NHL TV Review

Genres and channels

The basic premise behind NHL.TV is allowing users to view streams of games which aren’t available through a usual cable or satellite package in their location. This generally refers to regular season games which are out of market. To find out whether a game will be available on NHL.TV, consider whether the game is on national TV, such as Wednesday night NBC games or all playoff games. This means it won’t be on NHL.TV. Similarly, if there’s a game which involves an NHL team with TV rights in your local market, it will most likely be airing on a regional sports network in the region in which you reside – in other words, not on NHL.TV. This leaves live regular season games which are on air in every market except for your location.

There are many ways to stream games with NHL.TV. Users can stream either the home or away broadcast for each game, and the service also provides in-goal cameras. There are usually audio-only feeds available for games, although the video can’t be paired with it. Games can be replayed from earlier in the season, as well as from previous seasons. This feature isn’t available on mobiles, however. When it comes to replays, there are markers in the progress bar which show highlights you might like to skip to.

Another feature available with NHL.TV is the NHL Vault. This is a collection of classic NHL games which are available to stream as part of a user subscription. If you only want to explore the NHL Vault, you can purchase a separate subscription which doesn’t include NHL.TV. The games selection features titles without the commercials or stoppages, so you can easily watch flowing content that doesn’t have any interruptions.

Top NHL TV games

Games shown on NHL TV will be from the following teams:

• Toronto Maple Leafs
• Edmonton Oilers
• Vancouver Canucks
• Montreal Canadiens
• Boston Bruins
• Calgary Flames
• Winnipeg Jets
• Pittsburgh Penguins
• Ottawa Senators
• New York Rangers
• Detroit Red Wings
• Chicago Blackhawks
• Philadelphia Flyers
• Buffalo Sabres
• St Louis Blues
• New York Islanders
• Colorado Avalanche
• New Jersey Devils
• Los Angeles Kings
• Vegas Golden Knights
• Tampa Bay Lightning
• San Jose Sharks
• Minnesota Wild
• Anaheim Ducks
• Carolina Hurricanes
• Dallas Stars
• Columbus Blue Jackets
• Nashville Predators
• Florida Panthers

Streaming library

Features available with NHL.TV include:

• Watch on the go – You can watch games on your tablet or phone, which makes it easier to stay up to date while you’re out and about or commuting to work.
• Enjoy live games – Getting stuck into the action live means you’ll enjoy the thrill of seeing a game play out, knowing it’s unfolding in real time.
• Skip through highlights – If you want to see some of the top moments from a game, you can skip to the highlights and remind yourself of the most exciting parts.
• High quality video available – There is 60fps (frames per second) live streaming video available with select tablets and phones.
• Choose your announcer – Select the home or away broadcast to view the video from the perspective of the team play-by-play you want to hear.
• Control the action – If you’ve missed a goal, hit or save, make the most of DVR controls by pausing and rewinding live games.
• View multiple games – Watch more than one game at once if there are several going on in the League. With Mosaic View, you can watch up to four games at once.
• Enjoy additional camera angles – There are up to five alternate camera angles, including a zipline aerial cam and two cameras located over the goal. You can even use first-person ref cam to enjoy a slice of the action in the most direct way possible.

Streaming quality

While there have been confirmed reports of some NHL games on the TV network being available in 4K, there is no mention of this function being available for streaming subscribers on the NHL.TV service. That said, there is a good section on system requirements so that users can ensure they have the right setup before signing up for a subscription.

For example, the media player system requirements for NHL TV are Windows 10, Windows 8.1 or Windows 7. Those on Mac need to be using OS X 10.10 or above. The most current versions of Microsoft Edge, Firefox or Chrome should be used on Windows, while the latest Safari, Firefox or Chrome browsers are to be used with Mac. The connection speed on both systems should be a minimum of 3000Kbps.

The site will not work if JavaScript isn’t turned on, so ensure this has been completed before streaming titles. Cookies should also be enabled, as without this setting login errors and issues with viewing particular titles may result.

