ESPN Airing World Cup of Hockey is Great for NHL

Multi-media giant ESPN has won the rights to televise the World Cup of Hockey in 2016. It will be the first time the network has aired professional hockey in over a decade, save for a KHL tilt during the last labor stoppage of 2012/13. For NHL fans, this is a perfect time to get excited about the possibilities of what could be next.

While ESPN has (fairly) been the brunt of criticism with its incessant promoting of its programs, personalities, and the such, this recent development has the potential to be a huge boon to the NHL…for exactly the same reasons. Say what you want about ESPN, but its ability to shove their programming down our collective throats will be fantastic exposure for hockey and its young stars and will help grow the game, whether fans like it or not.

Anyone who watches just a shred of ESPN knows it’s true too. How often do we have to see a promo for the NBA’s “Friday Night’s Game of the Week” between Dallas and Houston or MLB’s “Sunday Night Baseball” between the Yankees and the Red Sox before we’re ready to rip our eyeballs out? Now how about the next time you turn on ESPN instead you see a promo for “Tuesday Night Hockey” with Steven Stamkos and the Lightning squaring off against Vladimir Tarasenko and the Blues: how excited would you be? You’re getting amped just thinking about it, aren’t you?

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Let’s also face a few other facts: ESPN is synonymous with sports to the casual person. It has become the “in” thing to bash ESPN and their many tentacles, but people always take shots at the king. They ARE sports, and no amount of pot-shots and grumbling is changing that any time soon. Hockey back on the sports’ forefront, even if only for a few weeks, is great for the game.

There’s also no debate that ESPN does a fantastic job visually with its programming. If there is one thing you can’t fault ESPN for, it’s there willingness to spend money to enhance its product. The sights, sounds, and just overall production would just make the game feel that much bigger.

The deal doesn’t necessarily mean that a NHL package is back on the horizon for ESPN. As most are aware, NBC is the exclusive carrier of NHL games in the United States through 2021 as a result of a ten-year deal forged several years ago. NBC pays the NHL approximately $200 million a year to air the games. The league did better with its more recent partnership with Rogers Communications in Canada that pays the league $5.2 billion over 12 years (approximately $433,333,333/year).

While the $600+ million annually may seem like a lot, it pales in comparison to the television contracts the other three major sports leagues have signed. The NBA is raking in over $2.66 billion annually, MLB makes $1.55 billion from its three television contracts yearly, and the NFL makes in excess of $7 billion annually from all its media outlets. The deals don’t include contracts with local stations.

Yes, the other three sports are generally more popular, but that is still a significant difference between them and the NHL. The NBC deal signed was short-sighted by the NHL and while it guaranteed money for a decade, it gave itself no outs during that time which just so happens to be a time when sports’ television contracts are booming.

It’s also worth noting that for the other three major sport leagues in the United States, each has more than one partner. The NHL is the only one with an exclusive partner. While that doesn’t necessarily make it bad, if I know that there is direct competition showing the same product, I am more likely to go that extra mile to make the experience better and improve ratings. If I’m the only show in town? Well, maybe I don’t have that extra motiviation. I’m not saying that’s the case here, but it is something to consider.

Hopefully this World Cup news is the first step for ESPN back towards airing the NHL. What fan wouldn’t love a “NHL Tonight” show on ESPN2 nightly or that catchy-as-hell gingle back in their lives? Beyond the nostalgia of it all, an ESPN contract with the NHL would also add some serious dough to the league coffers with each team getting a slice of the pie. The increased revenue would lead to an increased salary cap and more money for the players.

So, we have a better televised product…more money in the owners’ pockets…more money in the players’ pockets. Tell me who loses here?

ESPN with hockey again. Something about it just feels right.

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