Disney Advertising says that advertising inventory for the NHL’s All-Star Weekend is sold out

The 38 advertisers that have bought commercial time include 27 that also appeared during All-Star weekend last year.

Disney said that it has also sold out its sponsorship slots to 12 brands. Five of those brands have been NHL sponsors since hockey returned to ESPN and ABC during the 2021-22 season.

The Skills Competition takes place Friday night on ESPN and the All-Star Game airs Sunday on ABC. Both events stream on ESPN Plus.

A year ago, NHL All-Star Weekend programming–the Skills Competition on ESPN and the All-Star Game on ABC –generated $4.6 million in ad revenue, according to EDO, a research and analytics company that works with Disney.

Disney said sell-through is up 10% compared to a year ago..

“NHL All-Star Weekend stands as an important cornerstone within the lineup of sports content we offer to fans everywhere,” said Deidra Maddock, VP of sports brand solutions at  Disney. “The commitment we see from the diversity of advertisers we have speaks volumes to the value that brands see in how we better connect them to NHL fans.”

Sponsors of All-Star Weekend include Cheetos, Fastenal, Lexus, MassMutual, Navy Federal Credit Union, Pepsi, SAP, Upper Deck and Verizon. 

Honda will serve as the title sponsor for the NHL All-Star Game while DraftKings Sportsbook is the presenting sponsor for NHL All-Star Skills. 

On average about 7 in 10 fans aware of the sponsorship said they would agree it improves their opinion of the brand and makes them more likely to purchase in the future, Disney said, pointing to a survey by rEvolution.

Disney said it attracted advertisers in nine new product categories to this year’s All-Star weekend, including pharmaceuticals, banks, computer software, beverages, telecommunications systems and optical goods.

There were also bigger advertising commitments from companies in the quick service restaurant, auto insurance, financial institutions and telecom categories.

Last year’s All-Star Weekend reached 10.4 million viewers with 32 million total minutes watched, according to Nielsen.

On ESPN’s digital platforms, total reach for 2023 was nearly 2.2 million across both days, according Adobe internal data. 

Relo Metrics said it is working with SponsorPulse to measure the value and performance of National Hockey League sponsorships.

The new Impact Scores combine SponsorPulse’s consumer research with Relo’s exposure valuation data.

“With this data, we are now able to deliver the most complete, data-driven asset valuation that will make selling and valuing assets much easier,” said Jay Prasad, CEO of Relo Metrics, formerly GumGum Sports. “This allows brands to get a sense of how much an asset will help move the needle when it comes to brand awareness and preference, we are jointly providing this measurement with speed, not something that is usually associated with consumer research.”

Fans who have watched NHL games on TV were asked questions to measure recalls (Is the sponsor logo memorable?), annoyance (Is the logo or signage distracting?), action (Does the logo have the ability to drive action?) purchase (does the logo have the ability to drive consideration) and favorability (Does the asset have the ability to drive preference?).

The Impact Score measures which sponsorships break through, which are most effective a driving purchase consideration and rank overall effectiveness.

“As the world of sponsorship assets continues to evolve, it's important that we have a common measurement system that highlights which assets can most effectively deliver on brand objectives,” said Adam Mitchell, CEO of SponsorPulse. “With the development of Asset Impact Scores, we can now identify the right assets for brands to activate and measure potential outcomes on brand awareness, perception, and intent to buy.”

Disney Advertising says the National Hockey League’s All-Star Game and the NHL All-Star Skills competition are sold out.

Disney says it has signed up 12 sponsors for the two day event.. Sponsoring the All-Star game are presenting sponsor Honda, Discover, Enterprise, Goodyear, Lexus, Navy Federal Credit Union and SAP.

Sponsors for the Skills competition. Include Chipotle, Discovery, Enterprise, Geico, Goodyear, Great Clips, Honda and Upper Deck.

About 34 other advertisers will appear over the two day event including American Express, Apple, AT&T, Biosteel, Boston Beer Company, Capital One, Chipotle, Discover, E&J Gallo Winery, Enterprise, Expedia,  Fidelity, Freshpet, Geico, Hilton, Intutit, Liberty Mutual, Live Nation, Mars, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance, Mercedes-Benz, Navy Federal Credit Union, Priceline.com, Progressive, Signet Jewelers, Taco Bell, T-Mobile, Procter & Gamble, Toyota, Verizon,  Vivid Seats, Volkswagen, Walmart and Wendy’s. 

Some new categories have been brought into the fold this year, including accounting, electronic entertainment equipment, household cleaners, nutritional supplements and pet food.

This is Disney’s second year carrying the NHL under its current contract. Warner Bros. Discovery Sports also carries NHL games.

“We are incredibly proud of the sponsorship success we've seen around the NHL,” said Sean Hanrahan, senior VP, sports brand solutions at, Disney Advertising. “Brands continue to flock to Disney's robust coverage, and we are thrilled to continue developing opportunities for them to engage with NHL fans everywhere through our content.” 

The All-Star Skills competition will appear live on ESPN and ESPN Plus on February. 3, with Goodyear providing aerial coverage.

The All-Star Game will be played February 4 on ABC and ESPN Plus. Enterprise will sponsor The Drop, a 30-minute live digital pregame show that will stream on the ESPN app and ESPN’s YouTube, Twitter and Facebook pages. Enterprise will also have content on Instagram surrounding both the Skills challenge and the All-Star contest.■

ESPN dropped the puck Tuesday night (October 11) on its 2022-23 National Hockey League regular season schedule, its second campaign as part of a seven-year deal with the league signed in 2021.

The network’s 103 NHL games will feature more linear TV exposure for the league on ESPN and ABC, as well as less overlap of games throughout the season, according to ESPN officials. The sports network will look to improve on the 616,000 viewers it averaged last season for live NHL regular-season telecasts on ESPN and ABC.

ESPN senior VP of programming acquisitions Ilan Ben-Hanan discusses ESPN’s NHL live-game distribution strategy in an interview with Multichannel News. An edited transcript of that conversation appears below. 

MCN: Going into ESPN’s second season of NHL’s coverage, are you more confident about the network’s distribution of the sport across its platforms?

Ilan Ben-Hanan: Year one was really about establishing our credibility and authenticity. We came into this after few years without being a rights holder of the NHL, and we wanted to make sure that fans knew that they could trust us to cover hockey. We were very pleased with what we were able to do in year one, but like anything else, there's always a learning curve. There were things that we wanted to build on to get ready for in year two, and we feel like we’re ready for them. We're chomping jump a bit as usual to get started here.

MCN: What’s different this year compared to ESPN’s presentation last year? 

