Will Bettman ever get a US TV contact that pays like the NFL, the NBA? MLB?

sawchuk1971

Registered User
Jun 16, 2011
1,493
508
comparing the present NHL US TV contact with the other big three US sports is mainly peanuts...

do you think bettman will ever get a US TV contact that pays similar to the NFL, NBA?

i believe the NHL would definitely play in 2020-21 if it had a TV contract similar to the NFL....
 

Lt Dan

F*** your ice cream!
Sep 13, 2018
10,930
17,724
Bayou La Batre
youtu.be
comparing the present NHL US TV contact with the other big three US sports is mainly peanuts...

do you think bettman will ever get a US TV contact that pays similar to the NFL, NBA?

i believe the NHL would definitely play in 2020-21 if it had a TV contract similar to the NFL....
No Way.

The NFL is far and away the biggest draw

These are ratings I pulled from here
An Oversupply Of TV Sports Led To Low Ratings

NFL -20 million per game
College FB 9.6 mil per game
MLB playoffs: 9.72M per game
NBA playoffs: 7.45M per game
Stanley Cup Finals - 2.03M

The demand simply is not there
 

sawchuk1971

Registered User
Jun 16, 2011
1,493
508
No Way.

The NFL is far and away the biggest draw

These are ratings I pulled from here
An Oversupply Of TV Sports Led To Low Ratings

NFL -20 million per game
College FB 9.6 mil per game
MLB playoffs: 9.72M per game
NBA playoffs: 7.45M per game
Stanley Cup Finals - 2.03M

The demand simply is not there
well the NHL is always gonna struggle with being the only sport league that depends on gate revenue.....

if thats the case, why the NHL decided to expand in the southern US knowing it will never receive the same type of media
exposure compared to the NFL?

the NHL, imho, should've stuck to 21 franchises and put more emphasis on canadian markets instead trying to compete with the NFL, etc...
 

Lt Dan

F*** your ice cream!
Sep 13, 2018
10,930
17,724
Bayou La Batre
youtu.be
well the NHL is always gonna struggle with being the only sport league that depends on gate revenue.....

if thats the case, why the NHL decided to expand in the southern US knowing it will never receive the same type of media
exposure compared to the NFL?

the NHL, imho, should've stuck to 21 franchises and put more emphasis on canadian markets instead trying to compete with the NFL, etc...
this reply really implies that you are very unrealistic and just want to argue about the past.

Back on topic- Bettman or any other commissioner is not a magician and even if they in theory were able to get NFL money in a contract, the ratings would not support the investment the network made.
 

StreetHawk

Registered User
Sep 30, 2017
26,028
9,653
No chance.

nba contract for tv rights was $24 Billion over 9 years.

NHL $5.232 Billion Canadian over 12 years and another $200 mill annually from nbc.
Nba averages $2.66 billion per year.
nhl gets roughly $330 mill per from Rogers and $200 mill from nbc for around $550 mill usd.

that is over $2 billion annually.
 

Doctor No

Registered User
Oct 26, 2005
9,250
3,971
hockeygoalies.org
if thats the case, why the NHL decided to expand in the southern US knowing it will never receive the same type of media
exposure compared to the NFL?

Progress is being made. It literally takes generations in order to have the lure of a "local team" as part of one's heritage.

You've set a very weird benchmark for success. If entertainment options made their decisions based on whether they could match the NFL, not a lot of things would happen.
 

MNNumbers

HFBoards Sponsor
Sponsor
Nov 17, 2011
7,658
2,536
Highly unlikely to obtain such a media contract. There was a window in the 90s in which NBA interest was waning a little in the US, and it looked like NHL had a chance to fill the gap. But, that passed......

Right now, I think it a great question what kind of media contract any league would get when all they have to offer is the antiseptic feel of games in empty arenas.... It's bad luck to the NHL to have to negotiate a new contract in the midst of a COVID world.

NFL and NBA are in better shape... theirs were signed, sealed and delivered before the present situation came to be..
 

