NHL fans and bettors expecting to get an auto-renew bill from NHL.TV for access to thousands of out of market games this season never got it.
Without much fanfare or promotion, the NHL effectively shut down NHL.TV in the United States and instead redirects all attempts to stream games to ESPN+. And make no mistake — this is mostly good news for U.S. hockey fans and bettors.
ESPN's initial press release announcing its new deal as the NHL's national rights holder said ESPN+ would now stream thousands of out of market games, so it's not a secret and obviously not something the league was trying to hide.
But there's been almost no promotion or explanation, and very little visual on the NHL.com homepage that indicates you'll be sent to ESPN+ when trying to stream a game. There's a "Stream Games" item on the NHL.com menu, which has this info. The NHL app has a one-time landing page for ESPN+ when you open it.
When you try to stream a game like you always have on desktop or the NHL app, it simply redirects you to ESPN+ and asks you to login or sign up.
Again, this should be exciting for most U.S. hockey fans. ESPN+ is just $6.99 a month or $70 annually, and has thousands of other events, including:
- More than a dozen international soccer leagues (including Serie A and MLS)
- Grand slam tennis tournaments
- UFC
- Thousands of college football and basketball games
- Every 30 for 30 documentary
NHL.TV was nearly twice the price for the full season, though it did offer a few charming functions, like some local commercials.
Blackout restrictions should remain similar — you can't watch a game that's broadcast locally in your area, no national TV games, etc. You can check with teams are blacked out in your zip code here.
NHL.TV is still available internationally, though it's been removed from a few countries like Australia, which has broken the hearts of some hockey fans down under. NHL Live is still the default streaming option in Canada.
