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Great Times to be a Hockey Fan
by Alanah McGinley on 04/08/08 at 04:12 PM ET
Comments (3)
From Eric McErlain at The Sporting News,
As I’ve written before, the early 21st century may be the best time in history to be a professional sports fan, and that’s even the case for the NHL—a sport that plenty of American newspaper editors and television producers would like to see shunted off to the margins. With only incredibly rare exceptions, virtually every game that your home team plays will be on television. And if you manage to miss the game, you can access the highlights online via NHL.com, or perhaps just your favorite bits, like the most exciting goals, hits and fights that proliferate on YouTube. And if you live hundreds or even thousands of miles from your favorite team, there’s always the NHL Center Ice PPV package, the out of town fan’s ultimate lifeline.
For some critics, that’s just not enough, as they often mention the fact that Versus, the cable network that carries NHL games two times a week during the regular season, can’t be found in hotels around the country. If that’s a problem, just invest in a Slingbox…
You know, I’ve often wondered about this myself. I realize not everyone can afford a Slingbox, but I’ve always wondered why so many media members—who frequently make the criticism that Eric points out—don’t have them. They’re an awesome little gizmo (and no, I’m not making any money for pointing this out...!).
Filed in: NHL Media | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: media, slingbox,
Comments
CI Online is a great option, but from what I understand, a lot of people find it pretty inconsistent. Hopefully it will improve over time.
Like you say, Slingbox isn’t perfect, but (like you) I’ve hooked into a friend’s system in the past when I couldn’t get games locally, and was really impressed.
Posted by Alanah McGinley from British Columbia on 04/08/08 at 04:25 PM ET
not everybody has the NHL Network--or Versus, either. For some fans, the “digital divide” still exists.
Posted by George James Malik from South Lyon, MI on 04/08/08 at 09:11 PM ET
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My brother has a Slingbox, and I would sign in to watch Center Ice my first year-and-a-half in college when I lived on campus and couldn’t get CI (I did get Versus in my dorm!). The quality isn’t perfect, but it’s definitely better than no hockey at all!
Doesn’t the NHL also offer Center Ice online? I imagine that is also a decent alternative.
Posted by NHLJeff from Boston, MA on 04/08/08 at 03:49 PM ET