What you will find in the article:
- Nova and Prima have secured the broadcasting rights to the NHL for the 2026/27 season.
- The matches will be available on Nova Sport, Prima and free-to-air on Prima Sport.
- Nova will offer up to 24 matches a week, featuring Czech players.
- The agreement also includes highlights and other official NHL programmes.
- Oneplay will allow viewers to watch matches up to seven days after they have been broadcast.
The Nova and Prima groups will broadcast up to 24 matches a week during the regular season of the 2026/27 NHL season. Each broadcaster will have 14 matches at its disposal, ten of which will be exclusive and four available to both television groups. The collaboration is based on a new sub-licence agreement, under which Nova will grant Prima a portion of its NHL television rights. Selected matches will also be available on free-to-air television.
Nova will broadcast its coverage on Nova Sport 1 and Nova Sport 2, as well as via Oneplay. Selected matches, including all NHL Monday Night Hockey fixtures, will also be available on free-to-air television on Nova Action in the Czech Republic and Dajto in Slovakia.
Prima will offer NHL fans fourteen matches a week via the prima+ streaming platform, with one selected match also being broadcast simultaneously on prima+ and the free-to-air channel Prima Sport. The broadcasts will feature Czech commentary and, for selected matches, pre-match and intermission studio segments with ice hockey experts.
During the first three rounds of the Stanley Cup play-offs, Nova and Prima will share the broadcast rights for the individual series. Fans will be able to watch the entire Stanley Cup Final on both channels. In addition to live broadcasts, the agreement also includes rights to highlights of individual matches and other official NHL programmes.
Some matches will also remain available on free-to-air television. Nova Action will broadcast 20 matches during the season. These will include all NHL Monday Night Hockey fixtures and selected weekend matches at times convenient for home fans. For example, on Saturday 10 October at 7.05 pm, it will broadcast the match between the Boston Bruins, led by David Pastrňák, and the Philadelphia Flyers. There will also be a special pre-match studio programme.
“We will now be able to take better account of what interests the domestic audience when selecting matches, and thus include more games with a Czech connection. We’ll also be adding supplementary content in the form of regular round-ups of the most important highlights. For many viewers, it’s also a big advantage that they can watch the late-night broadcasts on Oneplay later, at a time that suits them,” says Anna Lenerová, Director of Sports and Pay-TV Channel Acquisitions at TV Nova.
“The NHL is one of the strongest sports brands in the world and holds exceptional appeal for Czech fans, not least because of its significant Czech connection. We therefore view its inclusion on Prima sport and prima+ as a very important step in the development of our sports offering. We want to bring top-class sport to viewers across both linear broadcasting and streaming, and the NHL is exactly the kind of premium content that fulfils this ambition,” said Lukáš Kubát, CEO of the Prima Group.
Oneplay will also link the NHL with other major ice hockey competitions and content in its portfolio. Everything in one place, with the added option of watching up to seven days’ worth of past matches. Oneplay’s ice hockey offering is complemented by more than 400 matches from the domestic Tipsport Extraliga, Champions Hockey League fixtures and, newly added, the University League and the ice hockey programme Krosček on Oneplay Sport 2.
The Prima Group’s ambition is to offer both regular viewers and casual fans easy access to the world’s best club ice hockey. The Prima Group will bring them their first match today, when Carolina take on Florida in the season opener. The evening’s ice hockey coverage will begin at 10.30 pm with a pre-match studio programme featuring expert guests.
Source: mediaguru.cz