BY JEREMY SCHILLING

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

It was announced so long ago that the Los Angeles Kings were still THAT team. The team that had not won a Stanley Cup.

On April 19, 2011, the National Hockey League and NBC announced a 10-year extension to their TV rights deal running through the 2020-2021 season. In the press release that accompanied the announcement the two parties said: “According to the agreement, the NBC Sports Group obtains digital rights across all platforms and devices for the games it televises.”

So why is this important NOW, you ask?

Because NBC has finally put those digital rights it acquired to good use and, as the NHL’s lockout finally comes to an end on Saturday, fans have an opportunity to take advantage of these new rights to enhance their enjoyment of the NHL.

Remember “NBC Olympics Live Extra”? That was the app for computers, tablets and mobile devices that allowed anyone to watch seemingly endless hours of live Olympics action on whatever device they chose during last summer’s London games. It was a gigantic success, and shortly after the Olympic flame was extinguished, NBC Sports repurposed the app for the other sports which it televises and has the proper digital rights to.

It is now called “NBC Sports Live Extra” and is still available, for free, in the Apple and Android app stores. For the moment it only shows golf and Notre Dame Football, but starting on Saturday NBC’s NHL telecasts will be added to the events available to be viewed live.

In a press release issued after a pre-season conference call with the media earlier this week, NBC noted that, in addition to their games streaming on NBCSports.com, “Also for the first time, Game of the Week broadcasts will stream live on the NBC Sports Live Extra app across mobile and tablet for Android and IOS devices.” There are two important things to note in that statement.

First, it only mentioned NBC’s “Game of the Week,” so don’t expect games airing on the NBC Sports Network to be available via the app. Secondly, it didn’t say anything about authentication, the topic we dedicated a whole column to last year which involved having to have an ID and password from your participating cable/satellite/telco provider in order to view the content.

Instead, as confirmed to New Jersey Newsroom by NBC Sports spokesman Christopher McCloskey, the telecasts will be available to everyone, free of charge.

And for angry hockey fans upset at the League for yet another work stoppage, anything that’s free and without hassle will come as a very positive development.