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ESPN Reportedly Reaches 7 Year Rights Deal With NHL

“NBC has not been confirmed as the other media company involved in the NHL’s rights deal, but it is certainly in play to retain half the package which would include three Stanley Cups.”
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2 years ago

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It’s been rumored for months and now it’s about to be official, the NHL is returning to ESPN. Although both parties have declined comment, the partnership was first reported by Chris Johnston of Sportsnet, and later confirmed by The New York Post. 

Financial terms were not announced, but ESPN and the NHL are believed to have reached a seven-year TV rights partnership beginning next season. From 2022-2028 ESPN will be one of the NHL’s rightsholders in a deal that expects to see the network carry four Stanley Cup Finals. It will be the first time since 2004 that an NHL game airs on linear television for ESPN.

In 2011, NBC and the NHL signed a 10-year contract worth $200 million annually. The NHL’s new media agreement is expected to be more lucrative, thanks in part to their deal with NBC Sports which did plenty to help the league grow. The Winter Classic, Hockey Week in America and nationally televising every Stanley Cup playoff game has seen the NHL regain some popularity in the U.S. 

After previously selling their national TV package exclusively to one network, the NHL sought to split their broadcast rights this time around to maximize profits. Similarly, it would have been difficult for ESPN or NBC to afford exclusive rights to the NHL considering forthcoming NFL deals are expected to cost the networks at least $2 billion annually. 

NBC has not been confirmed as the other media company involved in the NHL’s rights deal, but it is certainly in play to retain half the package which would include three Stanley Cups. Despite NBC being the favorite, FOX and CBS were also said to have interest in NHL rights when the league began ramping up negotiations last year.

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Sports TV News

LA Clippers Sign New Contract with Bally Sports

The multi-year agreement will go into effect this season. Bally will carry 63 of the team’s 2022-23 regular season games.

Jordan Bondurant

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6 hours ago

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October 4, 2022

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The Los Angeles Clippers will continue its relationship with Bally Sports, completing a new deal over the weekend to keep Bally as the team’s regional sports network.

The multi-year agreement will go into effect this season. Bally will carry 63 of the team’s 2022-23 regular season games. Additionally, 11 games will be carried by KTLA, giving the team some additional viewership reach. The remaining eight games will be broadcast on national television.

Brian Sieman will continue on as the play-by-play broadcaster for games, with Jim Jackson and Mike Fratello swapping the analyst chair. Jamie Maggio and Kristina Pink will be reporting.

According to the Los Angeles Times, all signs pointed to the team and the network hashing out a new contract.

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Sports TV News

Pat McAfee Feels Good About His College Football MegaCast Debut

“I feel good going into the next one. I feel like we’ve learned from this first one,” he said.

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6 hours ago

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October 4, 2022

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The College Football MegaCast featuring Pat McAfee and his daily YouTube show’s cast debuted on ESPN2 over the weekend, and McAfee is looking forward to the next edition.

On his show Monday, McAfee told co-host A.J. Hawk that he felt good about how the show went considering it was uncharted territory to be in.

“We had no idea how successful it would be,” McAfee said. “Like this is the first time we’re being judged in a different fashion. I don’t think we marketed it much, you know, because I don’t think we knew how it was gonna go.”

The alternate feed is being produced for ESPN by Omaha Productions, which is also responsible for the ManningCast which runs alongside the traditional Monday Night Football broadcast.

McAfee said this first show turned out to be a learning experience and that they started off on the right foot.

“I feel good going into the next one. I feel like we’ve learned from this first one,” he said. “We had no idea, it was very much of a roll of the dice. Going into the next one I think we’re gonna try and make it even grander and bigger, and I’m very excited for it.”

As for the style in which they covered the Clemson/N.C. State game, McAfee added that the giveaways and guest interactions added a lot of value.

“I think it’s the right way to watch a game, and to be honest I think it’s keeping us all invested as much and even more,” he said.

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ESPN’s NFL Programming Sees Big September Growth

For ESPN, September has been a really strong month with their NFL programming.

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14 hours ago

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October 3, 2022

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NFL Studio

For ESPN, September has been a really strong month with their NFL programming.

Sunday NFL Countdown is averaging 1.4 million viewers per show thus far in 2022. That up 15% from 2021’s first three shows of the NFL season. The season premiere – Sunday, Sept. 11 – averaged 1.6 million viewers, tying the network’s best Week 1 audience for the show since 2016 and is up 35% year-over-year.

NFL Live experienced large growth too. The episode airing after the first NFL Sunday, on Monday September 12, averaged 664,000 viewers which beat every NFL Live episode last season, including the most-watched episode on 2021 (December 17) which grabbed 635,000 viewers.

Monday Night Countdown is averaging 1.3 million viewers for its two, non-staggered September episodes, which aired in its traditional timeslot (6-8 pm).

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