The National Hockey League has decided to take the money and run. But the league might be running away and hiding from many of its potential viewers.

SportsChannel America is the NHL's new national TV carrier, in a three-year, $51 million deal that more than doubled what ESPN paid the league the past three seasons. SportsChannel America, a consortium of regional cable sports networks operated by Long Island, N.Y.-based Cablevision Systems Corp., has about 6 1/2 million subscribers; ESPN has about 48 million.

SportsChannel America is showing far more NHL games than ESPN did, but fewer people have access to them and those who do must pay more than they did last season. The ESPN viewer in the Washington area last season could see 33 regular season NHL games and 37 playoff games. This season, cabled Washingtonians can see SportsChannel America's offerings on Home Team Sports -- a premium service available to most subscribers at an extra fee. HTS will have close to 50 regular season NHL games and up to 37 playoff games (plus, of course, its usual schedule of Capitals games).

The NHL and SportsChannel America say this is all part of a grand design -- to regionalize coverage of the sport, to intensify the circulation of games in the areas most interested in hockey. In the process, the NHL might lose the chance to pick up casual new fans who might peek in at a game or two on ESPN but wouldn't pay an extra fee to see hockey on a premium service like HTS.

"The NHL made a conscious decision that where they were strong, they wanted to strengthen themselves and where they were weak, they wouldn't worry about," said Jody Shapiro, HTS' director of programming and executive producer.

"It became apparent to me that hockey had better stop pounding on the door of the three skyscrapers around the corner here {the networks in New York}," said Joel Nixon, the NHL's vice president for broadcasting. "We felt that if there was to be growth, it probably would be to find a new way to get to our markets. We'll probably end up with a package that brings more hockey to the people who want to see it."

What the NHL and SportsChannel America are trying to do is an alternate, regional approach to ESPN's game-of-the-week presentation. Instead of showing a national game that competes with local telecasts in NHL markets, SportsChannel America is offering regional selections that outlets such as HTS can pick up as an adjunct to their own home-team telecasts. SportsChannel America offers 185 NHL telecasts; cable services in NHL markets can choose two games a week and services in non-NHL markets can choose three a week.

"I think we've taken the next step in the way sports is delivered to the public," said Jeff Ruhe, SportsChannel America's senior vice president and executive producer. "{ESPN} was competing against the Islanders playing in Philadelphia, the Blackhawks playing in Minnesota and so on. The local fan, say in Washington, is in all likelihood going to be watching a Capitals game before he watches a national game {on ESPN}."

Indeed, ESPN last season got a 0.9 rating for its regular season NHL telecasts, meaning fewer than 500,000 homes were tuning in. Ruhe claims that "on any given night, even given our {limited} distribution right now, we have more people watching our hockey games than ESPN ever had." That won't be known for some time, for Nielsen will not do a rating for SportsChannel America until it is available in 15 million homes.

SportsChannel America says it will be in eight to 10 million homes when it goes to seven-nights-a-week programming Jan. 3. (At that time, HTS will add SportsChannel America's "Sports Nightly" 30-minute studio wrapup show to its schedule.) The major stumbling block for the burgeoning network, which began operation Oct. 6, has been finding takers for its sports menu. SportsChannel America services regional cable networks in New York, New England, Philadelphia, Chicago and Florida. It's trying to work out arrangements with other regional cable networks like HTS and multiple-system cable operators to add to its subscriber base. Until then, hockey fans, particularly those not in NHL markets, suddenly find themselves deprived of any hockey.

"We're as distressed as they are that it hasn't moved more quickly," Nixon said.

Still, SportsChannel America thinks once it gets settled, its regional approach can make it a national competitor of sorts with ESPN for major sports TV rights. SportsChannel America and NHL officials point to the new NHL TV approach as parallel to how the National Football League has built its viewership the past 20 years. The NFL, which SportsChannel America senior vice president Tom Chestnut calls "the master of regionalization," makes sure that local markets all see their local teams, preceded or followed by a game of regional or national interest.

There is a big difference, though. Those NFL telecasts are available to everyone, at no cost. Even after SportsChannel America becomes well-established, its NHL telecasts will be available to a limited audience, at a cost. The NHL has decided, apparently, to continue preaching to its own congregation only and stop wandering the nation for converts. Time will tell whether that's shortsighted or visionary, but for now at least -- considering SportsChannel America's spiraling rights payment to the league -- it's money in the bank.