NHL on FOX?

[BKIslandersFan]

ESPN defecated all over the NHL the last time they had broadcast rights. Then followed that up by lowballing the league with such an insulting offer that the NHL walked away with its tail between its legs to broadcast games on Vs. and for free on NBC.

The idea that Bettman has forgotten that is absurd. I’d be shocked if they ever went back to ESPN or ABC for the major TV package under Bettman’s watch. Nobody has ever promoted the league the way NBC and FOX have. NBC has been a phenomenal TV partner.

I suspect Bettman is an ultimate businessman and won’t let pettiness get in the way of good business, if need be.

 

[DaBadGuy7]

And they only have one game a week on espn or espn 2 and F1 is on early in the morning on abc and espn so maybe they could have Sunday games on abc and make espn and NBCSN asthe cable networks, even if ABC doesn't get the rights to Sunday night football, hockey is after baseball season and they could have a primetime hockey game on ESPN on Sunday and Monday night.

You realize NBA On ABC has games on Sunday afternoon as well as their Saturday Night Showcase games. Like I said, it will be hard for NHL to have games on ESPN during the fall-winter months consistently unless they are fine with games on ESPN 2. I think FOX and NBC will have favorable time slots to put the games on during the week on cable and OTA on the weekend.

 

[S E P H]

SN is laying off analysts because their deal hasn’t panned out like they hoped.

US deal will be for more than what they are currently getting but I doubt we’ll see anything like triple the current annual value.

ESPN has done the same aspect due to the consequences of the NBA TV deal and both leagues are in great shape.

My favorite Skip Bayless Hockey topic was the day after the first Winter Classic in 2008 when he was on First Take. It was more a debate about whether or not the NHL should keep doing them but Skip was so disgusted that he had to talk about Hockey for perhaps the first time in his life that he made it known from the start that he wanted to continue the last debate, probably something Kobe or LeBron related, and spent the entire time lambasting the NHL for not being as popular as the NFL or NBA and therefore it wasn't worth his time. Wouldn't acknowledge it at all and he acted like a child being told to do their homework instead of playing video games, the guest filling in for Stephen A. Smith even told him so and Skip just shrugged his shoulders and said he didn't care and wanted to talk more NBA. It was ridiculous, but typical for someone of Skips persona. On the other hand the guest that day was Michael Smith from His and Hers, and he knew his ****, could name several of the players that day and their positions besides just Crosby. I was impressed.

Skip doesn't like just talking about hockey, he wrote an article on ESPN where he pretty much called it the worst sport ever made.

 

[Ted Hoffman]

ESPN's interest in the NHL has been discussed numerous times. It really comes down to "we want it so no one else has it, so we're the one-stop shop for sports programming." For those thinking ESPN would be a great landing spot: ask yourself what's different with ESPN 15 years after it had the rights. At the end, the NHL was pretty much confined to ESPN2 at the end, with coverage on ESPN only because it was contractually obligated; nothing more.

Since then? ESPN has added
-- The College Football Playoff [and all the hype leading up to it]
-- College football for the Big 12, BYU, and Pac-12 in addition to expanded coverage of the ACC, B1G, and SEC along with adding numerous other conferences and virtually all the bowl games
-- College basketball for the Pac-12 in addition to expanded coverage of the ACC, B1G and Big 12
-- Coverage of other college sports, especially their NCAA tournaments
-- Monday Night Football [and all the hype surrounding the NFL]
-- Expanded coverage of the NBA [and all the hype surrounding it]
-- Expanded coverage of MLB [and all the hype surrounding it]
-- Exclusive coverage of the U.S. Open in tennis
-- Exclusive coverage of Wimbledon [since 2012, instead of co-coverage]
-- Co-coverage of the Masters and U.S. Open in golf
-- Formula 1
-- UFC

What has it lost besides the NHL? Really, not that much for Joe American Sports Fan:
-- UEFA Champions League
-- English Premier League, La Liga and Bundesliga [gained, then lost]
-- NASCAR
-- IndyCar
-- Breeder's Cup

So ... where the hell is the NHL going to land on the ESPN networks? And how often do you really think it's going to get top-tier coverage on the main network?

 

[SwaggySpungo]

I suspect Bettman is an ultimate businessman and won’t let pettiness get in the way of good business, if need be.

Having your TV partner take a giant steaming dump on your brand night after night is most certainly not good business. The NHL found that out the hard way the last time they were on ESPN.

 

[awfulwaffle]

I like nbc, there is nearly a game on every night it seems like. But would like to see more money. Nhl is far too gate driven. Better tv deals will only help the league and the worry of teams not drawing as many fans as other teams won't be as big of an issue anymore.

 

[Ted Hoffman]

Someone wrote a pretty solid post a while back on how the NHL isn't nearly the gate-driven league people think it is, or that it used to be. Maybe someone knows where that is and can drag it back up.

 

[BKIslandersFan]

Having your TV partner take a giant steaming dump on your brand night after night is most certainly not good business. The NHL found that out the hard way the last time they were on ESPN.

