Update #1 We've just been informed that the pricing of the NHL Center Ice Online package for the 2007-08 season has not yet been finalized.
We just received word from
NeuLion that starting on September 29th, you will now have the ability to watch National Hockey League games live online.
NeuLion has been chosen as the NHL's provider for the online service and will show live hockey games for the 2007-2008 season on the web. NeuLion said the subscription will include video available in HD (no information yet on the specs), video highlights, pre and post-game shows, player information and social networking.
Each of the 30 teams will have their own online channel as well as NHL.com.
The sites will sell a NHL Center Ice package for an annual price of $169 or daily pass priced at $15. NeuLion has already been providing Internet TV technology to the York Islanders and New York Rangers. NeuLion delivers an online solution which allows IslandersTV to offer new content daily and allows viewers to play, pause, fast-forward, rewind and stop action on their screen. It was the success of IslandersTV that led to the launch of Rangers On Demand, founded by the New York Rangers hockey team. The service delivers a similar type of content and is powered by NeuLion via their official website.
The question now is. what does this mean for the NHL? Will adding the ability to watch games live via the Internet increase viewership for the NHL and provide the payoffs that MLB.tv has for baseball?