ESPN, NHL announce comprehensive 7-year agreement

When Jimmy Pitaro became ESPN's chairman three years ago, one of the first long-term goals he gave to his staff was trying to regain the National Hockey League rights when they became available again.

On Wednesday, Pitaro was able to check that one off his list. The NHL and ESPN are together again after announcing a seven-year agreement that also includes extensive streaming rights.

“This is a transformative time in media, especially sports media. It puts us on the cutting edge of content distribution with a great linear package as well as a forward-looking strategy, focusing on the impact of streaming,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said. “This is a win, win, win. A win for ESPN and The Walt Disney Company, a win for the NHL, and most importantly, a win for fans.”

ESPN has a long history with the league, stretching back to the network's launch, but hasn't aired games since 2004. Bettman said discussions with ESPN began to intensify the last two months.

Under the new agreement, the Stanley Cup Final will air on ABC in four of the seven years, beginning next season. It also includes the All-Star game and 25 regular-season games, with the likely breakdown being 15 on ESPN and 10 on ABC. The ABC games likely would air on Saturdays beginning around the All-Star game, with the ESPN top game being on Thursday.

During the playoffs, ESPN and ABC also will have first choice of which conference final series to carry as well as half of the first- and second-round games.

“The NHL has a young demographic and one of our top priorities is audience expansion,” Pitaro said. “As we look to attracting the younger generation, we think NHL content and live games are going to significantly help us.”

The more significant part of the deal is the streaming component. ESPN...

source https://www.chron.com/entertainment/article/ESPN-NHL-announce-comprehensive-7-year-agreement-16015590.php