ESPN signs 7 year deal with the NHL

[Spydey629]

Two differences in price is 1.) the other 1,000 out of market games per year that ESPN also purchased. 2.) ESPN likely paid a premium to end NBC’s exclusivity and effectively end NBCSN as a competitor. I’m sure that will pay dividends in future rights negotiations for other properties having one less 24 sports network.

Now the motivations for the remaining bidders are different. Having made the decision to merge NBCSN and USA once it became clear they were losing half the rights, NBC is no longer in the position of desperately needing the NHL to keep their sports channel going. A big part of Fox’s motivation was also to kill off NBCSN, but ESPN has done that for them. Now it more about filling in spring programming for FS1 if the price is right.

There is still a deal to be done. The NHL has a lot of meat to sell, but their customers right now may not be as hungry.

You're right, just not what I meant. I was going apples to apples - the NBA is getting $2.6 Billion for 160+ games on two networks, while the NHL looks to get hopefully the same amount of games across two networks, but sadly for about a quarter of the dollars.

 

[gotyournose]

If fox gets the other package, do they get exclusive streaming rights for their games that won’t be on ESPN+? How would streaming work for the b package?

 

[sh724]

One thing that I’d like to find out is how many total regular season games that package A + B will air?

The ESPN/Turner NBA deal worth $2.6B per year airs roughly 164 regular season games, 100 of those games goes to ESPN. So I’m a little curious to see how many total games the NHL packages will carry in contrast as the NBA package looks massive in comparison, but perhaps it’s just the sheer hours of content that makes the biggest difference.

The NHL media rights package won't come close to matching the NBAs and was never expected to for many reasons. For starters the NHL is basically a 24 (25 next year) team league for US TV contracts. Then you look at the number of very large markets that do not have teams Houston, Atlanta, etc.

Also its been widely reported who ESPN is loosing their ass on the NBA contract and vastly overpaid. They werent going to make that mistake again

 

[sh724]

If fox gets the other package, do they get exclusive streaming rights for their games that won’t be on ESPN+? How would streaming work for the b package?

It is unknown at this point, but i would surmise whomever gets the other package will have the streaming rights for any games exclusively televised.

 

[Major4Boarding]

Didn't see it recently in this thread (pre-occupied) but going back to the ESPN+ subscription fee (big increase?). I had an email stating I could upgrade my Disney+ subscription to include ESPN+ and Hulu (No adds) to a total of $18.99 a month (all 3). So, for $12 (after 25% off discount) I was able to add both. So I don't see the ESPN+ subscription fee going up substantially

 

[qwerty]

Oh definitely, I wasn’t expecting the NHL’s deal to ever come close to matching the NBA’s deal. I was more so trying to differentiate between NHL’s package vs the NBA’s package and the biggest difference I noticed seemed to be the sheer volume of total hours/games they’d be getting, but I could be wrong.

I assume that the streaming deal with ESPN essentially ends the chances of DAZN getting a share of the streaming pie?

 

[qwerty]

I can now see why the NHL was looking to grow its footprint into China over the last couple years. Think I saw Tencent paying something around $1.5 billion to air NBA games over the next 5 years?

That amount alone is likely to be worth more than the NHL’s B package with Fox or NBC or etc...

 

[Kirk Van Houten]

I can now see why the NHL was looking to grow its footprint into China over the last couple years. Think I saw Tencent paying something around $1.5 billion to air NBA games over the next 5 years?

That amount alone is likely to be worth more than the NHL’s B package with Fox or NBC or etc...

Yeah China pays a lot of money to sports leagues for their deals but we all now the flip side of having a deal with them. I'm not even going to get there.

 

[Dirby Kach]

Does this mean an end to Pierre McGuire maybe?

he's taking over for Marc Bergevin this offseason.

 

[LadyStanley]

Given the current political environment, I'd expect a grouping like Steve Levy, Anson Carter and Kendal Coyne-Schofield.

I'd expect 1-2 main groups plus some pick up folks.

NBCSN often picks their local NBC RSN crews for extra spots.

 

[Kirk Van Houten]

I'm watching the NFL Live special for the official start of free agency. Y'all think they could the same with the NHL now they have the rights? Shows for free agency and the deadline. I'm not sure is NBC has ever done that I usually watch the canadian shows.

 

[LadyStanley]

I'm watching the NFL Live special for the official start of free agency. Y'all think they could the same with the NHL now they have the rights? Shows for free agency and the deadline. I'm not sure is NBC has ever done that I usually watch the canadian shows.

NBCSN hosted 1st round of draft. (NHL Network had rounds 2-7. And showed Canadian free agency opening programing.)

 

[jkrdevil]

I'm watching the NFL Live special for the official start of free agency. Y'all think they could the same with the NHL now they have the rights? Shows for free agency and the deadline. I'm not sure is NBC has ever done that I usually watch the canadian shows.

You might get something on ESPN+ and an hour on the trade deadline for tv...otherwise no. Don’t expect much side programming on the tv side. As others have pointed out, it is mostly an digital rights deal.

