Changes are coming to the way American-based hockey fans will watch the game this coming season as earlier this year, ESPN and the league reached a new seven-year television deal that includes streaming and media rights. The deal is scheduled to begin this season and run through the 2027-28 NHL season. ESPN which is owned by the Walt Disney Company announced the deal in a Tweet and press release back in March.
The total valuation of the deal has not been disclosed, however, the Athletic reported that ESPN will pay more than $400-million annually to the NHL. That is double the $200-million-a-year national rights deal with NBC that ended this year. The non-exclusive deal does not impact the NHL Center Ice out-of-market television package sold by regional providers.
The highlights of the NHL TV schedule today include ABC/ESPN airing four of the next seven Stanley Cup Finals, one Conference Final each year, 50% of the NHL’s playoff package, with those games simulcast on ESPN+, twenty-five exclusive national regular-season games on ABC or ESPN and provisions to fold NHL.TV in the United States into ESPN+. There will also be 75 exclusive games streamed on ESPN+ and Hulu that are produced by ESPN.
Moving digital programming from NHL.TV to ESPN+, which has more than 12 million subscribers, offers a potential boost in viewership for out-of-market games.
🤝 @espn pic.twitter.com/KWRHgpM1ep
— NHL (@NHL) March 10, 2021
NBC had the right to negotiate with the NHL on a new national television package, however, those negotiations broke down at the beginning of the year. It remains to be seen if NBC goes back to the table as the ESPN deal is non-exclusive and the league has a considerable amount of premium programming currently unallocated.
According to Richard Deitsch of Sportsnet and FAN590, the NHL returning to ESPN represents a homecoming for both parties. ESPN was the NHL’s initial national cable rights partner from 1985 to 1988 and 1992-2004 and is currently available to approximately 90 million television households in the United States. The network operates seven related channels in the United States, and broadcasts in more than 200 nations, giving the league incredible reach as it endeavors to grow the sport internationally.
For ESPN and the Disney Company, the league possesses an attractive demographic mix including a younger audience than other major sports. The NHL’s significant hockey inventory will make ESPN+ an attractive streaming option for young NHL fans who consume their sports on mobile devices and tablets.