NBC/NHL Winter Classic Media Conference Call Today at 1pm ET

Dial 719-325-4797 to participate.

nbcsports.com - December 15, 2008

(PRNewsChannel) / New York, N.Y. / NBC will conduct a media conference call today (Monday) at 1 p.m. ET to preview its coverage of the NHL Winter Classic between the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks, to be played New Year's Day, 1 p.m. ET at historic Wrigley Field. Bob Costas will host the event for NBC Sports and is joined on the call by Eddie Olczyk (game analyst), Pierre McGuire (inside-the-glass analyst), Mike Milbury (studio analyst) and Sam Flood (coordinating producer). This marks the second outdoor NHL game played in the United States; last year's inaugural event was the most-viewed NHL regular season game in more than a decade.

Dial 719-325-4797 to participate and ask for the NBC/NHL call.

"This was one of the best events I've ever been a part of as a player, coach or broadcaster," said Olczyk of last year's Classic. "It truly was a memorable experience and a great day for the sport of hockey."

Costas, who hosted the inaugural Winter Classic in Buffalo, has a history broadcasting hockey, serving as the play-by-play commentator for minor league hockey's Syracuse Blazers in 1973-74 and also occasionally filling in for the late, great Dan Kelly on KMOX's St. Louis Blues radiocasts in the last 70s and early 80s.

MOST VIEWED GAME IN MORE THAN A DECADE: Last year's Winter Classic, broadcast, New Year's Day on NBC, drew 3.7 million viewers making the it the most viewed NHL regular season game in more than a decade (Jan. 27, 1996 on Fox, regional broadcast, 3.8 million). The Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Buffalo Sabres 2-1 in the first U.S. outdoor game in NHL history with Sidney Crosby scoring the game-winning goal in a shootout.

NBC NHL GAME OF THE WEEK TO FEATURE CONSISTENT START TIME/FLEX SCHEDULING: Following the outdoor game, the NBC NHL "Game of the Week" drops the puck on its fourth season, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2009 with the New York Rangers at Pittsburgh Penguins. For the first time, "Game of the Week" broadcasts have a consistent start time – 12:30 p.m. ET on Sundays (except for April 12, 2 p.m. start time). For the second season, the NHL and NBC will utilize flex scheduling and will be able to select from up to three games on Sunday afternoons. Thirteen days prior to the scheduled games (on Mondays), NBC, in conjunction with the NHL, will select one of those games as the "Game of the Week" to be broadcast during the NBC window. The other games will remain available to the teams' regional carrier but will not be televised during NBC's broadcast window.

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Source Web Site: nbcsports.com