DaBadGuy7

Registered User
Dec 28, 2004
2,464
1,189
Newark,NJ
NHL needs a transcendent talent that is popular mainstream in the US and worldwide and is promoted and marketed all over the place (a la LeBron), they really haven’t had that star since Gretzky and Lemieux. I think the NHL needs to improve how they market and promote their stars belong hockey circle and then maybe they can make more money overall like in TV deals. Till then they lag far behind the other sports.
 

sawchuk1971

Registered User
Jun 16, 2011
1,493
508
NHL needs a transcendent talent that is popular mainstream in the US and worldwide and is promoted and marketed all over the place (a la LeBron), they really haven’t had that star since Gretzky and Lemieux. I think the NHL needs to improve how they market and promote their stars belong hockey circle and then maybe they can make more money overall like in TV deals. Till then they lag far behind the other sports.
when you say "the nhl needs how to market and promote their stars", do you mean a connor mcdavid might do progressive commericials like baker mayfield?
 

MNNumbers

HFBoards Sponsor
Sponsor
Nov 17, 2011
7,658
2,536
The real problem is that the game itself doesn't lend itself to flashy marketing like NFL and NBA do. Just think.....
Guys like Brady have an obvious effect on the result every game.
Guys like LeBron or even Steph Curry have the ball in their hands all the time.
These are things that US fans can connect with.

Hockey? Not so much. McDavid is probably the most talented player in the league right now. How many times in year does he take over a game? Not many, really.
How many times, when there is a one-goal separation between two teams at the end of the game, is it obvious who is going to score and tie the game? Almost never, because the players play 30 sec shifts.

It can't be helped. It's a great game. It just doesn't lend itself to the kind of interactions that US fans connect with.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Voight

DaBadGuy7

Registered User
Dec 28, 2004
2,464
1,189
Newark,NJ
when you say "the nhl needs how to market and promote their stars", do you mean a connor mcdavid might do progressive commericials like baker mayfield?

Yes, whenever NHL players in national ads outside NHL games/programming. Seems post lockout NHL players aren’t as known mainstream wise that players were in the 90s. Not being on ESPN is a big reason why, but I believe lockout and Dead Puck Era killed a lot of mainstream potential NHL had in mid 90s
 
  • Like
Reactions: Voight

DaBadGuy7

Registered User
Dec 28, 2004
2,464
1,189
Newark,NJ
The real problem is that the game itself doesn't lend itself to flashy marketing like NFL and NBA do. Just think.....
Guys like Brady have an obvious effect on the result every game.
Guys like LeBron or even Steph Curry have the ball in their hands all the time.
These are things that US fans can connect with.

Hockey? Not so much. McDavid is probably the most talented player in the league right now. How many times in year does he take over a game? Not many, really.
How many times, when there is a one-goal separation between two teams at the end of the game, is it obvious who is going to score and tie the game? Almost never, because the players play 30 sec shifts.

It can't be helped. It's a great game. It just doesn't lend itself to the kind of interactions that US fans connect with.

I disagree, I think the conservative nature of the sport and players is why they aren’t highly marketed as opposed to the game itself. McDavid and MacKinnon could definitely be marketed based on their talent, problem is they are larger than life personalities beyond their skills. Gretzky and Lemieux benefitted from the fact they played in the high scoring 80s and their gaudy numbers were easy to market. Going to harder to market McDavid and MacKinnon unless they start putting 1980s point totals as well winning Cups to overcome lack of personality.
 

Barclay Donaldson

Registered User
Feb 4, 2018
2,542
2,064
Tatooine
if thats the case, why the NHL decided to expand in the southern US knowing it will never receive the same type of media
exposure compared to the NFL?

