NHL’s Next TV Deal

[patnyrnyg]

Wouldn’t the NHL suffer from no ticket/merch sales and the Network be the winners?

Why would they suffer from merchandise sales? I can still buy t-shirts and hats. Most people going to games do NOT buy merchandise at the arenas.

 

[patnyrnyg]

Whatever happens, I really hope we might get the end of Blackouts on NHL.TV. Then maybe I can move to near Vegas and still be able to see the Sharks.

Why would they do that? Teams make a lot more money with their local deals than they do from the national deals. Why would a channel (that is not owned by the team or same parent company as the team) pay big money for local rights if anyone could get the games via a package? Never going to happen.

 

[patnyrnyg]

The NHLs needs to re-up with NBC for more money.

But the league itself needs to have every game online and have every franchise push this on the fans for free to create a major online/mobile fan friendly avenue for the future

Then, how will the local carriers make money? Why would I pay for MSG Network if I can get the Rangers (and Isles and Devils) for free online? MSG is owned by the Rangers and why would they pay for the Isles and Devils rights?

 

[patnyrnyg]

I think the best for the NHL in its next US TV deal would be:

- 70%-30% split between NBC and ABC/ESPN with NBC getting 70%.
- NBC continuing its weekly games on Wednesday's on NBCSN as well.
- ESPN getting a new Thursday night game on ESPN/ESPN2
- Winter Classic and the All Star Game on NBC and not NBCSN.
- NBCU and ESPN splitting round 1 and 2 of the playoffs. (NBC gets first pick in each round)
- NBC showing all Conference Finals and Stanley Cup Finals game with every SCF game on the main NBC network.

Annual amount the NHL should target for this deal should be around $650M (450M from NBC and 200M from ESPN).

So long as the bolded are not "exclusive". Very annoying that they load up Tuesday and Thursday, but have 1 game on Wednesday night league wide.

 

[Kegsey]

Why would they suffer from merchandise sales? I can still buy t-shirts and hats. Most people going to games do NOT buy merchandise at the arenas.

Okay but ticket sales? You conveniently ignored a major part of my post/point.

 

[SJSharksfan39]

Why would they do that? Teams make a lot more money with their local deals than they do from the national deals. Why would a channel (that is not owned by the team or same parent company as the team) pay big money for local rights if anyone could get the games via a package? Never going to happen.

Fine, than adjust it so if I move to Navada, I can still see the Sharks because they aren't offered via cable.

 

[Anisimovs AK]

disagree....posters keep forgetting the local..... that has to be included in addition to the national contract

As Hawk already said, they have nothing to do with each other. Local tv contract terms/stations differ by team, so how exactly would they be included in the National tv contract? The $20 million a year LA gets for their local tv contract is not included in the NBC or the Sportsnet contract. It was signed in 2016, long after both of those contracts had been penned

 

[Anisimovs AK]

Fine, than adjust it so if I move to Navada, I can still see the Sharks because they aren't offered via cable.

You can, its called paying for NHL centre ice

 

[SJSharksfan39]

You can, its called paying for NHL centre ice

But the Sharks games are blacked out on Center Ice. That was my original point. The regional blackouts (If they still continue that archaic policy) need to be redefined.

 

[Anisimovs AK]

But the Sharks games are blacked out on Center Ice. That was my original point. The regional blackouts (If they still continue that archaic policy) need to be redefined.

If you are in Vegas the Sharks wont be blacked unless they are playing Vegas, and then you could just watch it on your regular cable. The "local" blackout only blacks out the game in the SJ-SF market.


The hypothetical you gave was wanting to watch the Sharks if you moved to Nevada. You can easily do that, you just have to pay for it

 

[SJSharksfan39]

If you are in Vegas the Sharks wont be blacked unless they are playing Vegas, and then you could just watch it on your regular cable. The "local" blackout only blacks out the game in the SJ-SF market.


The hypothetical you gave was wanting to watch the Sharks if you moved to Nevada. You can easily do that, you just have to pay for it

You are right. I guess it's just Reno then. Reno blacks out Vegas and The Sharks.

 

[patnyrnyg]

Okay but ticket sales? You conveniently ignored a major part of my post/point.

I did not ignore anything. I agree that they will lose revenue on ticket sales.

 

[patnyrnyg]

Fine, than adjust it so if I move to Navada, I can still see the Sharks because they aren't offered via cable.

Yes, there are dead-zones around the country. Too far away to have the nearest team on an RSN, but too close for Center-Ice. I believe there are parts of South Jersey that are like that. Can't get Rangers, Isles, Devils on an RSN as it is Flyers territory, but then you can't get the NYC area teams on Center Ice either. Same with parts of upstate NY. I could understand the issues when Center Ice first became available, but it has been 20 years and they should have been able to get it straightened out by now.

 

[DaBadGuy7]

Next USA deal:

7-9 years

NBC 50 % 400 $
FOX 40 % 300 $
Wild card tech company 10 % 75 $

Total package 775 million $

I think 600-650 is more realistic with NBC at %60, FOX or ESPN at 30% and I gonna guess ESPN + retains streaming rights. I know McKenzie and Friedman have speculated that early reports state that NBC/ESPN is the current favorite. But I still believe FOX is the wild card based on the fact FS1 is a struggling network and that FOX is more focused on live content OTA then traditional drama, sitcoms, or reality TV shows. I think FOX can easily outbid ESPN and offer for more content throughout the season. I feel like returning to ESPN wouldn’t be what the league hopes for. It would probably be a random Tuesday night on ESPN/ESPN 2 depending on what other events they have. It’s gonna be more difficult for NHL to find its footing on ESPN compared to 2004 when it was last on the network imo.