If ESPN does pay for the rights, there is no way they are going to do that for a property they paid a lot of money for.

NHL rights isn’t anything close to NBA but it’s still not a chump change for ESPN. At least not anymore.

 

[HisIceness]

Where would ESPN even find the time to cover the NHL? Between NCAA Football and hoops, NBA, NFL, MLB, MLS, and other events like NCAA Baseball, and not to mention SportsCenter is there even room for the NHL?

 

[Giotrapani91]

Where would ESPN even find the time to cover the NHL? Between NCAA Football and hoops, NBA, NFL, MLB, MLS, and other events like NCAA Baseball, and not to mention SportsCenter is there even room for the NHL?

Unless they did games on espn 2 and games on abc during the playoffs since some of them would be on weeknights and the NBA playoffs start after the nhl.

 

[Smirnov2Chistov]

If the NHL could grab FOX (and bring Gary Thorne! ) I would be all for it. As someone who strictly uses an OTA Antenna, I am only to view the games when they are on NBC. If FOX were to get in the mix, I could probably watch more games during the week. (I've thought about SlingTV but haven't heard much reviews?)

As the years have gone by with the NBC deal, the NHL gets little to no coverage. It's very annoying that many of the games are seeded through NBCSN which I can't get through the antenna. Hockey was the big ticket on NBCSN but now that's gone by the waste-side with Primer League Soccer, NASCAR, etc. The NHL barely goes on NBC's main channel during the beginning on the year, and then they get a sprinkled in game (or two) when mid-season starts.

 

[Ted Hoffman]

Unless they did games on espn 2 and games on abc during the playoffs since some of them would be on weeknights and the NBA playoffs start after the nhl.

ESPN2 - already catches NCAA football and NCAA basketball, occasionally MLB, most MLS. Right there, you're clogging up a huge part of the prime-time schedule. Maybe you get early-season coverage because CFB doesn't play all 7 days of the week [though it's getting closer every year] but that gets you about 6 weeks; after that, it's CBB and all the preseason and early season hype - and with the B1G going to a 20-game schedule and starting league play early and the ACC following suit, there's going to be a need to put those games somewhere for prime-time viewing.

The NBA playoffs may start after the NHL playoffs, so that buys .... what, a week? Besides, ESPN will be capitalizing on the playoff push for teams trying to lock down a spot, and positioning among the playoff teams where those battles are still going on. And, MLB will be cranking up so there will be considerable coverage thrown at it. And, all the hoopla around the NFL draft.

After that? ESPN will be showing NBA games at every chance, because it has an albatross of a contract that requires it. MLB will be cranking up. The post-draft hoopla. Remember, NBC was able to put playoff games on CNBC as needed; is ESPN going to clear off space on ESPN Classic or ESPN News to do that? Because it sure as hell isn't clearing space on the main network for it, it likely doesn't have room on ESPN2 early on, and I'm not sure the NHL is really better served being on ESPN2 or lower in pieces, wedged in between wall-to-wall programming centered around other sports, than being on a network where it at least gets some kind of exclusive coverage.

 

[Giotrapani91]

ESPN2 - already catches NCAA football and NCAA basketball, occasionally MLB, most MLS. Right there, you're clogging up a huge part of the prime-time schedule. Maybe you get early-season coverage because CFB doesn't play all 7 days of the week [though it's getting closer every year] but that gets you about 6 weeks; after that, it's CBB and all the preseason and early season hype - and with the B1G going to a 20-game schedule and starting league play early and the ACC following suit, there's going to be a need to put those games somewhere for prime-time viewing.

The NBA playoffs may start after the NHL playoffs, so that buys .... what, a week? Besides, ESPN will be capitalizing on the playoff push for teams trying to lock down a spot, and positioning among the playoff teams where those battles are still going on. And, MLB will be cranking up so there will be considerable coverage thrown at it. And, all the hoopla around the NFL draft.

After that? ESPN will be showing NBA games at every chance, because it has an albatross of a contract that requires it. MLB will be cranking up. The post-draft hoopla. Remember, NBC was able to put playoff games on CNBC as needed; is ESPN going to clear off space on ESPN Classic or ESPN News to do that? Because it sure as hell isn't clearing space on the main network for it, it likely doesn't have room on ESPN2 early on, and I'm not sure the NHL is really better served being on ESPN2 or lower in pieces, wedged in between wall-to-wall programming centered around other sports, than being on a network where it at least gets some kind of exclusive coverage.

You gotta remember though college football plays on fox, NBC, & cbs as well.

 

[awfulwaffle]

Someone wrote a pretty solid post a while back on how the NHL isn't nearly the gate-driven league people think it is, or that it used to be. Maybe someone knows where that is and can drag it back up.

Well obviously it has gotten better, but you have to look at the tv revenues. The nhl has come a long way since coming from the oln network. NBC deal was small compared to other leagues. NBC took the money and have done well. What will the next contract bring? Increase in revenue of course, which will help with teams that struggle for attendance.

