET/7:00 am PT and 2:00 pm ET/11:00 am PT on Friday, January 4th. The bronze medal game will be on the network LIVE at 10:00 am ET/7:00 am PT Saturday, January 5th, followed shortly by the Gold Medal game LIVE on NHL Network in the U.S. at 2:00 pm ET/11:00 am PT.

The World Junior Hockey Championship is an annual IIHF event featuring the best hockey players in the world under the age of 20. The tournament traditionally serves as a proving ground for tomorrow’s NHL stars. Tune in to see who will be this year’s break-out star. For complete information on the 2008 IIHF World Junior Championship, visit usahockey.com.

2008 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship Coverage on NHL Network US

Wednesday, January 2nd
10:00 am ET/7:00 am PT – Quarterfinal game #1 (LIVE)
2:00 pm ET/11:00 am PT – Quarterfinal game #2 (LIVE)
7:00 pm ET/4:00 pm PT – Quarterfinal game #1 (re-air)

Thursday, January 3rd
3:00 am ET/12:00 am PT – Quarterfinal game #1 (re-air)
12:00 pm ET/9:00 am PT – Quarterfinal game #2 (re-air)
7:00 pm ET/4:00 pm PT – Quarterfinal game #2 (re-air)

Friday, January 4th
10:00 am ET/7:00 am PT – Semifinal game #1 (LIVE)
2:00 pm ET/11:00 am PT – Semifinal game #2 (LIVE)
5:30 pm ET/2:30 pm PT – Semifinal game #1 (re-air)
10:00 pm ET/7:00 pm PT – Semifinal game #2 (re-air)

Saturday, January 5th
10:00 am ET/7:00 am PT – Bronze Medal game (LIVE)
2:00 pm ET/11:00 am PT – Gold Medal game (LIVE)

Sunday, January 6th
3:00 am ET/12:00 am PT – Gold Medal game (re-air)
5:00 pm ET/3:00 pm PT – Bronze Medal game (re-air)
7:00 pm ET/5:00 pm PT – Gold Medal game (re-air)

*NHL Network reserves the right to change the schedule

After launching in the U.S. in October, NHL Network is already accessible to 80 million homes based on previously-announced carriage arrangements with Cablevision, Comcast, Cox Communications, Charter, DIRECTV, DISH Network, Time Warner Cable and others.