The Ducks will make their national television debut from Sweden this season, among eight scheduled appearances announced Thursday by the NHL.
The Ducks-Rangers game on Oct. 8 in Stockholm will air on Versus (and be simulcast on Canadian network TSN). The other seven dates: Nov. 1 at Washington (Versus), Nov. 3 at the New York Rangers (NHL Network), Dec. 19 at Dallas (Versus), Feb. 10 at Detroit (NHL Network), Feb. 14 at Minnesota (Versus), Feb. 26 vs. Chicago (Versus), March 12 at Colorado (Versus).
Twenty-two games were selected for weekend broadcasts on NBC this season, not including the Winter Classic at Philadelphia on Jan. 2, but the Ducks won’t get any major-network exposure in Year 1 of the reported $2 billion, 10-year broadcast deal.
Considering the Ducks only appeared once on national television during the 2010-11 regular season — a December game in Boston on Versus — the exposure is clearly increasing.
KDOC and Fox Sports West/Fox Sports Prime Ticket will return as the Ducks’ local broadcast partners in 2011-12.