Comcast Offers Free Preview, NHL Season Package

Trying a new tack in landing customers for premium programming packages, Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) is giving customers a free preview of NHL Center Ice, a pay package that enables subscribers to view up to 40 out-of-market NHL games throughout the regular season.

Comcast hopes the free preview from Oct. 9 to Oct. 15 will attract hockey fans to the package, which costs $169, minus a $10 break the cableco provides before the NHL regular season begins. The deal ends Oct. 15.

Customers must have Comcast Digital Cable to take advantage of the preview and the offer. NHL Center Ice is akin to DirecTV Group’s NFL Sunday Ticket, which enables subscribers to watch out-of-market football games. Major League Baseball has a similar offering.

Professional hockey has traditionally been a tough sell, especially in the Midwest and southern United States where the sport vies for attention with pro and college football, and college and pro basketball, not to mention Major League Baseball’s playoffs.

NHL devotees were annoyed when the league’s games got moved off household name stations to obscure channels that they either didn’t have access to, or had trouble locating. One was the Outdoor Life Network (which later became VERSUS), whose coverage of games was seen by many as subpar.

It’s unclear whether providing the package over the broad Comcast network will reverse the collective damage and bring casual and/or devoted NHL fans back to the TV.

Ironically, Comcast already offers coverage of the sports that compete with NHL hockey through its ownership of numerous college sports networks that it offers as part of a premium sports package that includes NFL Network and costs about $8 extra month.

Comcast's content networks and investments include The Golf Channel, VERSUS and 10 Comcast SportsNets. The cableco also has a majority ownership in Comcast-Spectacor, whose major holdings include the Philadelphia Flyers NHL hockey team, the Philadelphia 76ers NBA basketball team and two large multipurpose arenas in Philadelphia.

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