Commissioner Gary Bettman has said on several occasions that High Definition television lends itself better to the game of hockey than any other sport.

One reason is that on the average television set, the puck is very difficult to see and to follow. The Fox Network tried to address this with its “glowing hockey puck” when it broadcast hockey games, but that was a big failure. The higher resolution offered by HDTV is a far better solution, as it allows viewers to better see and follow the puck. With the widescreen aspect 16x9 ratio of 1.78:1, there is also a much better view of the ice, which gives the viewer a better idea of how the play develops. It also generally makes the game easier to follow for those new to the game.

Since HDTV is a great vehicle for making hockey on TV more enjoyable, then why aren’t there more HD games? The problem is that even with the right equipment, fans are not able to find very many hockey games broadcast in high definition. Big thanks go to Mark Cuban and HDNet for providing the best coverage of the NHL in high definition. HDNet has been a longtime partner of the NHL and has done a great job providing hockey games in HD. The complaints about the NHL in HD are not directed at HDNet, as HDNet has done everything possible to provide top notch NHL coverage.

Why there aren’t more NHL games available in HD is due to a variety of factors. Let’s examine some of the reasons and identify some areas where the NHL could address this.

Let’s start with the current NHL television broadcast contract. As nearly every fan who watches hockey on television knows, the NHL moved its broadcasting from ESPN to Versus, now the new home of the majority of the ‘free’ NHL games. In addition, the NHL also has agreements with NBC and HDNet to broadcast some games. The switch by the NHL from ESPN to Versus has been discussed and written about extensively, yet there seems to be little talk about what Versus is doing in the area of broadcasting the NHL in HD.

Versus is owned by Comcast. This is a good thing if you happen to be a Comcast customer or happen to be on a cable system that has a comprehensive agreement with Comcast for offering Versus and the HD only programming channels called INHD. INHD (which also happens to be changing its name to “Mojo” later this year) is a partnership between Comcast iN DEMAND, Cox Communications, Time Warner Entertainment, and the Advance/Newhouse Partnership.

So what does INHD have to do with Versus? Currently, Versus does not offer Versus in HD as a dedicated separate channel, so through their partial ownership of INHD, they only broadcast select HD games from Versus on INHD. If you happen to be a satellite owner with DirecTV or Dish Network, you are out of luck for these games because neither DirecTV nor Dish Network offers INHD. All is not lost, however, because Versus offers these HD game feeds to satellite providers and sometimes they do air these HD games as an extra bonus to satellite subscribers. Whether a satellite provider offers these additional Versus HD games is up to the provider and likely more contingent on available satellite bandwidth than anything else.

Versus claims that they are committed to providing NHL games in HD, but with no dedicated Versus HD channel and many cable systems not even carrying the regular standard definition Versus channel, it does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that the NHL has a distribution problem and Versus isn’t living up to its end of the bargain. You may or may not be able to view games from Versus in HD, as it all depends on which provider you happen to have and how dedicated that provider is to offering hockey in HD.

In some areas, people are being treated to a channel that has become known as VSGLF which is a combination HD channel that offers HD programming from both Versus and The Golf Channel. Distribution of this combo channel is limited, but it does offer some hope for those who are waiting for a dedicated Versus HD channel. Since it is up to your satellite provider or cable provider to offer the VSGLF channel as an option, getting Versus HD games is a crapshoot, at best.

Next is NBC, which is in a partnership with the NHL to offer games on the weekends and a couple of rounds of the playoffs during primetime. It should be noted that NBC only offers select NHL games in HD; normally, this means one game per weekend. If you happen to live in the area/region where the NHL game of the week is offered, you might be able to see it in HD from your local NBC affiliate. (Your affiliate must offer programming in HD.) The NBC HD games I’ve seen have been broadcast over-the-air and received from an outdoor antenna by my local NBC affiliate.

There have been quite a few games this season from NBC in HD and overall, the picture quality has been impressive. This opinion seems to run contrary to many viewers who complain that the HD picture quality of NBC games isn’t that good.

One positive feature in NBC’s favor is that many of the games are re-broadcast on Universal HD late at night or in the early morning. The NBC connection with Universal HD is great for hockey fans that have an HD digital video recorder and want to catch an additional NHL game. Overall, NBC has done a better job than Versus with NBC’s HD NHL coverage. However, this still isn’t even close to what HDNet is able to do.

HDNet has been a partner with the NHL for several years. This season, they were broadcasting NHL games two nights a week. Unfortunately, HDNet does not have broadcasting of any of the NHL playoff or Stanley Cup games. While HDNet started out as a DirecTV exclusive, over the past couple of years, Dish Network and many cable systems have added HDNet.

