Another sign of NHL partnership with ESPN

[Anisimovs AK]

Why would NHL go back with ESPN who doesn't really give a rip about it. They'll treat it as a 2nd fiddle and have everything else be higher priority over it. The most ESPN could get is streaming rights via ESPN+ nothing more.

They already have an ESPN+ streaming deal. Considering the deal they signed with BAMTECH is vastly superior monetarily, I doubt there is an ingrease in the one to 2 games a day they already get

 

[Anisimovs AK]

NHL on ESPN would be lousy, given how much crap gets shoved onto the ESPN+ tier, but it may beat the "7 or 8 teams exist and screw the rest" format NHL on NBC has where Chicago can be far away from playoff contention and we're stuck with them for 12 games while half the league has 2 games or less on either network.

That same thing happened with ESPN though. You know how many Rangers games were on ESPN/ABC even during their almost 10 year playoff-less streak?

 

[Anisimovs AK]

ESPN2 should in the fall start flexing three top CFB games from conferences they televise from Saturday to Sunday to provide an alternative for people in markets where their NFL team is struggling.

Also, Viacom and CBS just remerged, forming ViacomCBS. The CBS Sports division could want to start producing sports telecasts for networks other than CBS and CBSSN, such as The CW, which is co-owned with WarnerMedia. And it's very possible that because of this, ViacomCBS will pursue at least some of the cable rights to the NHL, with Paramount Network being used as the main outlet for CBS-produced NHL telecasts.

ESPN's NFL contract/a supreme court anti trust ruling does not allow for that to happen

 

[Bondurant]

Netflix or Prime would be epic. Have both and would love to have access to games without mooching my parents cable credentials. I have ESPN+ and enjoy having access to some Sportsnet broadcasts of games. Not a fan of ESPN+ overall. Only streams well on mobile. Purchased to watch 30 for 30 and Ajax games and was not happy to find out their app isn't downloadable as a normal device app but exclusive to some devices like Roku and PS.

The previous would also show the owners are forward thinking. Cable is a losing proposition long term. You'll get an older audience that still pays for cable but how many people under 40 still use cable? I have not paid for cable service since '08.

 

[SCBlueLiner]

NBC put 1 game on Golf because they were airing, what, 3 games at once?

Exactly. I don't see how anybody can complain about NBC putting a game on the Golf Channel when they put all the playoff games across all their other platforms. If anything NBC gives the NHL a huge platform. It's like the NCAA tournament broadcast across CBS, TBS, TNT, and TruTV. NBCSN has a game on practically every night along with a studio show. I don't understand why so much hate gets thrown towards NBC.

If the NHL is looking for another partner they should look towards FOX. Big FOX and FS1 would be good platforms for a couple more games a week. Also, enter into a simulcast partnership with Amazon Prime or Yahoo as streaming platforms like the NFL does.

ESPN is just not going to give the NHL primary billing. It will be relegated to the Deuce like it was back in the early 90's, NHL2Night.