Yesterday I asked Richard Deitsch of The Athletic a question. He answered today in a sports media post,

What’s the next TV and streaming contract going to look like for the NHL? – Kukla’s Korner, Detroit

We still have a bit to go until crunch time. The NBC deal with the NHL expires after the 2020-21 season. One thing is clear: The average annual value ($200 million) is going up. Personally, I can’t see NBC not retaining a big chunk of the NHL rights given the importance of the programming to NBCSN as well as some ancillary factors ( e.g. Olympic hockey). Could we see a split package between NBC and a digital outlet? I could see that. Maybe ESPN+ and NBC share some costs in a much smaller manner to the CBS/Turner deal for the NCAAs. One thing that the rightsholders will be looking at is the graying of NHL viewers as noted by this terrific piece last year in Sports Business Daily. I don’t see NBC going for baseball.

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