TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 30, 2026--
The Nation Network (“TNN”), part of Better Collective, today announced a major expansion of Daily Faceoff (“DFO”) alongside its programming lineup for the 2026/27 NHL season.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260930317031/en/
As part of the expansion, four of TNN’s established local hockey brands will come under the Daily Faceoff umbrella. Oilersnation, Flamesnation, TheLeafsNation and CanucksArmy will become Daily Faceoff Edmonton, Daily Faceoff Calgary, Daily Faceoff Toronto and Daily Faceoff Vancouver, respectively.
The evolution brings together the local voices and communities TNN has built over many years with Daily Faceoff’s national reach, reporting and expertise. The result is a more connected hockey offering spanning national and local coverage across web, social and video.
Jay Downton, founder of The Nation Network, said: “We have built incredibly strong local hockey communities over the years, while Daily Faceoff has established itself as a leading destination for hockey fans across North America. Bringing those strengths together is a natural next step for us. We want fans to get the best of both worlds: the local voices and personalities they already know, combined with the reach, reporting and expertise of Daily Faceoff.”
Expanded programming across North America
The brand expansion comes alongside TNN’s 2026/27 hockey programming lineup, bringing together national Daily Faceoff programming with dedicated coverage across Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and Ottawa.
Daily Faceoff’s national programming includes Morning Cuppa Hockey, Daily Faceoff Live, The Sheet with Jeff Marek and the new weekly DFO Insider, bringing Jeff Marek and David Pagnotta together every Wednesday.
The season also introduces several new additions across the network. Mike Halford and Jason Brough join Daily Faceoff Vancouver with the weekday Halford & Brough show, while The Sean Avery Show has launched under HockeyFights. In Montreal, former NHL player Maxim Lapierre will host Hockey With An Accent, marking TNN’s first daily English-language show dedicated to the Montreal market.
Existing programming across TNN’s markets will continue throughout the season, including dedicated pre- and post-game coverage, analysis and daily shows covering some of Canada’s largest hockey communities.
Connecting fans across platforms
The expansion goes beyond scheduled programming. Daily Faceoff is growing its presence across web, social and video, giving fans more ways to follow breaking news, game-day coverage, analysis, fantasy hockey and original content.
TNN is also launching #AskDFO, a new social-first video format that allows fans to submit questions to Daily Faceoff talent across its markets and receive answers directly from the network’s personalities each week.
The expanded offering will be supported by TNN’s recently opened flagship studio at 99 Spadina Avenue in Toronto, bringing editorial, video, social and creative teams together in a new production hub.
The Nation Network expands Daily Faceoff across Canada ahead of 2026/27 NHL season
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A commercial plane traveling from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates to Israel was forced to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, briefly raising concerns about a possible hijacking and prompting Israel to scramble warplanes.
Israeli media, citing security officials, said the incident stemmed from a feud between the plane’s two pilots, and everyone on board was safe. The plane landed in Tabuk, a civilian and military base in the kingdom.
The FlyDubai plane had transmitted an emergency alert, according to publicly available flight tracking information.
Around two and a half hours after departing from Dubai, it abruptly descended from 33,000 feet to 17,000 feet within a minute, before making an erratic circle close to the Jordanian border and eventually landing in Tabuk about an hour later, according to FlightRadar24.
A regional official briefed on the incident said a fight broke out in the cockpit and apparently involved pilots. It wasn’t immediately clear what had caused the fight, the official said.
A second official confirmed that Israel had scrambled warplanes, fearing a hijacking of a plane carrying dozens of its citizens. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned in recent days of unspecified, escalated security threats.
Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the incident was still under investigation.
Netanyahu’s office later said the situation was under control and Israel was working to bring the passengers home.
Emergency landings for personnel reasons are rare yet not unheard of. In 2022, two Air France pilots were suspended after fighting in the cockpit on a Geneva-Paris flight, though it did not have to be diverted and landed as planned.
Passengers told Israel’s Ch 12 by phone that they heard shouts from those sitting more forward on the plane who heard the altercation between the pilots, and the plane dipped steeply before landing in Saudi Arabia.
They also said that all the passengers are staying on the plane and that there is a heavy presence of Saudi security forces surrounding them.
FlyDubai later confirmed that flight FZ 1073 en route to Ben Gurion experienced an incident and landed safely in Tabuk on Wednesday.
“Our teams are working closely with the relevant authorities,” the carrier said. “Further updates will be issued as additional confirmed details become available.”
Flight-tracking data indicated that the plane was a Boeing 737 Max 8.
FlyDubai is the lower-cost sister carrier of Emirates airlines. The UAE has become a popular vacation destination for Israeli tourists since the countries normalized ties in 2020.
The low-cost carrier’s fleet relies entirely on variants of the 737, a twin-engine, single-aisle aircraft that is widely used by airlines around the world. It has nearly 100 of the planes, including 69 of the Max 8 variant.
Dubai International Airport, where the plane took off from, is by far the Middle East’s busiest airport and the world’s largest in terms of international travel. It handled a record 95.2 million passengers last year.
Israelis were targeted in a string of hijackings and airplane attacks by Palestinian militants in the 1960s and 1970s. Israel has not experienced a hijacking in decades but maintains some of the strictest airport security in the world, including often invasive check-in procedures for Israel-bound flights.
Commercial flights have flown between Israel and the United Arab Emirates since the countries normalized ties in 2020.
Magdy reported from Cairo and Metz from Jerusalem. Associated Press writer Adam Schreck in Bangkok contributed to this report.
Israeli passenger Haim Lazarovich, who experienced an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia, during a flight on FlyDubai plane, arrives at Ben Gurion International Airport, near Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Passengers who experienced an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia, during a flight on FlyDubai plane, arrive at Ben Gurion International Airport, near Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
An FlyDubai plane carrying Israeli passengers who had earlier been aboard another FlyDubai aircraft that made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia approaches Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Passengers embark on a FlyDubai aircraft at Ben Gurion International Airport, near Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Passengers check in their luggage with FlyDubai at Ben Gurion International Airport, near Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Holding balloons people wait for the arrival of passengers at Ben Gurion International Airport, near Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
A FlyDubai aircraft takes off from Dubai International Airport in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (AP Photo)
A plane takes off as a flydubai aircraft sits on the tarmac at Dubai International Airport in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (AP Photo)
FILE - Israeli tourists leave a FlyDubai plane which departed from Ben-Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv and landed in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Nov. 8, 2020.(AP Photo/Malak Harb, File)
