NOTES

Many hockey fans will be affected if a conflict between Disney-owned ABC TV and Time Warner Cable is not settled by the weekend and ABC programming remains unavailable on Time Warner Cable systems.

ABC, in the first year of a five-year, $600-million contract with the NHL to televise games on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2, is scheduled to show two playoff games regionally Sunday.

“Obviously, we’re concerned about it and we’re hoping it gets resolved soon,” said Frank Brown, the NHL’s vice president of media relations. “But this is a dispute between ABC and Time Warner, and we just eagerly await a resolution.”

Mark Mandel, director of media relations for ABC Sports, said the network will not change its schedule because of the dispute. “We’re going as planned,” he said. “There’s not much I can tell you. There are no contingencies planned.”

Diane Lamb of ESPN said ESPN and ESPN2 will not change their plans because of the dispute. The two cable networks have not scheduled telecasts beyond the minimum four games for each series except for the Toronto-New Jersey series, because the Maple Leafs and Devils split their first two games and have already ensured a fifth game will be necessary, so ESPN2 will televise Game 5 of that series Saturday.

ABC is also televising Saturday’s Kentucky Derby.