Time Warner To Add NHL Network in Buffalo

After purchasing the rights to carry NHL Network nationally, Time Warner's Buffalo division has announced they will be adding the channel in the near future despite speculation that they would not.

Stay tuned for The NHL Network on Time Warner. Robin Wolfgang, the spokesperson for the cable company, said today the channel will be added to the system shortly.

"We know our customers like hockey and it seemed like a good option," said Wolfgang.

The NHL Network is carrying 40 games this season, including three involving the Buffalo Sabres. Two of the three games are also on Versus and the third is on local rights-holder MSG. The NHL Network feed will be blacked out here for those games.

It may cost subscribers more money to get the channel here. If subscribers already get T-W's sports and movie package for $5 monthly, they will continue to pay that rate, Wolfgang said.

However, T-W is creating separate sports and movie tiers, with each costing $4 monthly, Wolfgang said. New subscribers to each tier can choose to pay $4 for one tier or $8 for both, Wolfgang said.

It only made sense to add the channel in the NHL's most successful American TV market.

Time Warner to Carry NHL Network

Time Warner Cable has purchased the rights to broadcast the NHL Network, which includes 50 NHL games carried in HD. The TW employee I spoke to said it would be added to the digital sports tier within the next week. It's uncertain whether the HD games will be picked up in Buffalo, so contacting Buffalo Time Warner can only help. A TW spokesman on the issue:

Mark Harrad, a Time Warner Cable spokesman, told TVPredictions.com last night that it's up to each local Time Warner operator to determine whether to air the NHL Network's high-def broadcasts.

"We have the rights to offer their HD content. It will depend on the individual divisions, if they want to devote the bandwidth to carry these games," Harrad said.

Additionally, MSG will be showing Sabres home games in HD on channel 700 in the Buffalo area.

It's almost as if Time Warner is pretending they care...