There is an outside shot of a Preakness redux for tonight’s Stanley Cup playoff action on NBC.
If tonight’s Predators-Blackhawks Stanley Cup playoff game on NBC runs long and begins to threaten Saturday Night Live, coverage will move from NBC to CNBC outside of the home markets, an NBC Sports spokesperson confirmed. NBCSN is not available as it has a playoff doubleheader.
Saturday Night Live has always been a consideration when scheduling primetime sporting events on NBC. That is especially the case given the program’s increased prominence this season and the fact that tonight is its first time airing live in all time zones. The network no doubt wants to avoid a repeat of the February 2001 incident in which an XFL overtime delayed a new SNL so long that it had to eventually air on tape delay.
NBC has long had to institute contingency plans for long-running NHL playoff games, though they are rarely implemented. Ten years ago, it moved the conclusion of the deciding game of the Eastern Conference final to Versus (now NBCSN) to avoid preempting part of its Preakness coverage.
(Sat. news from NBC Sports)