Because they need to be in those American markets in order to get bigger TV contracts. The biggest reason they expanded past 6 to begin with was because they had TV contracts at stake. NBC and none of the prospective groups that will be around when the bidding is up again care about Ottawa or Winnipeg. It's why Québec City was left in the cold. Having sustainably and increasingly more popular teams in places like San José, Dallas, St. Louis, and Seattle does more for the league than Ottawa, Winnipeg, Calgary, and Edmonton. Most steps they have taken since Bettman has taken over has been to increase their media attention and viability in the United States. Comparing the league's financial health when Bettman took over to know is incredible. Save for two dumpster fires, which were slowly being fixed before Covid, in Arizona and Miami, he hasn't made many steps which destabilized the league.

The NHL isn't trying to be the NFL. Bettman and anyone else with a brain knows its not achievable. NFL's likely has the best TV deal in the world. The NHL is just trying to be increasingly and sustainably more profitable.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bostonzamboni

MNNumbers

HFBoards Sponsor
Sponsor
Nov 17, 2011
7,658
2,536
I disagree, I think the conservative nature of the sport and players is why they aren’t highly marketed as opposed to the game itself. McDavid and MacKinnon could definitely be marketed based on their talent, problem is they are larger than life personalities beyond their skills. Gretzky and Lemieux benefitted from the fact they played in the high scoring 80s and their gaudy numbers were easy to market. Going to harder to market McDavid and MacKinnon unless they start putting 1980s point totals as well winning Cups to overcome lack of personality.

I think we're on the same page. Gretzky averaged 2.5 pts/gm for several years in a row. If you went to the game or tuned in to watch, you could be assured he would do something. Just like LeBron, MJ, or she NFL QB.

McDavid averages half of that. His single point in a game might come in the first five minutes. After that, he might not do anything. It's the nature of hockey. How do you market that?
 
Last edited:

mouser

Business of Hockey
Jul 13, 2006
29,353
12,727
South Mountain
comparing the present NHL US TV contact with the other big three US sports is mainly peanuts...

do you think bettman will ever get a US TV contact that pays similar to the NFL, NBA?

i believe the NHL would definitely play in 2020-21 if it had a TV contract similar to the NFL....

No. At the same time that shouldn’t be the barometer to judge how well the NHL does on their next US TV contract.
 
  • Like
Reactions: The Zetterberg Era

Ted Hoffman

The other Rick Zombo
Dec 15, 2002
29,209
8,616
No. Going into the next deals the only sport that will match or exceed their current deal will be the nfl.
I'm calling bullshit on this. I've been assured by a handful of people around here that the next NHL deal will be a minimum $600 million per year, likely more.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DaveG

Jokerit 16

Registered User
Feb 8, 2018
165
83
Finland
I think next TV-deal should be at least 600-900 million per year!

NBC, FOX and some tech company will be best choice for the league. Fox is losing everything to ESPN and they need programming.
 

Lee Sharpe

Registered User
Nov 7, 2020
52
38
I think next TV-deal should be at least 600-900 million per year!

NBC, FOX and some tech company will be best choice for the league. Fox is losing everything to ESPN and they need programming.

I agree with you. NHL will get a huge rage of a new tv deal. I hope they will find a partners which are promoting the game national wide in USA.

What are the best options for new partners? Any thoughs?
 

AD Skinner

Registered User
Mar 18, 2009
12,903
39,031
bubble bath
well the NHL is always gonna struggle with being the only sport league that depends on gate revenue.....

if thats the case, why the NHL decided to expand in the southern US knowing it will never receive the same type of media
exposure compared to the NFL?

the NHL, imho, should've stuck to 21 franchises and put more emphasis on canadian markets instead trying to compete with the NFL, etc...

The nhl's TV money would be even further behind the NFL if they hadn't expanded south. The reason they are able to stay in the conversation is that the league has become a national entity instead of a regional one
 

topshelf15

Registered User
May 5, 2009
27,993
6,005
While the NHL will never be as popular in the US as the other 3 major sports,it doesnt take much for people to become hooked to this game...With more exposure there will be even more fans on the bandwagon
 
  • Like
Reactions: AD Skinner

Ad

Upcoming events

Ad

Ad