 

[LadyStanley]

Levy speaks

 

[Big Z Man 1990]

the MUSIC IS COMING BACK

While we're on the subject of bringing back old themes, ABC's NFL broadcasts should be presented in a way that appeals to those who watched MNF in most of the 1990s, involving the use of these two themes:

 

[timorous me]

While we're on the subject of bringing back old themes, ABC's NFL broadcasts should be presented in a way that appeals to those who watched MNF in most of the 1990s, involving the use of these two themes:

That Monday Night Football music is iconic. Really sets the mood. I didn't even realize they don't use it anymore since I'm pretty much divorced from the NFL, but I guess I can't say I'm surprised.

The ESPN theme also brings back memories. I'd forgotten about the bridge featuring a bass solo. Interesting choice. Still quite good, though.

 

[jkrdevil]

That Monday Night Football music is iconic. Really sets the mood. I didn't even realize they don't use it anymore since I'm pretty much divorced from the NFL, but I guess I can't say I'm surprised.

The ESPN theme also brings back memories. I'd forgotten about the bridge featuring a bass solo. Interesting choice. Still quite good, though.

They still use the theme in the first video (Heavy Action). Part of the reason though that theme is so iconic is because Disney/ABC/ESPN doesn’t own the theme. It is a piece of production music from the 70’s that anyone can license and use. That’s why it is used in a lot of commercials which has helped make it iconic. A lot of the tv themes from that era like that (The NFL Today and This week in baseball come to mind).

Of course as these pieces of music got more and more associated with the broadcast, networks moved to create their own custom themes that they owned the rights to. That is how the theme from the second video came into existence. But ESPN dropped that one when MNF moved from ABC to ESPN.

 

[Big Z Man 1990]

That Monday Night Football music is iconic. Really sets the mood. I didn't even realize they don't use it anymore since I'm pretty much divorced from the NFL, but I guess I can't say I'm surprised.

The ESPN theme also brings back memories. I'd forgotten about the bridge featuring a bass solo. Interesting choice. Still quite good, though.

That ESPN theme was actually an ABC theme

 

[Big Z Man 1990]

They still use the theme in the first video (Heavy Action). Part of the reason though that theme is so iconic is because Disney/ABC/ESPN doesn’t own the theme. It is a piece of production music from the 70’s that anyone can license and use. That’s why it is used in a lot of commercials which has helped make it iconic. A lot of the tv themes from that era like that (The NFL Today and This week in baseball come to mind).

Of course as these pieces of music got more and more associated with the broadcast, networks moved to create their own custom themes that they owned the rights to. That is how the theme from the second video came into existence. But ESPN dropped that one when MNF moved from ABC to ESPN.

The 1990 version of Heavy Action to me stands out more than the original 70s version or subsequent versions. It is heavily associated with the Frank and Al and Dan era, especially since 1990 was the first year it was used as an in-game theme.

 

[Big Z Man 1990]

My desire for ABC's NFL broadcasts to use the themes they used in the 1990s is similar to my desire for ESPN's college football broadcasts to bring back classic ESPN and ABC themes from the 1990s. CBS is still using their classic college football theme.

 

[DaBadGuy7]

My desire for ABC's NFL broadcasts to use the themes they used in the 1990s is similar to my desire for ESPN's college football broadcasts to bring back classic ESPN and ABC themes from the 1990s. CBS is still using their classic college football theme.

I agree they should but they won’t, basically since the mid 90s ABC Sports was in name only as ESPN integration was in full effect. ABC Sports is gone forever, ESPN is the only sports brand needed in the Disney umbrella.

 

[Big Z Man 1990]

I agree they should but they won’t, basically since the mid 90s ABC Sports was in name only as ESPN integration was in full effect. ABC Sports is gone forever, ESPN is the only sports brand needed in the Disney umbrella.

The major media companies know that nostalgia is very valuable. Hence, the various revivals and reboots of TV shows from decades past. The value of nostalgia would also drive ESPN to de-emphasize its own name on ABC's broadcasts of NFL games in order to attract viewers who grew up on Frank and Al and Dan.

 

[Kirk Van Houten]

ABC, ESPN and ESPN+ to Carry More Than 380 Major League Soccer Regular Season Matches in 2021 - ESPN Press Room U.S.

So the MLS is getting 32 games on ABC/ESPN this season but almost all are before the 21/22 NHL season begins so it's going to be intresting to see how many games they'll be getting next year if the NHL gets 25.

 

[jkrdevil]

ABC, ESPN and ESPN+ to Carry More Than 380 Major League Soccer Regular Season Matches in 2021 - ESPN Press Room U.S.

So the MLS is getting 32 games on ABC/ESPN this season but almost all are before the 21/22 NHL season begins so it's going to be intresting to see how many games they'll be getting next year if the NHL gets 25.

Oof the later half of that schedule all being up against NFL Sundays is brutal.

As for next season, I don’t think it will have much of an effect as most of the MLS games are Sunday afternoon on ESPN in a timeslot the NHL would presumably not be getting. Maybe some of the ABC telecast shift around as that would be a timeslot the NHL would get for over the air.

 

[KopitarFAN]

I just want to know what ESPN+ is going to cost now, or are we going to have to buy the NHL package as an add on?