IBH: I'll start on the scheduling side just because we work so closely with the league on that. In year one we got the rights deal done a little later in the process, and the schedule had been fairly baked by the time we got a chance to get after it. Still, we put together a good schedule that we were really proud of, and we learned a lot in year one. For example, there’ll be less overlapping of the 103 exclusive games that we have, so this year fans will be able to see all of those games. We’ll also have more doubleheaders or more games spread out over more days of the week to allow for a better sampling opportunity for our exclusive games. We’ll also have three Saturday night games -- last year we only had one, so we're really excited about that and we know the league is excited as well. 

MCN: In general will there be more regular-season games on linear TV channels compared to last year when most of those games were on ESPN Plus?

IBH: We have a slight change in strategy in that respect. Last year of our 103 games, 28 were on linear and 75 were on ESPN Plus and Hulu. This year that split is going to be more balanced – 50 games on linear and 53 games on ESPN Plus and Hulu. It’s an opportunity we saw in our schedule to put the NHL on linear Tv a few more times. ESPN Plus and Hulu remain vitally important to our schedule, and we still have more than one thousand games available [via digital] through our outer market package. 

MCN: With one year under your belt, what are your expectations from an audience and ratings perspective going into the second season? 

IBH: When we announced the deal, we said this was not going to be something measured off just one metric, meaning television ratings. This is really a first-of-its-kind deal for us to have the quality and quantity of games we had available exclusively on ESPN Plus and Hulu. We wanted to make it evident to other leagues and to fans that you could find premier content on a direct-to-consumer service produced with the same level of care, attention and high quality that you'd see on linear. Across all of those metrics, we were very pleased with last year’s results and we hope that continues to build this season. ■ 

As ESPN starts its second season of its new National Hockey League contract, it has added American Express and Mercedes-Benz to its list of sponsors for its game telecasts.

Disney Ad Sales said it has a roster of more than 130 sponsors in 70 categories that will run ads in hockey across ABC, ESPN, ESPN Plus, Hulu and its owned social channels. 

Returning sponsors include Apple, Discover, EA Sports, Expedia, Honda, Lexus, MassMutual, Navy Federal Credit Union, New Amsterdam Vodka, Progressive, SAP and Taco Bell.

Fidelity also returns as presenting sponsor over overtime periods and shootouts for regular season games on linear TV. Last year it had that entitlement for games streamed on ESPN Plus and Hulu.

“We are incredibly proud of the sponsorship success we saw in the inaugural year of the NHL back on Disney,” Disney Advertising senior VP, Sports Brand Solutions Sean Hanrahan said. “We are excited to continue building on last year’s success and creating more opportunities for brands to engage with NHL fans everywhere through our content.”

During regular-season ABC and ESPN linear games, the Final Five Minutes feature integration will be presented by Expedia and New Amsterdam Vodka. First-period intermission reports will be presented by Lexus and the second-period intermission by Discovery. Navy Federal Credit Union will serve as the title sponsor of the NHL Stadium Series game on Feburary 18.

Across all national games on ESPN Plus and Hulu, New Amsterdam Vodka will serve as the presenting sponsor and first- and second-intermission reports will be presented by Lexus and Discover, respectively.

EA Sports, Progressive and SAP will all have integrated features throughout the telecasts. 

On social media, Navy Federal Credit Union will sponsor Twitter Amplify highlights from @ESPN, @SportsCenter and @ESPNPlus. EA Sports will sponsor ESPN NHL Moments on TikTok. EA will also be the presenting sponsor of The Drop Tuesday. ■

Commercial inventory for the Stanley Cup Final is nearly sold out, according to Disney Ad Sales.

Disney said it has signed up 10 sponsors as the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Colorado Avalanche battle for the National Hockey League’s championship. There will also be 59 other advertisers in 35 categories appearing during the telecasts.

The sponsors include Apple, Crypto.com, Discovery, GEICO, Goodyear, Honda, Lexus, SAP, Subway and Verizon.

Disney said demand for advertising time exceeded expectations. This is Disney’s first year covering the NHL under its new contract with the league. The contract calls for Disney to have the final in even-numbered years. Warner Bros. Discovery’s Turner Sports gets the final round in odd-numbered years.

“We are incredibly proud of the sponsorship success we’ve seen in the NHL’s first season back home on Disney,” said Jim Minnich, senior VP, Disney Advertising Revenue Yield Management. “Brands flocked to our unique offerings resulting in strong NHL demand throughout the entire season.”

Also: Disney’s NHL Postseason Coverage Skates on Multiple Platforms

The games will be presented by GEICO, with Lexus sponsoring the first intermission and Discovery sponsoring the second intermission. If a game goes into overtime, Subway will sponsor the break after regulation time.

Before each game, Crypto.com will sponsor starting lineups, while Honda highlights the starting goalies. SAP will provide statistical insight from its Coaching Insights App. Goodyear will provide aerial coverage.

During the final, Apple will showcase its Siri driver integrations.

The games will appear on ABC and on ESPN streaming platforms.

The Eastern Conference Final on ESPN, with two-time Stanley Cup winners Tampa Bay defeating the New York Rangers in six games, averaged 2.4 million viewers, up 82% from 2021, when the games were on NBCU outlets including NBC, NBCSN and Peacock. ■

Disney Ad Sales said it has sold out the commercial inventory in the National Hockey League All-Star Game and the NHL All-Stars Skill Competition.

There are 12 sponsors and 39 advertisers in the two events. 

Also: Disney Lines Up Sponsors as NHL Season Gets Started

Honda, Lexus, Discover, SAP, Navy Federal Credit Union and Dunkin’ are the sponsors for the All Star Game, with Honda as the presenting sponsor.

Also advertising during the game on Saturday are AT&T, Audi, Boston Beer Company, Capital One, Chipotle, Discover, Dunkin, E & J Gallo Winery, Enterprise, Expedia, Freshpet, GEICO, Hilton, HBO, Liberty Mutual, Mars, Massachusetts Mutual, Mercedes-Benz, Microsoft, Navy Federal Credit Union, Progressive, Quicken Loans, Social Technologies, Subway, Taco Bell, Procter & Gamble, T-Mobile, Toyota, Verizon, Warner Bros. and Wendy’s.

Also: NBC Declares Super Bowl Commercials Are Sold Out

Lexus will present the first intermission report The second intermission report will be brought to fans by Discover. Crypto.com, Dunkin’, Navy Federal Credit Union and SAP will all have feature integrations during the game.

Sponsors for the Skills Competition on Friday are DraftKings, Adidas, Discover, Dunkin’, EA Sports, Honda, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and Verizon, with DraftKings presenting.

