US cable television channel One World Sports has acquired exclusive, multiplatform rights in North America to the Kontinental Hockey League, the top division of ice hockey in Russia.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the KHL said One World Sports’ coverage will begin with four regular-season games in February, immediately following the Olympic winter Games.
Coverage will continue in April with live or same-day coverage of the league’s two conference finals and championship series. KHL content will be distributed across all One World Sports platforms, spanning the linear channel and broadband and mobile via the network’s Watch One World Sports app.
Alexander Brown, president and chief executive of One World Sports, said: “With a significant number of NHL alumni in the KHL, we anticipate that our coverage will attract hockey fans across North America.”
Along with 21 teams from Russia, the KHL also includes one team each from the Czech Republic, Latvia, Slovakia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Belarus and Croatia.