December 17, 2010, 12:23 pm
Daly Says N.H.L. Revenue Sharing May Change
By CHRISTOPHER BOTTA
According to N.H.L. deputy commissioner Bill Daly, the league’s system of sharing revenue with lower-profile teams in large markets will likely change in the next collective bargaining agreement. In the C.B.A. that was negotiated in 2005, it was decided that teams in markets with television households of 2.5 million or more would not qualify for revenue sharing. As a result, the Islanders, New Jersey Devils and Anaheim Ducks are on the outside looking in.
“It’s probably a technicality, although it’s an intentional technicality of how the revenue sharing was originally constructed under the C.B.A.,” Daly said in an interview with SNY Point Blank, when asked about the Islanders’ status as a large-market franchise. “The concept was that, if your team plays in a large media market, and certainly the Islanders reside and play in a large media market — probably the largest in the world — that you should not qualify for revenue sharing in part because of what your local media rights opportunities are.”
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“We have certainly heard from the Islanders and others over the years as to why that provision may be unfair in their circumstances,” said Daly. ” Revenue sharing is something we have collectively bargained with the union. We have a collective bargaining agreement coming up in a year and a half, and I suspect the revenue sharing model is something that’s going to be looked at closely. There may be changes.”
Daly said teams such as the Islanders, Devils and Ducks accepted their status when the current agreement was completed five years ago. “Since then, they’ve had different points of views,” said Daly. “Those are all things we have to throw in the mix when we negotiate the next time.”