 

[Djp]

I think 600-650 is more realistic with NBC at %60, FOX or ESPN at 30% and I gonna guess ESPN + retains streaming rights. I know McKenzie and Friedman have speculated that early reports state that NBC/ESPN is the current favorite. But I still believe FOX is the wild card based on the fact FS1 is a struggling network and that FOX is more focused on live content OTA then traditional drama, sitcoms, or reality TV shows. I think FOX can easily outbid ESPN and offer for more content throughout the season. I feel like returning to ESPN wouldn’t be what the league hopes for. It would probably be a random Tuesday night on ESPN/ESPN 2 depending on what other events they have. It’s gonna be more difficult for NHL to find its footing on ESPN compared to 2004 when it was last on the network imo.

ESPN would be the bad choice. NhHL would be a low priority.

In the fall

Thursday-Saturday college football, monday nfl, you have tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday...thry also have nba and I think soccer.

In the winter it’s college basketball and more nba

I can see ESPN + getting streaming rights and tv getting a game of the week and a playoff series in 1st round.

You have Fox, nbcsn, cbs sn are other cable sports stations

The could split it where NBC is weekend game and playoffs.

ESPN getting game of the week and first round playoff series.
Fox/FS1 getting 2 games a week and 2 playoff series in first two rounds
NBCSN getting 3 games a week and rest of playoffs.

Fox could tap into it regional Fox broadcasts similar to nbcsn tapping Comcast broadcasts.

They should market a late Saturday night game of the week that starts st 9pm or later. Most in mountain or west sites.

 

[Djp]

I will use here to comment. Someone posted a now closed thread on some YouTube sports podcast commenting on tv ratings.

Here is a big problem. Not every market used is an immediate digital viewing data reporting market so data is skewed. Just teams playing in the games will have more viewers than what was reporting.

 

[DaBadGuy7]

 

[Hockeyholic]

Personally, I think the league should stay with NBC & have FOX as their other broadcast partner. Joe Buck play by play would be cool.

Just say no to ESPN. It's going down the tubes. Layoffs. Political stuff. Kellerman's comments.

 

[DaBadGuy7]

Personally, I think the league should stay with NBC & have FOX as their other broadcast partner. Joe Buck play by play would be cool.

Just say no to ESPN. It's going down the tubes. Layoffs. Political stuff. Kellerman's comments.

Joe Buck has admitted that hockey play-by-play would too difficult for him. My guess is Kenny Albert leaves NBC and becomes FOX’s #1 guy and Forslund becomes NBC’s #2.

 

[jkrdevil]

ESPN would be the bad choice. NhHL would be a low priority.

In the fall

Thursday-Saturday college football, monday nfl, you have tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday...thry also have nba and I think soccer.

In the winter it’s college basketball and more nba

I can see ESPN + getting streaming rights and tv getting a game of the week and a playoff series in 1st round.

You have Fox, nbcsn, cbs sn are other cable sports stations

The could split it where NBC is weekend game and playoffs.

ESPN getting game of the week and first round playoff series.
Fox/FS1 getting 2 games a week and 2 playoff series in first two rounds
NBCSN getting 3 games a week and rest of playoffs.

Fox could tap into it regional Fox broadcasts similar to nbcsn tapping Comcast broadcasts.

They should market a late Saturday night game of the week that starts st 9pm or later. Most in mountain or west sites.

Fox doesn’t own their regional channels anymore and I believe they are schedule to be rebranded.

 

[Big Z Man 1990]

Fox doesn’t own their regional channels anymore and I believe they are schedule to be rebranded.

The reason they haven't rebranded yet is because of the pandemic.

 

[Big Z Man 1990]

Simply put, CBS will not be a player in these negotiations.

I know it's a late reply, but CBS Sports could produce events for ViacomCBS-owned cable networks that are too high profile to air on CBSSN. If that network weren't included in an NHL deal with ViacomCBS, the Domestic Media Networks division could be. The Paramount Network is how I see CBS Sports returning to involvement with Major League Baseball, for example.

 

[Ernie]

Bumping this because I saw an interesting quote from Comcast CEO Brian Roberts from a larger article on the Peacock streaming service and related issues.

Asked if Comcast cares if consumers want cable TV or just streaming services, he said the company is "nearly" at the point where it doesn't care, before adding: "frankly, we're there."​

A major reason cited for the growth in TV sports deals was the attempt by cable companies to slow cord cutting. If they no longer care because they can offset with streaming options, what does that do for the NHL's next TV deal?

It should be obvious by now that the NHL needs to get into streaming in a major way. Whether that's putting the content on an existing platform or rolling with their own, they need a solution for the next decade.

A major flaw with the league's current streaming options is the local blackouts. But these dynamics will also start affecting local tv deals as well. They need to start rolling these deals up and getting teams on a centralized streaming platform.

 

[DaBadGuy7]

 

[Blackhawkswincup]

NHL would be committing suicide taking deal with ESPN an organization that has spent 15 years pretending hockey didn't exist (They dont even show hockey highlights)

NHL games will get bumped to ESPN32 and they will cut away NHL playoff games to cover NBA pregame 2-3 hours before games begin

Also ESPN is still cutting costs whenever they can so you would likely end up with people doing hockey coverage who either hate sport or dont know a thing about it

NBC has been great to NHL