Also advertising during the Skills Competition are Apple, AT&T, Boston Beer Company, Capital One, Discover, Dunkin’, E & J Gallo Winery, Enterprise, Ikea, Dr. Pepper, McDonald’s, Mercedes-Benz, Signet, Sleep Number, Social Technologies, Subway, Taco Bell, Toyota, Tracfone, Verizon and Vivid Seats.

Adidas, Discover, Dunkin’, EA Sports, Honda, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and Verizon will have integrations in the event.

The NHL returned to Disney’s ESPN and ABC this season under a new deal with the league.

“We are ecstatic that we have exceeded all revenue goals for the 2022 Honda NHL All-Star Game and Skills Competition,” said Sean Hanrahan, senior VP Sports Brand Solutions. “Sponsors have flocked to Disney’s robust NHL coverage and have enthusiastically embraced our best-in-class cross-portfolio opportunity. ”■ 

Sinclair Broadcast Group announced a major deal with the National Hockey League Friday that will give the broadcaster local streaming rights to 12 NHL teams. 

But the question remains, did Sinclair move the, er puck closer to the net in terms of its ambitious plan to turn its 19 Bally Sports-branded regional sports networks (RSNs) into a direct-to-consumer streaming service in 2022?

Investors seemed at least mildly pleased, with Sinclair's stock edging up around 4% at on the Nasdaq on the Nasdaq Friday. (The stock was up only 1.5% last time we checked, however.) 

But despite Sinclair CEO Chris Ripley's continued assurances to investors, it remains unclear--even doubtful to some--as to whether Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association will similarly fall into line and offer up their DTC streaming rights. 

And with 14 Major League Baseball teams in the Bally Sports portfolio potentially inactive this spring amid the owners' just-enacted player lockout, complexity mounts for Sinclair and Ripley as they try to keep their debt-ridden RSN enterprise locked out of bankruptcy court. 

Sinclair and Ripley's declaration was cast into doubt back in October, when MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said publicly that Sinclair lacked the necessary digital rights to pull off a DTC service, and that MLB has no plans to give the broadcaster those rights. (Currently only four MLB teams out of the 14 in the Bally Sports portfolio allow the RSN local streaming rights.)

One analyst, LightShed Partners' Rich Greenfield, outright accused Ripley of "fabricating" claims to investors. Greenfield also minted a hashtag for Sinclair's DTC ambitions--"#GameOver"--noting that both MLB and the NBA have their own direct-to-consumer plans, neither of which involve Sinclair.

But in his October blog post, Greenfield also said something interesting: "While we are unclear of how NHL local/regional digital rights work, we believe they are likely to go along with whatever the NBA and MLB do."

Next TV asked Greenfield over Twitter Friday if the NHL deal changed his outlook on the likelihood that MLB and the NBA fall into line with Sinclair's plan, but he only shot back a coy like.

About That NHL Deal

According to Sinclair, with the new NHL deal in place, its RSNs, managed by Sinclair's  Diamond Sports Group subsidiary, "are permitted to offer streaming content, including live games, on an authenticated and direct-to-consumer (DTC) basis, to the local territories of 12 NHL teams."

The involved teams include the Anaheim Ducks, Arizona Coyotes, Carolina Hurricanes, Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, St. Louis Blues, and Tampa Bay Lightning.

“Our announcement today signifies the importance that both parties place on the ability for sports viewers to consume content whenever and however they choose," Ripley said in a statement. "The advent of a DTC model will further enhance flexibility for viewers, as well as offer them a highly-personalized and engaging experience, with functionality and interactivity well beyond what is offered today.”

About That Debt

Sinclair spent $9.6 billion in August 2019 to buy 21 Fox RSNs from Disney, as Disney completed its purchase of select Fox entertainment assets. 

The RSN business as a whole is challenged more than ever by continually escalating team and league contracts, juxtaposed against an ever-shrinking ecosystem of pay TV customers. 

Sinclair sees DTC as the road to viability. In a recent SEC filing, Sinclair predicted its DTC service could attract as many as 4.4 million subscribers and generate around $2 billion in annual revenue.

But Sinclair is walking a tightrope. Not only must Ripley be right--Manfred's statements were merely posturing, and MLB and the NBA will eventually capitulate amid negotiations, but also Bally Sports' core asset, baseball, must be on TV screens come April. 

If you follow the history of MLB labor negotiations, you already know that's iffy. 

A Potential ATSC 3.0 Wildcard?

Last month, Next TV suggested the possibility that Sinclair--a primary developer and benefactor of ATSC 3.0--might use NextGen TV multicast capabilities to launch its new DTC service. 

Further, we wondered if distributing its channels via ATSC 3.0 broadcast instead of IP streaming offered Sinclair a legal means of launching its service with teams for which it may not have specific streaming rights. 

"No, they would not," a former top programming executive for a tier 1 pay TV operator told us. 

"It’s the difference between technological distribution modality (IP vs. ATSC 3.0) and packaging requirements," he added. "The typical rights grant from the teams and leagues to the rights holders specify minimum penetration requirements where the denominator is the total number of pay television subscribers.  It’s not enough for Sinclair and others to pay the teams; each team has an interest in broad reach and accessibility that is threatened by a DTC a la carte subscription model."

Disney Advertising Sales announced its lineup of sponsors for its first season televising hockey under its new deal with the NHL.

Official league sponsors Apple, Discovery, Dunkin', EA Sports, Geico, Honda, Jagermeister, MassMutual, Navy Federal Credit Union, New Amsterdam Vodka, SAP and Verizon are on the roster for games that will appear on ABC, ESPN, ESPN PLus and Hulu.

Additional advertisers with presenting, in game or studio sponsorships include Expedia, Fidelity, Goodyear, Lexus, Progressive, Procter & Gamble, Subway and Taco Bell.

Expedia will present 25 ABC and ESPN games.

Apple, Dunkin', Honda, MassMutual, Navy Federal Credit Union, SAP and Taco Bell will be integrated into those telecasts, Disney said.

New Amsterdam Vodka is the presenting sponsor for the 75 exclusive national games that will appear on ESPN Plus and Hulu. For those games, Dunkin’, Jagermeister, Progressive, EA Sports and SAP will be integrated into features.

In all games Verizon will present the pre game and post game shows. Lexus will have the first intermission and Discovery will have the second intermission.

Procter & Gamble is the presenting sponsor of The Point, ESPN new weekly hockey show airing on ESPN2 and simulcast live and available on demand on ESPN Plus.

In The Crease, a daily hockey highlight show on ESPN Plus is being presented by Discover during this season’s conference finals and Stanley Cup Final.

Sponsors will also be engaged with ESPN social media accounts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and SnapChat.