 

[eddygee]

If the NHL could grab FOX (and bring Gary Thorne! ) I would be all for it. As someone who strictly uses an OTA Antenna, I am only to view the games when they are on NBC. If FOX were to get in the mix, I could probably watch more games during the week. (I've thought about SlingTV but haven't heard much reviews?)

As the years have gone by with the NBC deal, the NHL gets little to no coverage. It's very annoying that many of the games are seeded through NBCSN which I can't get through the antenna. Hockey was the big ticket on NBCSN but now that's gone by the waste-side with Primer League Soccer, NASCAR, etc. The NHL barely goes on NBC's main channel during the beginning on the year, and then they get a sprinkled in game (or two) when mid-season starts.

That's my only gripe I like watching soccer but there is a huge disparity in the amount of games (10-12gms) NHL gets a season on NBC and the amount EPL(34+gms)gets on NBC it's almost 3x as many games. NBC needs to dedicate more OTA time.

 

[jkrdevil]

Not many teams want to play early season matinee games that go up against the bulk of college football or NFL (on Sunday) games.

I believe the league has more over the air games now on NBC than they did at the beginning of the contract. Certainly they have more over the air windows than had prior to the current contract, and more prior to moving to NBC (the ESPN deal previously had like 6 windows total on ABC during the regular season).

And the NHL prior to this deal has had over the air coverage prior to January (now they have the Thanksgiving and Winter Classic off broadcast coverage). Given hockey is heavily a playoff sport, early season games are never going to garner much interest.

It tv deal is going to be skewed toward cable because the NHL is NBCSN’s big driver of subscriptions and they probably make more money off the NHL that way than through as dollars.

 

[Ted Hoffman]

You gotta remember though college football plays on fox, NBC, & cbs as well.

Correct, but I was responding to the ongoing notion of the NHL going back to ESPN. I'm asking where the NHL is going to fit given all the current programming throughout the NHL regular season and postseason; whether other networks are picking up CFB is irrelevant to that question.

 

[Joe from Maine]

That's my only gripe I like watching soccer but there is a huge disparity in the amount of games (10-12gms) NHL gets a season on NBC and the amount EPL(34+gms)gets on NBC it's almost 3x as many games. NBC needs to dedicate more OTA time.

I agree. However, keep in mind when you add the playoffs with the regular season the NHL has about 30 OTA games on NBC.

 

[USAUSA1]

Of course, whoever offer the most money will win. I assume NBC will offer them the most to remain exclusive. I just wish NBCSN would create their own first take style show or at least broadcast nhl tonight on a simulcast.

 

[HisIceness]

Of course, whoever offer the most money will win. I assume NBC will offer them the most to remain exclusive. I just wish NBCSN would create their own first take style show or at least broadcast nhl tonight on a simulcast.

We could always round up some HF posters here and have at it. We'll just need to know who will be Stephen A. Smith.

 

[MNNumbers]

About gate driven......

I think the proper way to think of it is...
"Local revenue driven."
The Continental TV contracts bring in 733M/yr. If the NHL really is a 4B/yr business, that is about 16-20%, which isn't much, really.

And, the problem is that the local revenue varies too much from top of league to bottom.

What the league needs is NOT more TV money. It's more NATIONAL TV money, more NATIONAL sponsorship money, etc.

 

[Joe from Maine]

An interesting article yesterday in The Hockey News about the escrow issue.
It reports that it is rumored the NHL is looking for 750 million a year for the next television rights deal in the US.

Players' obsession with escrow will lead to a new deal and another win for the owners. Here's how - TheHockeyNews

 

[48g90a138pts]

An interesting article yesterday in The Hockey News about the escrow issue.
It reports that it is rumored the NHL is looking for 750 million a year for the next television rights deal in the US.

Players' obsession with escrow will lead to a new deal and another win for the owners. Here's how - TheHockeyNews

So if the new deal is $750 mil that's $17.2 mil extra per team, so around $8.6 mil added to the salary cap per team.

Yet the players are more worried about escrow. That would mean players are losing more than 10.5% of their salary to escrow if they're willing to ditch the program and not get full advantage of the raise that would come with the TV deal on team cap.

Interesting stuff.

 

[BigRedPillow]

An interesting article yesterday in The Hockey News about the escrow issue.
It reports that it is rumored the NHL is looking for 750 million a year for the next television rights deal in the US.

Players' obsession with escrow will lead to a new deal and another win for the owners. Here's how - TheHockeyNews

I suspect that 750 million number might be CDN, as he says "it’s rumored the NHL will be looking for $750-million per year, three times what the deal is currently worth".

 

[USAUSA1]

Nhl can command more money because fox and nbc is losing everything to ESPN. Fox had to settle for wwe after losing ufc to ESPN. German soccer league about to leave fox. NBCsn losing nhl would be a huge blow. Nhl realize this and will take advantage of the market. $750 million per year don't sound unreasonable. Nbc would make the money back in the deal.