NBCUniversal announced on Friday that NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) will be shutting down at the end of 2021. It’s believed that both NHL games Stanley Cup Playoff games and NASCAR races will eventually be shifted to other platforms across NBCUniversal with the two main viewing channels being the USA Network and Peacock, a streaming platform the company launched in mid-January of 2020. Although games will still be broadcasted on NBC and NBC Sports Philly for the remainder of the season it’s unsure what platforms the NHL can be seen on next season.
According to a report from Ahiza Garcia-Hodges and Dylan Byers of NBC News, Pete Bevacqua, the NBC Sports Group Chairman, essentially stated ‘in an email to the company’ the decision is based on financial ramifications from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.