THE 16-year broadcast partnership between the National Hockey League and NBC Sports will come to an end after the 2021 season.
However, the NHL has agreed to a seven-year deal with two sports network behemoths that are sure to attract more eyes.
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Why did NBC Sports drop NHL?
Since 2005, NBC has been the lone network covering the NHL.
In April, the NHL Board of Governors held a call regarding the future broadcast rights, most of which will belong to ESPN after the 2021 season.
In March, ESPN became the primary network partnerfor the league in a deal that saw the NHL essentially split its broadcast rights.
NBC pulled out of talks after learning they'll play second fiddle in the deal.
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“I think NBC and NHL have done a lot for one another over the last 16 years,” sports media rights advisorLee Berke told CNBC.
“The challenge for NBC was ESPN took more than the majority of the Stanley Cups and a huge amount of NHL content.
What was left was a smaller package than previously for NBC and something that was going to cost more than their current rights fee.”
Where will NHL games be broadcasted?
Turner Sports and the NHL announced a seven-year agreement that will begin in the 2021-2022 season.
Three of the next seven Stanley Cups will fall under the Turner umbrella (2023, 2025, 2027), while ESPN will broadcast fouron ABC (2022, 2024, 2026, 2028).
Both agreements are for seven years.
NFL is returning to ESPN for over $400million per year, and Turner will pay the league $225million per year.
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WarnerMedia News & Sports Chairman Jeff Zucker said Turner’s style and approach to covering the NBA and baseball will translate well to hockey.
Whether it has the same vibe as its NBA coverage, which includes the successful Inside the NBA studio show, remains to be seen.
“Obviously I think that there’s a style to Turner Sports, but you can't just copy ‘Inside the NBA’ on Thursday nights," he told ABC.
“We’re going to bring that same approach to the NHL but also one that I think is innovative, fun and dynamic.”
The deal includes up to 72 regular-season games per season, half of the first- and second-round playoff games on TNT and TBS as well as a conference final series.
One of the regular-season games will be the NHL Winter Classic, which is played on New Year’s Day.
Turner now has the rights to three of the four major North American sports with NBA games on TNT and the MLB on TBS.
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The Tampa Bay Lightning are one win away from their third Stanley Cup trophy, as they lead the series 3-1 against the Montreal Canadiens.
Game 5 between the Lightning and Canadiens will take place Wednesday, July 7 at 8pm on NBC.
