The National Hockey League and Major League Baseball shared the stage on Tuesday for an announcement that may turn out to be heaven on earth for hockey fans in the United States. It was speculated on and now made official, MLB Advanced Media is entering into a partnership with the NHL to create a partnership where MLBAM will take over NHL.com, club websites, and NHL Network.
More details from the official press release:
The deal awards MLBAM rights to distribute live out-of-market games, including through the NHL GameCenter LIVE and NHL Center Ice subscription services in the United States and certain international markets. MLBAM will operate NHL.com, including the League’s seven native language sites, and Club websites. MLBAM will operate NHL apps and be available to develop apps for the Clubs. The NHL and MLBAM will partner on the design and development of new digital products and platforms. The NHL and its Clubs retain editorial control across all platforms. The Emmy-Award winning MLB Network will provide studio space and production resources for the NHL Network for distribution in the United States and certain international markets.
This is potentially great news for hockey fans as this will expand the options for viewership behind a strong digital team that runs plenty of sports sites. One of the things I like about having the MLB.TV package, for example, is being able to view it on Samsung TV’s as an online option. Having that option for the NHL might create more viewing options for fans, as I would love to be able to watch games on line and yet have the option to watch on television.
But my favorite part of the deal is that last sentence. Providing studio space for the NHL Network will ultimately lead to better content for the network. One thing that drives me crazy about NHL Network is their lack of programming during the summer months. That’s what MLB does so well during the winter, keeping their regular shows like “MLB Tonight”, “MLB Now” and “Intentional Talk” running in some capacity all winter, along with their morning off-season show “Hot Stove”. The NHL Network remains on through the first few days of the free agent period, then they hang up the “Gone Fishin'” sign until September. It’s harder for the NHL to stretch out an offseason than baseball, since most deals get doen early. But hopefully there can be some options for hardcore hockey fans during the summer.
@Buccigross completely agree. I remember when we launched @NHLNetwork and relied heavily on our partner TSN. US origin is a game-changer.
— Ken Gelman (@kengfunk) August 3, 2015
Mr. Gelman is right, and this will improve the experience for U.S. based fans. When TSN lost the hockey contract and it went to Rogers, I started to notice in-season programming on NHLN that was very Canadian slanted, including a radio show simulcast out of Toronto. It had nothing to do with anybody playing favorites, because TSN/Rogers certainly know their hockey. But while these simulcast options weren’t necessarily bad, they were served to us because they were cheap and easy to turn around. And these options being based in Canada, it gave us a lot of programming that plays great in Canada, but not so much in the “Lower 50”. (There’s only so much Toronto Maple Leafs talk a U.S. hockey fan could take.) Building a production arm here in the States will certainly add some juice to the network for fans here, and perhaps develop more fans in the smaller markets here as there will be more talk about the entire league instead of just the seven Canadian teams, which were a heavy part of NHL programming here.
But hopefully there will be more options overall, whether it be digital or on the television side. I for one miss the days of a mid-afternoon option like the old NHL Live with Don LaGreca and E.J. Hradek. It was great hockey talk centered around the whole league from two guys that know their stuff. Any options throughout the day that aren’t just replays of last night’s games would be a huge improvement. Hopefully this new agreement will spark some new programming to help hockey become a 24/7 league much like baseball has always been.
