The Winter Classic and "24/7 Road To The Winter Classic", two of the most popular and profitable recent facets of the NHL season, will move from HBO to Epix. The game and the series preceding it have allowed the league to reach the casual fan, an issue that has plagued the NHL for years.
According to a report from ESPN, the NHL plans to announce the wildly popular hockey reality series' move later this month. Epix, a cable entity born of collaboration between Lionsgate Entertainment, MGM and Paramount Pictures, will make the series available on a variety of platforms in the U.S.
The league will announce the details of the deal via a press briefing Sept. 23 in Washington.
Epix has reportedly been exploring the idea of producing original content, ala HBO's intense success with shows such as "Game of Thrones," "The Sopranos," "Girls" and of course "24/7 Road To The Winter Classic," as opposed to simply airing movies. The network, run by former HBO executive Mark Greenberg, has tabbed Ross Greenburg, another former HBO senior executive who helped launch the initial iteration of "24/7," to produce the series.
Greenburg will produce four segments ahead of the Washington Capitals and Chicago Blackhawks game Jan. 1 at Nationals Park, as well as an additional four segments in conjunction with the Stadium Series game Feb. 21 that pits the San Jose Sharks against the Los Angeles Kings at Levi's Field.
After three years, 15 Emmy nominations and three Emmy awards, the league reportedly made the move due to concerns that production value and overall quality could be compromised amid reports of Time Warner, HBO's parent company, exploring options for reducing costs.