NHL Off-Topic thread

[slickdtc]

Yeah, if NHL didn’t negotiate for at least some of the SCF games to be on ABC, they ****ed up. But then again, first few weren’t on NBC either. They played the first 2-3 on NBCSN. I think that’s the most confusing part for the average (dumb) consumer. Stick to one network for the series.

[nikethebike]

Quote: Originally Posted by Majingir

I believe the NHL did say the cap wasn't going up next season, but hopefully it can go up lots soon. I know for the Leafs, they've been banking on the cap going up. Their current core with a cap over 90m is definitely what they've been planning for. Those 11m cap hits are still big, but that would feel like an 8-9m cap hit with the salary caps of the last several years.

It was a joke... As in what will the cap hit be for ESPN to sign NHL for 7 years...


You know when you need to explain a joke, it failed... 🤣

[Majingir]

Not sure how I feel about the 75 games being on ESPN+ vs just 25 on ESPN/ABC.



NBC's old deal was 2b for 10 years(200m per year). Reports saying ESPN is 2.8b for 7 years (400m per year). Canadian deal is about 450m. So that's 850m guaranteed. Add in whatever NBC will pay, and that's over 1B now for TV deals PER YEAR. I'd say maybe 300m from NBC?

Sure, NBA and NFL are well above that, but for reference, MLBs TV deal is around 2b or so I believe between Turner,ESPN,FOX. NHLs popularity has more chances of going up thanks to this deal than MLB re upping their deals on the same networks with same fanbase.

I'm reading through some comments and its funny how stupid some people are. They're ripping ESPN for airing hockey because hockey "isn't a sport" and "hockey's dying", like seriously? What world do people live in where they dont think hockey is a sport. NHL is more profitable today than ever before. Love seeing some people claim being a multi billion dollar global company is considered dying and unpopular.

[slickdtc]

Well they are right, possibly due to the last 15 years being absent from ESPN. To the average person (whatever you think of them), the NHL is a fringe sport.

I don’t mind all the games on ESPN+. Let’s not act like NBC didnt have majority of their slate on NBCSN, which folded because it was like 3rd tier or worse to NBC as a channel. USA Network gets out to X more... why the hell wasnt NHL on there in the first place?!

That last point on NHL.tv is very interesting too.

We’ve come a long way since being on Outdoor Life Network, I mean OLN, I mean Versus, I mean NBCSN, I mean USA. Lol

[Majingir]

Quote: Originally Posted by slickdtc

Well they are right, possibly due to the last 15 years being absent from ESPN. To the average person (whatever you think of them), the NHL is a fringe sport. I don’t mind all the games on ESPN+. Let’s not act like NBC didnt have majority of their slate on NBCSN, which folded because it was like 3rd tier or worse to NBC as a channel. USA Network gets out to X more... why the hell wasnt NHL on there in the first place?! That last point on NHL.tv is very interesting too. We’ve come a long way since being on Outdoor Life Network, I mean OLN, I mean Versus, I mean NBCSN, I mean USA. Lol

I guess you can say that about the average fan who has no idea what's really up. I also heard all the talk of people ripping FOX for wanting WWE on their network (spoiler, most shows on FOX are SCRIPTED too..) Not realizing how big WWE is now vs the 90s (more mainstream and better quality back then, but more profitable and sustainable today).

For outsiders, it'll be easy to rip, but I'm sure when we see the actual analysts talking about this deal they'll say its good.

But the thing about ESPN+, whats the reach like vs NBCSN? 80m people got NBCSN, compared to 12m who have ESPN+. Although Hulu has 37m people to add on to that.

But at least NHL is on a full sports network. They gotta be promoting hockey on SC and all other shows. I'm sure many people with shows on ESPN dont even watch hockey, but hopefully they at least are open minded (although that might be too much to ask from some of them) and can discuss hockey and cover it properly, bringing on guests who can dive into it too.

[DrJones]

Hockey and baseball are always dying. They'll be dying 100 years from now.

[pietasterp]

Quote: Originally Posted by DrJones

Hockey and baseball are always dying. They'll be dying 100 years from now.

Could be worse. Look at where boxing resides in the sporting landscape.

[Majingir]

Quote: Originally Posted by DrJones

Hockey and baseball are always dying. They'll be dying 100 years from now.

MLB 150 is coming up in 5 years. It's been a good 150 years, but they won't last another 150 years....

Although I dont think many realize MLB and NHL have been around over 100 years.

Feels like people didn't really take note of hockey in a big way until the 70s or 80s. Little did they know the 50 years of history before that.

But 80s hockey is more what I want NHL today to be like. It was so loved in the 80s for a reason.