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Proposed NHL antitrust lawsuit settlement brings price changes, single-team streaming options
On Thursday, the NHL, Comcast, DirecTV, Madison Square Garden Co., and eight NHL franchises proposed a settlement to an antitrust class-action lawsuit filed in 2012. Should the settlement be accepted by the judge, the NHL will become the first of the major sports leagues to offer subscription programing in an unbundled format online.
There is good news and bad news coming out of the proposed agreement.
Let’s start with the good news: Fans will no longer have to purchase the entire NHL Game Center Live package just to watch their favorite team play.
Starting with the 2015-2016 season, the NHL will offer viewers the option to purchase a single team subscription of Game Center Live (GCL) for a price lower than the bundled version with all the games. In the first year of the five-year proposed offer, the unbundled option will be 80-percent of the cost of the full GCL, less any additional discounts offered. (The unbundled price is subject to change in subsequent seasons based on terms listed in the settlement, which can be found here.)
Sounds great, right?
For displaced fans outside of their beloved team’s market, it sure is. You’re no longer throwing away cash for games you weren’t going to watch in the first place.
Yet if you’re a fan that happens to live in your team’s home market, things aren’t as rosy. You can purchase the single team GCL option, but your viewing is still subject to blackout restrictions.
