The Canadian Hockey League announced Tuesday that it "has selected the Verizon Media Platform to deliver a high-quality streaming experience across an expanded range of devices for fans from coast to coast."
CHL TV will debut on Feb. 26 when the Western Hockey League begins its 24-game regular season.
The QMJHL and OHL were not specifically mentioned in the release. It's hard to imagine the QMJHL switching providers mid-season - but this is still very promising news moving forward. I think it's safe to say that the CHL is confident all three leagues will be brought on board somewhat soon since it made a public announcement like this.
“Working with Verizon Media exemplifies our commitment to providing our fans with the best possible viewing experience,” said CHL President Dan MacKenzie in the release. “We are ensuring our fans can enjoy seamless, high-quality streams at home from any platform or device. Verizon Media’s expertise and technology are renowned in the world of live sports and will play an important role in our success.”
A CHL streaming service was first mentioned by MacKenzie in an interview with The Hockey News last March. The WHL mentioned the new service in a few news releases over the past year.
The QMJHL appeared poised to begin using the new service when its regular season began this past October, even confirming at a news conference that a new webcast provider would be in place for the start of the year. The belief at the time was that the new provider would be Verizon.
Quebecor, the CHL's french-language media rights holders, reportedly blocked the QMJHL from making the switch to Verizon. There have been rumours in Quebec, however, that the Quebecor owned TVA Sports has been trying to get out of its broadcast contract before the 2021-22 season.
The QMJHL's webcasts have been streamed by Neulion since the 2014-15 season. Neulion, to be fair, has made some upgrades this season, including finally adding a scoreboard to each feed.
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