“As we embark on a new era in sports with the return of the NHL on Disney, our diversified and unique offerings provides greater reach for brands and our viewers, than anywhere else,” said Rita Ferro, president, Disney Advertising Sales. “We’re delivering must-watch content, across every screen and platform, reaching sports fans of all types, everywhere they are.” 

Hoops legend and host of TNT’s award-winning Inside the NBA Charles Barkley will be a special guest on the first edition of the NHL on TNT Face Off pregame show, which will be presented commercial free Wednesday night.

TNT says that Barkley is a “passionate” NHL fan, and he’ll join TNT’s new studio analysts Wayne Gretzky, Anson Carter, Rick Tocchet, Paul Bissonette and host Liam McHugh on the show.

The pre-game show will be followed by a hockey doubleheader with the New York Rangers skating against the Washington Capitals first, followed by the Colorado Avalanche playing the Chicago Blackhawks.

NHL on TNT Face Off is presented by sponsor Verizon.

The season, AT&T’s TNT and The Walt Disney Co.’s ESPN will be televising NHL games, replacing Comcast’s NBC Sports.

The National Hockey League and Turner Sports said that Discover will be the title sponsor of the league’s Winter Classic outdoor game, replacing tire company Bridgestone.

This season WarnerMedia's Turner Sports outlets TNT and TBS and Disney-owned ESPN are taking over as the NHL’s broadcast partners, replacing Comcast’s NBC Sports.

Discover has been a long-term NHL sponsor. It is the first brand to announce a major sponsorship deal with Turner Sports. Discover will be promoted as the official credit card and official bank of the NHL in the U.S. as part of the promotion for the Winter Classic.

“When Discover extended our partnership with the NHL, we committed to deliver unique experiences to hockey’s passionate fan base while helping consumers achieve brighter financial futures. And there is not a more unique experience for hockey fans than NHL’s Winter Classic,” said Kate Manfred, senior VP and chief marketing officer at Discover. “We are proud to be the title sponsor of one of the NHL’s most prestigious events. We are equally excited about working with Turner Sports to bring this game to the fans, and to create unique content across Turner Sports’ platforms all season long.”

Discover will also be featured as sponsor of the Discover Second Intermission Report throughout Turner Sports’ inaugural season of NHL game coverage, with additional promotional extensions across Bleacher Report. Turner Sports and Discover will collaborate on additional custom content and promotions throughout the season and the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

“The Winter Classic is a special day on the NHL calendar every year, and we are excited to expand Discover’s relationship with the League with their title sponsorship of the event,” said Jon Diament, executive VP and chief revenue officer at Turner Sports. “As Turner Sports drops the puck on its first NHL season next month, we look forward to collaborating further on new ways to reach and engage hockey’s highly-coveted fans across our expansive networks and platforms.”

The Discover NHL Winter Classic will be played Jan. 1 with the St. Louis Blues playing the Minnesota Wild at Target Field in Minneapolis. The game will be televised exclusively on TNT.

Turner Sports will start up its live NHL regular season action on Oct. 13, with a TNT prime time doubleheader beginning with the New York Rangers at Washington Capitals followed by Chicago Blackhawks visiting the Colorado Avalanche.

“We are thrilled to have Discover join us as title sponsor of the NHL Winter Classic, one of the crown jewel events on the NHL season calendar. This highly anticipated and special event on New Year’s Day brings together passionate NHL fans to celebrate the heritage of our great game,” said Brian Jennings, NHL chief brand officer and senior executive VP. “Discover, a committed NHL partner since 2010, will deliver creative and unique 2022 Discover NHL Winter Classic activations to connect with our fan base. The NHL, Discover and Turner Sports will bring the NHL Winter Classic to new heights by expanding its reach with new national and local activation.”

The National Hockey League's two newest teams will face off Oct. 12 as ESPN returns to the ice under its new contract with the league.

The expansion Seattle Kraken will take on the Las Vegas Golden Nights in the second game of an opening night double header. The Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning takes on the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 1. 

Both games will also be simulcast on ESPN Plus, and more than 25 out-of-market games will be streamed live on ESPN Plus during the first week of the season.

Also Read: Streaming Takes Center Ice in NHL-Disney Rights Deal

The next night will feature Turner Sports’ first night of NHL action. The New York Rangers will play the Washington Capitals in the first game of a TNT doubleheader, followed by the Chicago Blackhawks taking on the Colorado Avalanche.

TNT will have another NHL doubleheader the following week. 

Later in the season, TNT will have the 2022 NHL Winter Classic with the St. Louis Blues playing the Minnesota Wild at Target Field in Minneapolis on Jan. 1.

Also Read: Wayne Gretzky Joins Turner Sports as Hockey Analyst

Disney’s ESPN and AT&T’s Turner replace Comcast’s NBC Sports carrying NHL games.

The Kraken’s inaugural season home opener on Saturday, Oct. 23, will be streamed live and exclusively on ESPN Plus and Hulu when they host the Vancouver Canucks in Seattle’s brand new Climate Pledge Arena.

ESPN will carry the 2022 NHL All-Star Skills Competition on Feb. 4 followed by the All Star game on Feb. 5 live from Las Vegas.

NBCUniversal said its Peacock streaming service will be showing the remaining games of the Stanley Cup Final. 

The concluding round of the National Hockey League post-season championship tournament is already being broadcast on NBC. Peacock had streamed games during earlier rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

A few years ago, NBCUniversal put Stanley Cup games on NBCSN in order to get fans to tune in to the cable network and persuade more distributors to carry it as it tried to catch up with ESPN. NBCSN will be shutting down at the end of the year.

NBCU is part of Comcast, which owns the Philadelphia Flyers hockey team and has had rights to the NHL since 2005. ESPN and Turner Sports will be carrying the NHL starting next season.

Also Read: Wayne Gretzky Joins Turner Sports as Hockey Analyst

Game three of the Stanley Cup finals between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Montreal Canadiens will be played Friday.

Kenny Albert will be the play-by-play announcer with analyst Eddie Olczyk and Brian Boucher reporting from inside-the-glass.

With NBCSN shutting down, NBCU has been moving more sports programming to boost Peacock. Peacock will be streaming many events from the Tokyo Olympics. It will also be showing Tour de France, Premier Lacrosse League, Indycar, Premier League soccer, Sunday Night Football and the Super Bowl.

Peacock, NBCUniversal’s streaming service, said it will carry all of the remaining Stanley Cup semifinal games, starting Monday.

Coverage of the games will be available on Peacock Premium, a step up from the free version of the service.

NBC Sports will also be televising the National Hockey League playoff games on cable networks NBCSN or USA Network. They will also appear on NBC Sports digital platforms.

Rights to NHL games will be shifting from NBCU properties to Disney’s ESPN and Turner Sports under a new deal reached in March. 

