For the better part of the past decade, there have always been two free previews: The first 10 days of the season and the first week after the AllStar Game. It happens every year, across all platforms and is sponsored by inDemand.com as a sales tactic.
These channels generally share space with NHL Center Ice, which also has two free previews: The first two weeks of the regular season and the 8 days after the All-Star game.
The seasons used to overlap in late September/early October, but now the NHL starts after baseball playoffs begin. There is some minor overlap in early April, usually giving another week or so of free NHL Center Ice.