What sets HDNet apart from every other source broadcasting the NHL in HD is that HDNet has a vested interest in producing the best HD content possible. HDNet sends their own HD production truck and crew to shoot, cover, and produce each game. Each NHL game that HDNet broadcasts is shot in 16x9 with 5.1 surround sound with multiple camera angles.

These days HDNet games look great! HDNet has been showing games in HD longer than any other provider, and in the beginning things were a bit ‘rocky,’ but HDNet listened to the hockey fans and made great strides to be where they are today. The NHL needs to keep HDNet as a broadcast partner and really work to help HDNet promote and market the games. HDNet has earned high marks, and the only complaint is that they don’t broadcast enough games.

You may also have heard about another hockey broadcasting source: NHL Center Ice. So, just what is NHL Center Ice? The NHL has put together their “season ticket package,” which is primarily made up of re-broadcasts of NHL games that are broadcast locally by regional sports networks (RSNs). In addition, NHL Center Ice also includes select games from Canadian broadcasters CBC, TSN, and several other Canadian RSNs. NHL Center Ice is available as a seasonal option from Satellite and Cable providers.

Some RSNs do have dedicated HD channels that they offer local viewers, normally via cable. This is a problem for satellite viewers because due to capacity issues, satellite viewers do not have access to these channels. However, things are changing and satellite providers are adding some of these RSN HD channels. The end result of this, though, is that HD games are not a guaranteed part of the NHL Center Ice package. DirecTV does not guarantee that they will offer HD games as part of their NHL Center Ice package; if capacity is available on the satellite and if the NHL offers some bonus HD feeds for games, they may elect to offer these feeds as a bonus to NHL Center Ice subscribers. So far, Canadian HD feeds have not been offered as a bonus to NHL Center Ice subscribers.

No discussion of the NHL in HD would be complete without at least a mention of all that the Canadian broadcasters are doing regarding the NHL and HD. Both CBC and TSN, which are the primary outlets for the NHL in Canada, offer a good amount of HD coverage. Primarily, their coverage focuses on Canadian teams. The CBC HD coverage is first rate and is akin to the type of HD coverage that we see in the U.S. for a sporting event like the Super Bowl. This comes as no surprise to hardcore hockey fans. Canadian broadcasters do a better job in general covering hockey because of what the sport means in Canada.

So what is the bottom line on the NHL in HD? The end result, except for HDNet, is that the broadcasting situation is terrible. With the playoffs underway, it’s the best time of year for the NHL. What better way could there be to market the game to new viewers than to expose them to NHL hockey in HD? And what NHL HD coverage is being broadcast during the playoffs?

There are precious few games out there in HD; HDNet is not covering any of the playoffs. This is not by their choice, according to various reports. Versus does not have good distribution for their standard definition channel, not to mention HD feeds for their games. If you are very lucky, your satellite provider might offer a Versus HD game occasionally as a bonus. If you are a fortunate cable subscriber, you might have access to the VSGLF HD combo channel or INHD, which means that you are able to get the Versus games in HD (if Versus happens to offer that game in HD). NBC might offer a game here or there, which is likely the best chance for many fans who hope to see any Stanley Cup playoff hockey in HD this season.

This is of serious concern to those fans who want to see the Stanley Cup finals in HD. As things stand right now, both games that are on NBC will probably be broadcast in HD. As for Versus, it’s unknown; some of the playoffs might be in HD. Gary Bettman can talk about how great a tool HD can be and how HD makes hockey significantly better to watch, but it does not do any good if viewers cannot find a game to watch.

This is just another example of the shortcomings of the current NHL television broadcast deal with Versus. While it was understood from the beginning that Versus would have to ramp up its distribution and coverage, it is now obvious that they did not even have adequate HD distribution in place when this deal was put together.

If you happen to have Comcast cable, then chances are you should be better able to view the NHL games that Versus broadcasts. Those of us who do not have Comcast are at the mercy of the providers who decide the NHL HD games shown based strictly on capacity and what deals they happen to have in place for carrying Versus. Obviously, this is not a way to help promote hockey or to provide sufficient game coverage to fans. The NHL needs to take a hard look at the less than adequate current broadcast television deals and make some changes to get better distribution, as well as more games in HD.

In the meantime, the NHL fans who want to view games in HD will need to practice their script for complaining about the lack of HD distribution. From a viewer perspective, with the larger distribution of ESPN/ESPN 2 and the fact that ESPN HD/ESPN 2 HD has a larger distribution with providers, the NHL does appear to have acted too hastily and perhaps been a bit on the greedy side by their actions in abandoning broadcast negotiations with ESPN.

While it is understood that currently hockey is treated as a “second tier” sport in the U.S., the NHL should do whatever it takes to make sure the games are available to viewers in HD if they hope to attract new hockey fans. If this requires a financial investment on the league’s part, then the league needs to make that investment. This would be far better than the NHL’s current practice of leaving its fans adrift and ever in search of hockey in HD.