On Monday, Peacock coverage will begin with the NHL Live pregame show at 8:30 p.m. ET. After the game it will have the NHL Overtime post-game coverage.

Sports have been moving to streaming, with the new NFL deals signed by NBCUniversal and other TV rights holders including the ability to put games on their emerging direct-to-consumer platforms.

Wayne “The Great” Gretzky has signed on to the Turner Sports team as a studio hockey analyst as Turner launches coverage of National Hockey League games next season.

AT&T’s Turner Sports signed a long-term deal to televise NHL games last month.

Turner also signed play-by-play announcer Kenny Albert and analyst Eddie Olczyk to call live regular season and Stanley Cup games on TNT and TBS.

“The world’s best hockey league is coming to Turner Sports later this year and the exciting additions of Wayne, Kenny and Eddie will jumpstart our NHL coverage with some of the best and biggest talents in the sport,” said Tara August, senior VP of talent relations and special projects at Turner Sports. “Their incomparable experiences within the game and unparalleled depth of knowledge will bring a distinct dimension to our game and studio coverage. We’re thrilled to welcome them to the Turner Sports family.”

Gretzky is the all-time leader in goals, assists and points. He  won four Stanley Cups and is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

“I’ve long admired Turner Sports’ coverage of the NBA, among other sports, and I’m thrilled to be joining the studio team in their inaugural NHL season,” said Gretzky. “This is an exciting opportunity to share my experiences and perspectives on the game I will always cherish, while hopefully informing and entertaining fans along the way.”

Albert has been calling hockey games since 1990 and most recently did national broadcasts for Fox and NBC.

Olcyzk, who played 16 years in the NHL, was in the broadcast booth as lead hockey analyst for NBC nationally and locally for the Chicago Blackhawks.

Streaming will become a bigger part of sports rights deals in the future, judging by the new agreement struck by The Walt Disney Co. and the National Hockey League.

Both the league and Disney, which has pivoted from traditional media to streaming, called their agreement a template for subsequent deals and that viewers would be looking for games on the kinds of platforms Disney is building.

“I know how passionate and loyal hockey fans can be growing up as a Chicago Blackhawks fan and this agreement is going to allow them to watch their favorite teams like never before on our world-class platforms, including ESPN, ESPN Plus, ABC and Hulu,” Disney CEO Bob Chapek said in a briefing for reporters. “We really look forward to giving fans unprecedented access to an incredible lineup of NHL games and programming.”

The agreement calls for 75 national games per season to be streamed on ESPN Plus and Hulu. ESPN Plus subscribers will also have access to the 1,000 local game telecasts that had been part of the NHL’s out-of-market package.

“This really is a paradigm-shifting deal,” said Jimmy Pitaro, president of ESPN. 

The seven-year pact with the NHL “serves as a model for rights deals of the future,” Pitaro added. “Streaming really is at the heart of this deal and this is a reflection of its role as a critical part of our future.”

That means future rights negotiations will focus on streaming. 

“This deal is really a template of things to come. This is how we are evaluating things as we move forward, looking through both a linear lens and also the direct-to-consumer lens,” Pitaro said.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said the agreement puts the league “on the cutting edge of content distribution.” The deal has both a linear package as well as a “forward-looking strategy focusing on the impact of streaming,” Bettman said.

Bettman called this a transformative time in media, particularly sports media.

“For us, this reflected the reality of what the media world is looking like now,” he said. “Everybody knows that there is cord cutting and everybody knows that the streaming platforms are growing dramatically and we think that at some point, probably relatively early on in this deal, that there is going to be a convergence.”

Between Hulu and ESPN Plus, they’ll soon have as many subscribers as some cable networks, Bettman noted.

Bettman said that linear coverage was also an important part of the package, with many of the league’s playoff games being on ESPN and ABC and with the Stanley Cup Final best-of-seven being on ABC in the years when Disney televises the championship series.

Disney and other programmers are also negotiating new rights deals with the National Football League. Comcast NBCUniversal wants some of that league's powerful programming on its Peacock streaming service and ViacomCBS wants some football on Paramount Plus.

The NFL’s Thursday Night Football package might go to Amazon Prime, which has been sharing that package with Fox and the NFL Network.

But football is a different sport, with a very limited supply of games in its 16 games season, compared with the 82 NHL teams usually play. Because of COVID, this year's NHL season will be 56 games.

ESPN refused to pay a rights fee when its previous deal with the NHL expired in 2005. Hockey is attractive to ESPN now because the Sports Leader is looking to expand its audience and likes what is sees in hockey’s younger, growing fan base. Those fans tend to be tech savvy and either cord cutters or cord nevers.

“ESPN Plus will now be a must-have for hockey fans,” Pitaro said. He added that having such a large volume of games will make ESPN stickier with subscribers.

With the completion of its deal with Disney, the NHL still has a second package of rights to games to sell. The package isn’t as large and the league will work with potential partners to determine how many games will be televised on linear channels and how many will be streamed, Bettman said. 

Bettman said talks continue on the second rights package and that NBCU continues to express interest in making a deal with the NHL even after the Disney deal being finalized.

NBCU is planning to close its NBCSN cable sports network, where many NHL games appeared. Some of NBCSN’s sports programming is heading for USA Network, the rest to Peacock.

“Of course they’re under consideration,” Bettman said of Comcast and NBCU. “They’ve been good partners,” he said.

ESPN is returning to the ice with the National Hockey League, signing a seven year deal that will put Stanley Cup games on ABC, which like ESPN is owned by The Walt Disney Co.

The deal also includes putting 75 games on Disney’s ESPN Plus and Hulu streaming services. 

The league’s out-of-market streaming package is moving from NHL.TV to become part of an ESPN Plus subscription, giving those subscribers access to more than 1,000 games a year.

The NHL is still talking with Comcast’s NBCUniversal, which is its current television partner. NBCU is shutting down its NBCSN cable channel, but could carry hockey on NBC and USA Network.

“This partnership of the world’s top hockey league and the platforms of The Walt Disney Company is a big win for our fans and our game,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said. “Not only will this groundbreaking, seven-year deal enable the NHL to benefit from the incomparable power, reach and influence of The Walt Disney Company and ABC/ESPN, it sets a new standard in delivering our game to the most passionate and tech-savvy fans in sports in the ways they now demand and on the platforms they use.”

Financial terms were not disclosed.

“This agreement clearly underscores The Walt Disney Company’s leadership in the sports media landscape and serves as a blueprint for sports deals in the future," said Jimmy Pitaro, chairman of ESPN. “We know the power of the NHL and are thrilled to welcome it back as a significant new pillar across our platforms, and we look forward to connecting more deeply and directly with some of the sports world’s most passionate fans.”

