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SBJ: US Annual TV Rights Fees to exceed 200M

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jsginsocal

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Dado

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That's almost as much revenue as the top flight Indian cricket league gets.

Almost...
 
Brodie

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Dado said:
That's almost as much revenue as the top flight Indian cricket league gets.

Almost...
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Cricket is the second most popular sport in the world by numbers of viewers and the IPL is the best league in the world. So it's kind of impressive.
 
iamaranger

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Brodie

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If ESPN is offering $200 million for broadcast and cable than I'm not sure NBC would try to match
 
MountainHawk

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iamaranger said:
does that mean if they match the offer and espn doesnt go up.. the league has to sign with vs?
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Yes, that's what I understand. And unless ESPN makes a killer offer, Comcast is going to match. They have to keep Versus relevant for their pitch to the IOC for the Olympic rights.
 
MatthewT

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Versus paid $77.5M this year for Cable broadcast rights, NBC deal has no right's fee, just revenue share after expenses.
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Allan Walsh
walsha Allan Walsh
Apparently, ESPN is interested in the NHL's entire television package on ESPN2 with Stanley Cup Finals on ABC.
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Allan Walsh
walsha Allan Walsh
3 bidders are driving price up...ESPN, NBC/Versus and strong push from Turner.
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Allan Walsh
walsha Allan Walsh
Slow hockey news day? According to SBJ report, NHL poised to sign biggest broadcast rights deal ever w/in 2 months north of $200M per yr.
 
jkrdevil

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Isn't the right to match pretty much standard for these tv deals?

I think Comcast would match $200 million. Like others have said their sports network (which has been a driving force behind all the Comcast acquisitions) basically goes bye-bye. ESPN probably doesn't want the NHL for the NHL, but rather to kill Versus before it becomes a full fledge competitor.

Likewise while having them in is nice to drive up the price if you are the NHL you should worry about signing an exclusive deal with ESPN. It might turn out like the last time they took the big money from them, they next time to renegotiate that big deal may be gone.
 
jkrdevil

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Brodie said:
truTV would be awful. Imagine all the jokes about the NHL being on Court TV.
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While I don't think Trutv would be a good landing spot for the NHL, I think the NCAA Tournament being on it has taken some of that stigma away.

I apart of me wouldn't be surprised if they re-upped with NBC/Versus and ended up carving out a small tv package for FX. That would end up keeping around 3 competitors for the next go around in negotiations those two groups as well as ESPN, who you know will be in the bidding. You probably end up getting your money now and preserving it for the future.
 
MountainHawk

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jkrdevil said:
Isn't the right to match pretty much standard for these tv deals?

I think Comcast would match $200 million. Like others have said their sports network (which has been a driving force behind all the Comcast acquisitions) basically goes bye-bye. ESPN probably doesn't want the NHL for the NHL, but rather to kill Versus before it becomes a full fledge competitor.

Likewise while having them in is nice to drive up the price if you are the NHL you should worry about signing an exclusive deal with ESPN. It might turn out like the last time they took the big money from them, they next time to renegotiate that big deal may be gone.
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This. 1000x this.

I don't understand why people don't see that.

ESPN has no interest in broadcasting the NHL, they just want to kill Versus. Versus, with Comcast and NBC behind it, is a serious threat to their sports monopoly. Once the killing was successful, the NHL would be the 4th rate programming, and would likely kill the next contract as ratings would suffer with no promotion.
 

Sideline

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I like Versus becasue of the strategy fit. Versus takes niche sports and dives right in with top quality production and a commitment to the sport beyond individual events.

They don't just broadcast the UFC they have the top MMA journalist in the world, Ariel Helwani, writing columns for them. They started covering cycling with the Tour de France and now they provide coverage of dozens of events that I never even knew existed 5 years ago.

It's not just about money now. It's about growing the game. Everyone reading this forum knows that hockey is awesome. I don't want the NHL on a network making money off the people that already know hockey is awesome. I want the NHL on a network that believes hockey is awesome and wants to share it with the world.
 
hpNYR

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‎"Hearing that ESPN is still very much at the table as part of the lucrative TV deal being hammered out by COO John Collins for the NHL. ESPN isn't scared of the price tag and loves the access the league gives, the young stars in the game and the clean-cut nature of its players. The decision is to be made by May and it will be a massive pay day for the owners." -- Eric Francis, QMI Agency
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Would love to have Gary Thorne doing games again!
 
puckguy11

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Sideline said:
It's not just about money now. It's about growing the game. Everyone reading this forum knows that hockey is awesome. I don't want the NHL on a network making money off the people that already know hockey is awesome. I want the NHL on a network that believes hockey is awesome and wants to share it with the world.
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This is why I wholeheartedly support the NHL staying on Comcast. Versus' coverage has grown on me to the point that I hope they stick around. Are they the best production value? No, but the objective of Versus is to get "fringe sports" equal time. I didn't know the first thing about UFC until Versus started carrying it. Now, I think it's pretty cool. ESPN would only use it to choke off NBC/Versus' stranglehold.
 

ncsu1

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Is there any possible scenario at this point where Versus keeps a similar deal they had while giving ESPN some more games?
 

XtremeDave

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ncsu1 said:
Is there any possible scenario at this point where Versus keeps a similar deal they had while giving ESPN some more games?
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If ESPN is bidding for the NHL only to prevent Comcast/NBC from building Versus into a true competitor, then they wont be a part of any shared package. However if ESPN is bidding because they want the NHL (and to hedge against a simultaneous NBA/NFL lockout) then I can see them being part of a shared package with the majority of games on Versus/NBC.

The question is, if the NHL had to take less money to have games on NBC/Versus/ESPN2, would they take that offer over an exclusive, but more expensive contract with NBC/Versus?
 
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