The National Hockey League’s current United States television deals are set to expire soon, and as a result, the league has been looking around for a new deal to replace them. Currently, NHL collaborates with NBC and Versus in order to bring its games to television audiences, however, according to a recent MediaWeek report, ESPN is considering bringing back hockey to its programming. Other reports say that FOX is also interested in the NHL, and as a result, the league may end up in the middle of a bidding war that could result in a deal worth 50 percent more than its current one.
Come December, Versus will be in an exclusive negotiating position with the NHL, however, due to the heightened interest in last season’s playoffs and increased interest in the sport in general, it looks like other networks may be interested in airing hockey games in the coming year.
“Timing is everything,” said TV executive John Shannon. “Based on the success they had in the playoffs with their ratings numbers, the fact the quality of hockey is better, the success of the Winter Classic, do they have a chance to make [their TV dollars] grow? Absolutely.”
Five years ago, hockey found itself on a network no one subscribed to without any viewers to watch the games. Since then, the NHL has become a $2.7 billion media and entertainment empire with about $500 million a year in TV revenues.
“Right now we’re a gate-driven sport,” said Bruins president Cam Neely. “We have other revenues, which is great. We’re in a better position now than we’ve ever been. The growth of our sport and the interest in our sport is as high as it’s been in a long, long time. We’re in a better position, we’ve been able to nurture relationships, the future bodes well for the NHL as far as our future television contracts go.