Pop ups and ad blockers should be disabled in order for the best chances of success with streaming, and the latest version of all operating systems should always be installed when prompted as NHL.TV will not support out of date minor versions of a support OS. The same applies to web browsers, as NHL TV recommends that users have the most current version available at all times.

Customer support

There is a support center available with NHL TV which is divided into sections – billing information, blackout information, desktop FAQ, mobile FAQ, connected device FAQ and accessibility FAQ. There is a live chat feature available on this page too, which allows users to connect live with the NHL.TV customer support team.

Questions and answers in the Billing Information section include payment methods, cancellation policy, refund policy, automatic renewal information, subscription upgrades, currency exchange and additional help. The Desktop section includes information on NHL temporary pause of play, desktop compatibility and desktop troubleshooting.

Mobile support covers Android and Apple plus troubleshooting and subscription management. The Connected Devices FAQ covers Apple TV 3, Apple TV 4, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV and more. The accessibility menu covers topics like closed captioning, screen magnification and screen readers, while the Blackout Information section features a link to the blackout detector.

Underneath these options, there are choices for users to look at what the system requirements are, a bandwidth detector, network troubleshooting FAQ, zip code and blackout detector, subscriptions access FAQ and link to contact the company.

Apart from live chat, direct contact options also come in the form of email, a Twitter support account, a US phone number and an international phone number.

Free trial

NHL TV is not recorded as having a free trial at the time of writing. This means users who want to go for the annual subscription, but aren’t sure about what their experience will be like, should probably try the monthly billing first. Then, if it works out after this time frame, they can switch subscriptions.

Plans and pricing

There are two types of subscription – a full subscription and a single team subscription. With a full subscription, you’ll gain access to all of the live games available to view through the service in your region, while with the single team subscription, you can watch one particular team’s live out of market and regular season games throughout the season.

If you subscribe for a year of NHL.TV, you’ll pay $139.99. Alternatively, the monthly subscription is $24.99. A single team package isn’t available as a monthly option, but you can pay $109.99 for a yearly subscription.

Competitors

NHL.TV provides content for fans who are particularly into NHL, but there are other options for those who want to watch NHL games elsewhere. For example, Hulu with Live TV offers NHL Hockey with local NBC plus NBCSN. While the NHL Network is not available with Hulu with Live TV, there is still access to hockey game coverage.

Alternatively, Sling TV provides NBC and NBCSN with its Sling Blue package, so hockey games can be streamed. Furthermore, those who buy the Sports Extra add-on will be able to access the NHL Network as part of their Sling membership too.

FuboTV is much the same as Hulu with Live TV in this department, as you can watch NHL hockey with your local NBC and NBCSN but NHL Network is not available with this live TV streaming service. An alternative is AT&T TV Now with its plus plan, as the options are to watch games with your local NBC and NBCSN channel, or access the NHL Network with the Xtra Plan.

ESPN+ also offers NHL games. For example, a previous season of NHL saw over 300 games made available on the streaming platform. There were also exclusive studio shows and daily highlights to watch. Each team appeared at least twice over the course of a previous October season as part of the basic ESPN Plus subscription.

Is NHL TV worth it?

NHL.TV is a comprehensive streaming service for hockey fans. Whether you have a particular team you want to track throughout a season, or you want unlimited access to a range of content during prime time, this is a great choice. Although subject to blackout conditions, having access to a wide range of games, plus bonus features such as DVR controls and additional camera angles, makes the whole experience much more immersive.

With competitively priced annual and monthly subscriptions, you can sign up for the option which suits you best, and select your favorite team for a customised experience. Furthermore, features such as the NHL Vault make for a hockey fan’s paradise, as you can browse older content and relive some of your favorite moments from the past. There is clear flexibility seen here with the option to purchase a subscription to just the Vault, with no need for an NHL.TV subscription if you simply want access to the old-school content. Overall, NHL.TV is a fantastic option for those who love the world of hockey.