One World Sports has inked a multiyear, multiplatform deal to become the exclusive U.S. home to the Champions Hockey League.
The three-season pact, financial terms of which were not disclosed, with Infront Sports & Media, gives One World Sports TV and other platform rights to show all 161 contests from the Champions Hockey League's inaugural campaign, beginning with group play in August and concluding with the first final in February. The deal extends through the circuit's 2016-17 season.
The Champions Hockey League was formally announced in December 2013 by the European Ice Hockey Club Competition, comprising top European hockey clubs, six national leagues and the International Ice Hockey Federation. It now includes 44 clubs representing 12 countries from throughout Europe, including Sweden, Finland, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and the Czech Republic. Nearly 100 former NHL players are expected to participate in the Champions Hockey League
All games on One World Sports, which counts Dish Network, Cablevision, Mediacom Communications, Hawaiian Telcom, Google Fiber and Verizon FiOS as affiliates, will be telecast live and produced from the company's broadcast center in Stamford, Conn. The full Champions Hockey League schedule and One World Sports’ on-air talent will be announced soon.
"We continue to deliver on our goal to bring our fans best-in-class programming from around the world,” said One World Sports executive vice president of programming and production Joel Feld. "We expect that the newly founded Champions Hockey League will grow into one of the sport's premier championships.”
