I know it is easy to take shots at Versus (now, or soon to be, NBC Sports), and I have fired a few myself. I suppose we should be grateful that there is at least one place in the world of a thousand tv channels where we can get hockey, even if it is on the cow ropin' channel.

However, my question for Versus/NBC Sports is, why is NHL hockey limited to Monday and Tuesday nights? A check of the listings for Versus shows that tonight (Friday) they have scheduled "Elk Fever" at 8pm, followed by "The Buck Stops Here with Mike Hanback," "Gun It with Benny Spies," and "Whitetail Revolution." Saturday is college football - yeah, yeah, I get it - but Sunday night's lineup is "Bull Riding" and "Cycling (Paris Tours)."

Are you telling me that the opening weekend of the NHL season isn't a better draw than shows where guys talk about shooting deer?

Why is hockey restricted to the Monday/Tuesday ghetto on a channel that features shows like "Salty Dog Sport fishing" and "Babe Winkelman's Outdoor Secrets?"

_________________
th' only knower of th' cosmic mysteries alive at this time

It's like ESPN showing the World Series of Dominoes or a damn spelling bee.

_________________
"Counting all the assholes in the room, I'm definitely not alone!" ~ Michael Poulsen, Volbeat, Still Standing.

because versus is, first and foremost, an outdoors channel

_________________
PSA: I am an overly sarcastic person. If you take me at my word, then i will most likely anger and offend you.

Started out as "Outdoor Life Channel" but hasn't been that for 5 years now. It became versus when they started to show more and more mainstream and extreme sports. Since they have exclusive rights to broadcast NHL games, they should be showing more games. Alas hockey is, and will always be, a second hand sport in this country. The type of sport most people put on only when there is nothing else on. That is why its relegated to Mondays and Tuesdays.

_________________

Logic says they're not a charity, so the answer is yes, Elk hunting is more profitable for them than a random NHL game.
I'm sure licensing deals are a major factor as well.

_________________
Hold my beer and watch this...

After consulting with Mr. Internet I have discovered a few facts about Versus:

• When they began airing hockey in 2005-2006 ratings were substantially higher than any non-Tour de France programming that Versus had ever aired in comparable timeslots
• This year Comcast acquired a majority share in NBC Universal. Versus' primetime viewership has doubled since the merger with NBC.
• Starting in January, 2012 Versus is being rebranded as NBC Sports
• Between 2007 and 2011 Versus aired 54 or more NHL games each season. Beginning this season Versus will air 90 regular season games.
• Starting this season NBC Sports and Versus will have exclusive rights to the entire Stanley Cup Playoffs
• Because of inordinately high ratings in the Buffalo and Pittsburgh markets, Versus has made note to air a significant number of games featuring the Sabres and Pens.


The Versus/NBC Sports schedule for the Sabres this season:

o Tues., October 25 Tampa Bay at Buffalo 7:30 p.m.
o Wed., November 2 Philadelphia at Buffalo 7:30 p.m.
o Mon., November 14 Buffalo at Montreal 7 p.m.
o Wed., November 16 New Jersey at Buffalo 7:30 p.m.
o Wed., December 7 Philadelphia at Buffalo 7:30 p.m.
o Wed., January 18 Buffalo at Chicago 7:30 p.m.
o Wed., February 1 New York Rangers at Buffalo 7:30 p.m.
o Wed., February 8 Boston at Buffalo 7:30 p.m.

Looks like hockey is breaking out of the Monday/Tuesday ghetto. In addition to the Wednesday games (a day which is apparently owned by the Sabres), they are also airing a handful of Sunday games and one or two Friday and Saturday games. The NHL on NBC also has a couple of Sabres games scheduled.

My bad, and way to go Versus/NBC Sports.

_________________
th' only knower of th' cosmic mysteries alive at this time

money talks...not much to do with hockey, but I'm glad Buffalo is leading the charge in voting with their remote controls.

_________________
Hold my beer and watch this...

You know it!

_________________
"...they came down into the stands and asked if I knew how to do play by play. I said...No. But. I'll take a shot at it if you want".- Rick Jeanneret

i think we need to start a post of the month award, and this is my nominee

_________________
PSA: I am an overly sarcastic person. If you take me at my word, then i will most likely anger and offend you.

espn only showed hockey 2 days a week too. when espn has all the contracts to major sports, what the fuck do you want versus to show? and lets not forget, espn shows some pretty shit shows themselves. sports nation makes me want to swallow broken glass. that bitch needs to shut up with her internet lingo.

people can hate on versus all they want, but versus has made leaps and bounds since its acquired the NHL. with NBC buying versus, you are going to see a sports channel that now has NFL rights and the rights to some great NCAA programs.

NBC sports should give ESPN a run for their money. fox sports is great for local sports, but it doesnt really have any major contracts for nationally televised games.

_________________

Let us not forget that ESPN showed the Little League World Series over the US vs. Mexico men's soccer game. Who the fuck cares to watch 10 year olds playing baseball in a meaningless game? I understand it's not meaningless to them or their families, but 99.99999999999999999999999999999999999% of the world does not give a fuck.

I, unlike 99.99999999999999999999999999999999999% of the world, did watch the Little League World Series and actually enjoyed it. I guess because I have children in that age range and plus I really never got into soccer (except for the world cup).

_________________

i love the little league world series. what i dont like about it is those stupid frosted flake commercials. they piss me off.

_________________

Personally I hate Versus. Their announcers are awful and because I have Center Ice, when they show the game I have no choice but to listen to their shitty crew even though I pay money to see it on another channel. Then again i may just be cranky from sleeping on a mat on the floor for four days.

_________________

if versus could do one thing, it would be to bring back gary thorne. thats it.

_________________

Since most of the Sabres games are on Wednesdays, we'll have to get use to this announcing line up: Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick (play-by-play), Eddie Olczyk (analyst) and Pierre McGuire (Inside the Glass analyst)

Here is the an article from awfulannouncing.com about the 2011-12 NHL on NBC line up.
http://www.awfulannouncing.com/2011-articles/september/nhl-announcer-pairings-for-nbcversus.html

_________________

The non-stop frosted flake commercials. I understand playing that a few times during the game but not at every commercial break.

_________________

qft

_________________
If it's a tight squeeze, spit on it! - NyI

He's a middling AHL player who had the good fortune of a drunk arbitrator. - The Squanto re: Tim Kennedy

One thing that bugs me about Doc Emrick is his use of the word "further" hundreds of times throughout a game (as in, "they move the puck further up the ice"), when what he really means is "farther" (farther is distance, further is figurative).

_________________
th' only knower of th' cosmic mysteries alive at this time

Phew, I thought you were coming after me

_________________