Comcast Media Center Drops Puck on New NHL Network Transmission Facility

Denver-based Comcast Media Center (CMC) is now providing channel origination and transmission services for NHL Network.
NHL Network’s new facility at the CMC delivers the network’s HD and SD broadcasts, including multiple live games at once. The new control room also features new advanced graphics and live ticker capabilities.

“Through its affiliation with national and regional sports television networks, CMC already plays a major role in coordinating the delivery of NHL games from their local venues to TV homes across the US and Canada,” says Peter Del Giacco, NHL chief technology officer. “CMC shares our commitment to a quality viewing experience and we are confident they will provide an excellent television experience to our viewers.”

“We are grateful for the opportunity to expand our relationship with the NHL to include origination and transmission services for its flagship TV network,” said Richard Buchanan, VP and GM, Content Services for Comcast Media Center. “As one of the country’s most seasoned and largest sports content operations facilities, we have the right people and technology to meet the NHL’s expectations for quality and reliability.”

The new transmission facility is another chapter in a series of major upgrades for NHL Network following a new 10-year, $2 billion rights deal the league signed with NBC Sports Group (owned by Comcast) in April. Next year, NBC Sports Group will construct an entirely new studio for NHL Network at its Stamford facility. In addition, NHL Live, the network’s daily headlines program unveiled a brand new redesigned studio inside the NHL Powered by Reebok store in New York for the 2011-12 season.

Comcast Media Center currently originates more than 20,000 HD, SD, and 3D live and recorded events a year for its industry customers, including out-of-market PPV sports packages, and recently managed more than 100 events in a single 24-hour period. Its live event capabilities include live commercial insertion, client graphic creation and manipulation, branding, facilitation between remote sites, one-on-one coverage and monitoring, and time-delayed and/or immediate replay of live media.