Playoff hockey is one of the most exciting things in sports, and NBC announced today that there will be another way to watch it that could benefit cord-cutters.
According to NBC’s release, Peacock Premium subscribers will be able to watch the remainder of the Stanley Cup Playoffs semifinal round. Matches will obviously remain on NBCSN and USA, but for people who no longer subscribe to linear television but do subscribe to the Premium tier of NBC’s streaming service, this is likely welcome news.
Via NBC’s release:
Peacock today announced the service will stream all remaining Stanley Cup Semifinal games, starting tomorrow, June 14 at 9:00 p.m. ET with Game 1 in the Semifinal between the Montreal Canadiens and Vegas Golden Knights. As previously announced, NBC Sports’ coverage of all Stanley Cup Semifinal games will also air on NBCSN or USA Network and NBC Sports digital platforms.
Pre-game coverage on Monday will begin at 8:30 p.m. ET with NHL Live, and Peacock will also feature post-game coverage on NHL Overtime. Kathryn Tappen will host studio coverage with studio analysts Anson Carter and Dominic Moore. John Forslund (play-by-play) will call the matchup alongside Joe Micheletti (analyst) and Emmy Award-winner Pierre McGuire (‘Inside-the-Glass’ analyst).
This is NBC’s final year with the NHL rights, as they head to ESPN and Turner starting next year. That could result in a step back on the streaming front; while NBC made this move for a portion of the postseason, WarnerMedia exec Jeff Zucker went on record in April to say that HBO Max likely won’t be streaming hockey immediately upon assuming the rights.
That makes sense to a degree; HBO Max, after all, does not have much of a sports focus at all, while NBC launched Peacock in large part based on driving subscriptions via live Olympics content, among other sports. But if you’re a hockey fan without a traditional television subscription looking to watch things legally this year, Peacock Premium might be the right choice.
About Jay Rigdon
Jay is a columnist at Awful Announcing. He is not a strong swimmer. He is probably talking to a dog in a silly voice at this very moment.