sentences:  The channel also picks up simulcasts of games from regional rightsholders; live games on NHL Network that involve U.S. teams are non-exclusive, and are blacked out in the markets of U.S. teams involved in favor of local broadcasters.The league hired Ascent Media to manage and distribute the channel, through its publicly traded subsidiary, Ascent Media Network Services.When it launched, the NHL Network became the third sports-oriented cable network devoted to programming from and controlled by a major sports league, following the National Basketball Association-owned NBA TV (which launched in March 1999) and the National Football League-owned NFL Network (which launched in November 2003); Major League Baseball would launch its own sports channel, MLB Network, on January 1, 2009.