ABC will have exclusive coverage of the Stanley Cup Final in four of the seven years of the agreement. Disney can simulcast those games on ESPN properties including ESPN Plus.

There will be 25 exclusive national regular season games on ABC or ESPN each year, with 75 national games streaming on ESPN and Hulu.

In each season, ESPN and ABC will have live, exclusive coverage of one Conference Final series and half of all First Round and Second Round games from the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Disney’s networks will also have coverage of the NHL Face-off on opening night, the NHL All-Star Game and Skills Challenge each season, plus other events the league plans to create.

Comcast’s NBC Sports has been paying the NHL $2 billion a year under a 10 year deal that expires after this season. 

Comcast, which owns part of the Philadelphia Flyers, picked up the rights to the NHL after ESPN decided not to renew its contract in 2005. Games were televised on what was then OLN, which eventually became NBCSN.

The return of the National Hockey League and the continuation of the National Football League playoffs highlight a busy three-day Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend in TV sports.

The National Hockey League will drop the puck on the first weekend of its truncated 2020-21 season with NBC offering a national Sunday telecast of the Washington Capitals-Pittsburgh Penguins game. The NHL Network will telecast six NHL games from Friday to Sunday, while NBCSN will offer four live league games on Monday. 

The NHL debuted its shortened 56-game season on Wednesday, three months after the league completed its COVID-19-shortened 2019-20 season within bubble environments in Toronto and Edmonton. While this season will not be played in a bubble, the league has altered its divisions -- including creating a division featuring all seven of the league’s Canadian franchises -- in an effort to mitigate the challenges of the pandemic.

The NFL will continue its march towards the Super Bowl with four Divisional playoff games. On Saturday the Los Angeles Rams will face the top-seeded Green Bay Packers in an afternoon NFC Divisional Playoff game on Fox, while the Baltimore Ravens will meet the Buffalo Bills in an AFC Divisional Playoff matchup airing on NBC. Sunday’s games include the AFC’s top-seed and defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs against the Cleveland Browns on CBS, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers-New Orleans Saints NFC Divisional Playoff game on Fox.

TNT will showcase three live NBA games as part of the league’s annual Martin Luther King holiday celebration. The Phoenix Suns will play the Memphis Grizzlies in a late afternoon game, followed by the primetime Milwaukee Bucks-Brooklyn Nets game and the Golden State Warriors-Los Angeles Lakers late-night telecast.

NBC and NBCSN will offer live coverage of the 2021 U.S. Figure Skating Championships for both the men’s and women’s divisions Friday through Sunday. On Friday NBCSN will provide live afternoon coverage while NBC offers live primetime coverage. NBC on Saturday afternoon picks up live coverage while NBCSN carries primetime coverage. NBC will offer live Sunday afternoon coverage of the championships. 

On Saturday ABC will air its first-ever live UFC mixed martial arts telecast, highlighted by the Max Holloway-Calvin Kattar featherweight fight. 

The National Hockey League and the NHL Players Association reached an agreement to start a 56-game regular season on Jan. 13, down from the traditional 82-game regular season.

Like other sports, the NHL was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic last season. The league paused its season in March and restarted in August, with most teams returning to play in bubbles in Edmonton and Toronto. The Tampa Bay Lightning didn’t hoist the Stanley Cup until Sept. 28.

For 2021-22, the league and players said they intend to return to a “normal” season that would begin in October as in year’s past.

NBCUniversal is in the last year of its contract to carry the NHL regular season and the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Walt Disney Co.’s ESPN is apparently interested in bidding for the rights to show NHL games.

“The National Hockey League looks forward to the opening of our 2020-21 season, especially since the Return to Play in 2019-20 was so successful in crowning a Stanley Cup champion,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said.

“While we are well aware of the challenges ahead, as was the case last spring and summer, we are continuing to prioritize the health and safety of our participants and the communities in which we live and play. And, as was the case last spring and summer, I thank the NHLPA, particularly Executive Director Don Fehr, for working cooperatively with us to get our League back on the ice,” Bettman said.

“The Players are pleased to have finalized agreements for the upcoming season, which will be unique but also very exciting for the fans and Players alike,” said Don Fehr, NHLPA executive director. “During these troubled times, we hope that NHL games will provide fans with some much needed entertainment as the players return to the ice.”

The NHL will realign its teams into four divisions, one, the North division, consisting entirely of its Canadian teams.

The top four teams of each division will make the playoffs. 

Famed hockey announcer Mike “Doc” Emrick said he plans to retire, marking the end of a 47-year career as a sportscaster.

Emerick, who covered 22 Stanley Cup Finals, spent the last 15 years at NBC Sports. The play-by-play man was inducted into seven Halls of Fame and was the first broadcaster inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.

“Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick is a national treasure – simply put, he’s one of the best ever to put on a headset in the history of sports broadcasting,” said Sam Flood, executive producer and president, production, NBC and NBCSN.

“Doc’s love of the game and his unmatched style produced true artistry, engaged new fans and quickly became the soundtrack of hockey. He lived at the rink on game days, spending countless hours at morning skates to find one more story to seamlessly weave into his frenetic, yet lyrical, call of a game,” Flood said. “Doc always found the right words to meet the moment. It’s impossible to put into words the impact Doc has had not only on the game of hockey, but for anyone who has had the distinct pleasure to work with him.”

Although retiring, Emrick will remain a member of the NBC Sports family by occasionally writing and narrating video essays for its NHL coverage in the future.

“It was 50 years ago this fall, with pen and pad in hand at old Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, I got my first chance to cover the National Hockey League. Gordie Howe was a Red Wing, Bobby Hull was a Blackhawk, Bobby Orr was a Bruin,” said Emrick. 

“Things change over 50 years, but much of what I love is unchanged from then to now and into the years ahead. I still get chills seeing the Stanley Cup. I especially love when the horn sounds, and one team has won and another team hasn’t, all hostility can dissolve into the timeless great display of sportsmanship – the handshake line. I leave you with sincere thanks,” Emrick said.

Emrick started his career as a freelance reporter for the Beaver County Times covering the Pittsburgh Penguins during the 1970-71 NHL season. He became known as “Doc” because he has a Ph.D. in broadcast communications from Bowling Green State University.

At NBC, he worked with lead analyst and former NHL All Star Eddie Olczyk.

“It has been a privilege and education on hockey’s biggest stage to have sat next to Doc for the last 14 years,” said NBC Sports’ lead NHL analyst Olczyk, who shared a booth with Doc for the past 14 seasons. “I will miss his stories, his preparation, his play-by-play, his friendship, and our dinners on the road. But most of all, I will miss his trust. My family and I wish him, Joyce, the pups and horses lots of love down the road.”

