[3] The first complete broadcast of a professional game was made on March 14, 1923 on CKCK out of Regina, Saskatchewan and reported by Pete Parker.
The game was not an NHL contest, but rather a Western Canada Hockey League featuring the Regina Capitals.
Foster Hewitt was play-by-play commentator for the test run, so network and ad executives could see how well hockey could be televised.
The infusion of money has made the major leagues far more professional with vastly higher salaries for players.
Major games like those of the 1972 Summit Series or the 2002 Winter Olympics have received some of the highest ratings in Canadian television history.
Hockey Night in Canada, or HNIC, is by far CBC's most profitable show and supports many of the corporation's other ventures.
[7] Hockey hasn't traditionally fared as well on American television compared to the NBA, MLB, or the NFL.
One of their schemes was to make the hockey puck more visible by highlighting it on television with a blue comet, using FoxTrax.
When a slapshot over 70 miles per hour was made, the puck would leave a red comet trail on the television.
The NBC deal stipulated that the network would pay the league no rights fees - an unheard of practice to that point.
NBC's deal included six regular season windows, seven postseason broadcasts and games 3–7 of the Stanley Cup Finals in primetime.
NBC Sports Network will also cover the playoffs and will exclusively air Games 1 and 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals.
Collegiate hockey's television coverage has expanded in the late 2000s, with national networks CSTV, and ESPNU carrying numerous regular-season contests.