NHL Signs Record 10 Year, $2 Billion Deal To Stay On NBC/Versus
The National Hockey League announced this afternoon that they have reached a record deal to keep the NHL on NBC and Versus for the next ten years. The league will get about $200 million (US) per year of the decade long contract to exclusively showcase the NHL brand on the NBC Universal/Comcast umbrella of networks.. The new contract will see nearly 100 regular season games aired on either Versus or NBC, and, for the first time in league history, every playoff game will be aired on either NBC, Versus, or yet to be determined sister stations of NBC Universal. NBC and Versus will also continue to be the exclusive home of the Stanley Cup Finals.
By: Bryan Vickroy
NBC/Versus will continue to be the exclusive home of the Winter Classic, the Stanley Cup playoffs, the NHL “Game of the Week” on Sundays, and any future Heritage Classics. The league and networks will also continue with its Hockey Day In America, a day long celebration of hockey throughout the United States. Starting this upcoming fall, NBCwill introduce a nationally televised game the Friday after Thanksgiving on NBC. The national Black Friday broadcast will be the earliest point in a season that the NHL has ever been on a national, non cable broadcast. With the NBC/Comcast merger complete, The media conglomerate has already announced that Versus will be rebranded in the next 90 days to reflect its inclusion into the NBC Sports family.
Fox, Turner, and ESPN were all involved in the bidding war for the NHL rights. However, Fox and Turner dropped out of the race last week. NBC had an exclusive right to match any offer for the rights, and appeared willing to exercise no matter what the cost. The last contract between the NHL and NBC saw the league making only $77 million per season from Versus, and zero dollars a year from NBC due to a unique partnership between the league and network. The new TV rights deal is a record for the league in terms of dollars. The previous high television contract for the league was the final ESPN/ABC deal before the lockout. That deal netted the NHL $150 million per season.
While some people may continue to hate on the fact that hockey is on Versus, that wil obviously change soon. As someone who subscribes to NHL GameCenter Live, anytime I can get more hockey in HD, I will take it in a flash. This deal helps out not only the diehard puckheads like myself and others on The Sports Bank staff, it will also do a better job in allowing the casual fan to get into the game, especially during the greatest time of the year: the Stanley Cup playoffs. Besides, come next winter, the NHL might be the only game in town. Literally.
Bryan Vickroy has an addiction to hockey, and is willing to partake in all its forms. He is skating extra shifts for The Sports Bank, covering the Minnesota Wild, the NHL, and NCAA hockey all year long. Look for new articles throughout the week. He can be followed on Twitter at @bryanvickroy. If you’d prefer to speak in more than 140 characters at a time to him, he can be reached at bryan.vickroy@gmail.com .