The National Hockey League Player elected not to play in Stanley Cup playoff games Thursday and Friday.

The NHL said it supported the players’ decision and will reschedule those four games beginning Saturday and adjust the remainder of the second round schedule.

The NHL played its games Wednesday night while NBA players opted not to play in reaction to the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisc. The WNBA also did not play, along with some Major League Baseball games.

Related: NBA Playoff Games Postponed Over Shooting in Wisconsin

NBCUniversal’s NBC and NBCSN televise carry the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Many NHL players were critical of the decision to play Wednesday.

“Black and Brown communities continue to face real, painful experiences. The NHL and NHLPA recognize that much work remains to be done before we can play an appropriate role in a discussion centered on diversity, inclusion and social justice,” the league and players said in a statement. “We understand that the tragedies involving Jacob Blake, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others require us to recognize this moment. We pledge to work to use our sport to influence positive change in society.”

With the National Hockey League set to resume play on Aug. 1, NBCUniversal said most of its sponsors will be returning for the delayed Stanley Cup playoffs.

“The vast majority of our hockey partners have come back,” said Dan Lovinger, executive VP, advertising sales, NBC Sports Group. 

Lovinger noted that hockey was extremely well sold out when the season was suspended because of the COVID-19 pandemic in March. The toughest conversations were the result of hockey moving from its spring finales to playoffs that will start in the summer and extend into the fall.

When the league suspended play, Lovinger said that advertisers were given an option. If the games are canceled, you can have your money back. If games were postponed, the buy was put on hold, and once the tames resume, “we’ll talk about the best way forward,” he said.

NBC’s first step when the NHL announced its plans for restarting, with teams playing in two Canadian cities, was to get sponsors to recommit.

Very few of NBC’s hockey sponsors are in categories that the pandemic has stopped from doing business, like films, airlines and other travel advertisers.

“Now we move into a scatter market that has been pretty good toward the end of the second quarter and into the third quarter,” he said.

With that foundation, Lovinger expects other advertisers looking to reach sports fans to buy into the Stanley Cup games.

“I think we certainly saw that with NASCAR and with Golf. What people are seeing is pent up demand,” he said, pointing to the record ratings the Yankees game pulled on ESPN when baseball season started.

Lovinger said NBC has also been doing NFL business. It has some clients on multiyear deals. It has also signed up marketers who are looking to build market programs around their NFL sponsorships. ”Virtually all of our marketing positions are claimed," he said. "We have precious few left.”

Negotiations with other advertisers have been affected by the delays in the upfront market, he noted.

NBC Sports also released a study that shows how much both sports fans and sponsors are affected by the absence of games on TV.

“What it really tells us is that sports is the ideal environment for unity and hope,” Lovinger said. “Given the current climate, regardless of age or gender or location, a sports fan is a sports fan. Sports can heal a lot of our society’s wounds.”

MSG Networks is launching original programming as the National Hockey League gets set to drop the puck and start its Stanley Cup Qualifiers games on August.1.

On July 27, the network will debut Around the NHL, presented by Chase, a new weekday program hosted by Michelle Gingras and Anson Carter.

The show will highlight league news and action and feature guest interviews.

The network is also launching MSG Hockey IQ, an NHL themed trivia show on July 27.

MSG Hockey IQ features broadcasters Sam Rosen, Joe Micheletti, John Giannone, Steve Valiquette, Brendan Burke, Butch Goring and Shannon Hogan getting ready for the season and answering trivia questions. The show is presented by Cadillac.

On Tuesday, MSG Networks will air a Rangers Return to Play Preview, followed by an Islanders Return to Play Preview on Wednesday.

The National Hockey League on Tuesday said its Stanley Cup Qualifiers games will start Aug. 1, with NBC Sports airing up to 120 hours of coverage.

The NHL’s regular season was canceled in March because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The league will resume play with 16 teams competing in a round of qualifying games, and eight other teams playing in a round robin to determine playoff seeding. Those will be followed by the Stanley Cup playoffs and championship.

NBC Sports will show games on NBC, NBC Sports Network and USA Network, with 10 hours of action each day from Aug. 1 to Aug. 5 starting with the New York Rangers taking on the Carolina Hurricanes.

NHL Network will air seven round robin and qualifying games over the first five days of the playoffs. The network will also offer  studio coverage, including NHL Tonight, before and after each game.

The league also said that 21 games will be available on NHL Center Ice for streaming on NHL.TV, with local blackouts. NHL.TV costs $4.99. 

The 12 Eastern Conference teams are playing in Scotiabank Arena in Toronto and the 12 Western Conference teams will compete at Rogers Place in Edmonton.

The National Hockey League, whose season was ended in March by the coronavirus, announced on Tuesday its plan to return to play.

The league did not specify exactly when games would return, but said it hoped to open training camps sometime in July and would start the Stanley Cup Playoffs some time after that. 

In addition to the NHL, the NBA’s season was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic. The start of the Major League Baseball season was postponed and the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament was canceled. All of those sports provide high-rated programming that attracts both subscription and advertising dollars. 

In a recent report Standard Media Index said that TV ad spending on sports was down 70% in April.

Other sports are working on their back to play plans, with the NBA and MLB holding discussions with players. The NFL recently held its draft on schedule and has released a fall schedule that would feature games during its normal season, concluding with the Super Bowl in February.

Comcast's NBC Sports pays about $200 million a year to televise regular season NHL games and the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

“Today is a great day for hockey. We look forward to showcasing the NHL’s new plan, including the 2020 Stanley Cup Final, on the networks of NBCUniversal later this year while ensuring the safety of our team,” an NBC Sports spokesman said.

The NHL plan, announced by Commissioner Gary Bettman, calls for the regular season to be over and for 24 teams to resume play in a playoff that would consist of a round-robin for the teams with the best records and a qualifying round for the other teams.

“At the pause, we committed to resuming play only when appropriate and prudent. We are hopeful the Return to Play Plan will allow us to complete the season and award the Stanley Cup in a manner in which the health and safety of our players, on-ice officials, team staff and associated individuals involved are paramount. Accordingly, an essential component of the Plan is a rigorous, regular schedule of testing,” Bettman said.

“On the hockey side, the return-to-play format reflects the league’s extraordinary competitive balance while honoring the tradition and integrity of the Stanley Cup Playoffs,” he said.

The games will be played in two hub cities, which have not yet been identified. The cities in contention include Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Edmonton, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, Toronto and Vancouver.

The hub cities will have secure hotels, arenas and practice facilities and in-market transportation. Each team will be able to bring 50 personnel to the hub city. Fewer will be able to attend games.

The league has set up a testing procedure to protect the health of the players and other team personnel.

