HBO is lacing up its skates and joining the NHL in
drumming up interest in the league's midseason marquee event, the Winter
Classic.
HBO sports is producing a four-episode series, 24/7 Penguins/Capitals: Road to the NHL
Winter Classic," which will debut Dec. 15.
Two of the league's biggest stars will face off in
this year's classic: Olympic hero Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins and
Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals. The teams play on New Year's Day
outdoors at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh.
The series will go behind the scenes with both the
Penguins and the Caps in the weeks leading up to the classic, including a Dec.
23 game between the teams.
"Taking our reality series ‘24/7' into the world of
the National Hockey League is a perfect fit. The ‘24/7' franchise is
fashioned on larger-than-life personalities, engaging storylines, and
unrestricted access," said Ross Greenburg, president, HBO Sports.
"With Sidney Crosby leading the Penguins and Alex Ovechkin leading the Capitals,
we have all the ingredients for a dynamic show that will take viewers
deep inside professional hockey and set the stage for the Winter Classic."
"Teaming up with the 12-time Emmy Award®-winning
and much acclaimed HBO ‘24/7' series gives us an
incredible opportunity to bring our fans even deeper inside two model hockey
organizations during the regular season as we lead into the 2011 Bridgestone
NHL Winter Classic," said John Collins, COO for the NHL. "In just three short
years, the Winter Classic has become so well established on the national sports calendar it's
truly a New Year's Day tradition. Uniting HBO's amazing reality series with one
of sport's greatest rivalries in an outdoor setting in front of 65,000 raucous
fans will make this Winter Classic the most anticipated one yet."
