for the first time, will air the Stanley Cup final matches in its entirely, although this only occurs during even-numbered years, while Turner Sports will also the Stanley Cup Finals during odd-numbered years. ESPN will also air up to 75 games The NHL's American television popularity has been increasing since the debut of the NHL Winter Classic in 2008; the Winter Classic has earned Nielsen ratings on par with those the league had in 1975, when there were far fewer channels and much less audience fracturing. Minor league hockey has more limited national coverage; the America One network currently holds broadcast rights to select games in the American Hockey League and the ECHL, the two top minor leagues in North America. Individual teams (both major and minor, though far more common in the major leagues) have long contracted to air their games on local channels, primarily on Regional sports networks and in a few cases on broadcast channels as well. Collegiate hockey's television coverage has expanded in the late 2000s, with national networks CSTV, and ESPNU carrying numerous regular-season contests. ESPNU airs the NCAA's Division I tournament (with the semifinals airing on ESPN2 and the final game on ESPN), and CSTV carries games from other levels' tournaments. Regular-season games can also be found on specialty channels Big Ten Network and Fox College Sports, along with Midwest regional sports networks FSN North, FSN Wisconsin, and FSN Detroit. Europe In 2004, the NHL announced that games would be broadcast across the European continent on the ESPN America as part of a four-year deal that would also include live streaming of games across the Internet. The league previously had agreements with the Galaxie network of the Czech Republic and NTV's TV7 channel in Russia. References External links NHL Television Broadcasting Puck The Media NHL U.S. Broadcast Deals Olympics on television