The NHL and ESPN have reportedly agreed to a monster TV contract.
According to SportsNet, the league and the sports network have agreed to a seven-year broadcasting deal for half of the league’s rights. ESPN will exclusively stream four Stanley Cup Finals between 2022 and 2028, according to the same report. (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football)
Financial details aren’t known at this time, but you can guarantee the TV rights didn’t come cheap.
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It’s expected that another network will scoop up the other half of the league’s broadcast rights, but it’s not known which one at this time.
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As a big hockey fan, I’m all for whatever gives the league more exposure. Say whatever you want about ESPN, but it’s the largest sports network on the planet by a mile.
When it comes to sports programming, ESPN is king. You can debate about the personalities on ESPN’s talk shows, but you can’t debate that it dominates TV rights.
That’s just a fact.
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I truly believe the more eyeballs we can get on the NHL, then the more popular the league will become. Hockey is a hell of a sport, but it also has the least exposure out of America’s top four leagues.
More and more games getting on ESPN should help change that.
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Overall, I love the deal! Props to ESPN for continuing to help amplify the NHL.