The winners of the qualifying round will play against the teams that were in the round robin. The conference finals and the Stanley Cup Final will be best of seven game series.

Eastern Conference teams in the round robin are the Boston Bruins, Tampa Bay Lightning, Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers.

Eastern conference qualifying round series will pit the Pittsburgh Penguins vs the Montreal Canadiens, the Carolina Hurricanes against the New York Rangers, the New York Islanders against the Florida Panthers and the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Western Conference Round Robin teams are the St. Louis Blues, the Colorado Avalanche, the Vegas Golden Knights and the Dallas Stars.

Qualifying round matchup in the West are Edmonton Oilers vs Chicago Blackhawks, Nashville Predators vs Arizona Coyotes, Vancouver Canucks vs Minnesota Wild and Calgary Flames vs. Winnipeg Jets.

Sports rights are expected to go higher in the next three years despite pressure from COVID-19, possibly driving increased retransmission-consent fees and pushing poorer homes out of the pay TV bundle.

The National Football League, Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League will have national TV-rights deals up for renewal in the next three years. The National Basketball Association, which suspended its season in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, doesn’t come up for renewal until 2024. Some are trying to find ways to salvage their postponed seasons, such as MLB games in Arizona in empty stadiums. And most are expected to get big increases, according to MoffettNathanson media analyst Michael Nathanson.

The NHL also suspended its regular season in March. The NFL, which doesn’t start its season until September, hasn’t made any decision regarding suspensions, and most are hopeful the lockdowns currently associated with the COVID-19 outbreak will be lifted before then.

A Spike in NFL Rights

So it shouldn’t be any surprise that Nathanson believes the NFL will have the biggest increases in rights fees — as much as 75% for Sunday games aired by the three broadcast networks (NBC, CBS and Fox) when they come up for renewal in 2022, he wrote.

The NFL has renegotiated its collective bargaining agreement with the NFL Players Association, agreeing to increase players’ share of revenue from 47% to a minimum of 48% beginning in 2021. At the same time, the league has increased the number of regularseason games to 17 from 16 and changed its playoff format. The league will now send seven teams to the playoffs, up from the previous six.

The extra games should boost league fees come renewal time. In a separate research report, Barclays Global media analyst Kannan Venkateshwar wrote that rights fees could rise even higher than 75%.

In his note, Venkateshwar said players’ shares reach 48.5% if TV revenue rises by 60% and hit 48.8% if revenue increases by 120%.

“Based on our conversations, the higher end of this range (+60% to 120%) isn’t too far off from current Street expectations for rights increases when the NFL’s deals come up for renewal in 2021 and 2022,” he wrote.

The question for cable networks and broadcasters is where those fees will come from. Nathanson believes that with the COVID-19 pandemic pressuring ad sales, programmers — especially smaller ones — will be forced to dip into the retransmission-consent and affiliate-fee well more deeply than ever. “In all, the combination of COVID-19 economic fallout and sharply higher cash payments for sports should pressure free cash flows of the smaller ViacomCBS and Fox forcing them to push for higher retrans and reverse retrans while pressuring their non-sports programming investments,” Nathanson wrote.

ViacomCBS’s sports rights costs would increase from $1.7 billion in 2019 to $2.2 billion (up 30%) in 2024, Nathanson estimated, while affiliate fees (revenue) will rise 75% from $2 billion to $3.5 billion. Fox, which has restructured its business to focus mostly on live news and sports, will see affiliate fees rise 50% from $3.2 billion in 2019 to $4.8 billion, while sports rights costs will increase from $3.3 billion to $4.4 billion (up 33%) by the end of 2024.

Not all of those affiliate-fee increases will be due to sports costs, but Nathanson pointed out that for both large and small programmers, sports accounts for between 60% and 90% of the total affiliate-fee haul.

The analyst wondered if higher sports fees could start a chain reaction: higher retrans fees could mean higher pay TV bills, possibly pushing poorer homes and non-sports watchers out of the bundle and leading to even higher pass-alongs to offset customer declines.

“In the long run, we think this will create a world where the traditional bundle serves only wealthier sports fans while non-sports fans seek OTT options like Netflix, Amazon, Hulu Disney+ and HBO Max,” Nathanson wrote.

At Kagan, a unit of S&P Global Market Intelligence, sports business analyst Adam Gajo said that sharp divide doesn’t yet exist but it could happen, especially as traditional pay TV continues to lose subscribers and streaming services offer more customized packages.

“With the next round of sports rights renewals coming up, the bidders will have to be aware of the market value, and make sure that they are able to pass the sports rights payments through to reach the subscribers,” Gajo said. “If — when — the price for sports continues to go up, with less people paying into it, I think we could get to the point where interested households can’t afford it.”

Five months after its launch, subscription video on demand service ESPN+ has surpassed the one million subscriber mark, ESPN said Thursday.

The $4.99 per month service, which was launched in April 2018 by ESPN and The Walt Disney Company’s Direct-To-Consumer and International segment, will offer more than 10,000 live sports events, including Major League Baseball and NHL games, global soccer games, college football and basketball contests and boxing and mixed martial arts fights.

Since its launch, ESPN has reached several content deals to  boost ESPN+'s programming lineup, including several college conference rights extensions, a multi-year agreement with boxing promotion company Top Rank, and an exclusive multi-year deal with MMA outfit UFC. 

“Combining sports, technology and the ESPN brand is a very powerful combination, and we are just getting started. Very quickly, a wide range of sports fans have seen the value of ESPN+. With high quality programming and an outstanding user experience, ESPN and DTCI are expanding the ways Disney is serving sports fans,” said Jimmy Pitaro, president of ESPN and co-chair, Disney Media Networks in a statement.

RELATED: ESPN’s James Pitaro opens up about the new direct-to-consumer future

Added Disney’s chairman of Direct-to-Consumer and International Kevin Mayer: “Reaching one million paid subscribers is an important milestone for any video subscription service, but reaching this benchmark in such a short amount of time is an incredible testament to the teams from DTCI and ESPN who have worked tirelessly to bring this product to market and continually improve it since our April launch."

The National Hockey League will skate into the 2016-17 regular season with an enhanced live game digital streaming offering powered through its partnership with BAMTech, the league said Wednesday.

Leading its digital charge is the league’s NHL.TV service, offering every out-of-market game to hockey fans on various streaming platforms. The $139.96 package will be available for the first time on new generation Apple Tv’s  as well as Xbox One, complimenting the package’s availability on Android and iOS devices, Chromecast, Roku and SonyPlaystation devices, said the league.

NHL.TV, which is also offering a single team package for $24.99, will also feature the opportunity for fans to view either the home or away play-by-play broadcast of most games, DVR controls to rewind an pause live action, and a mosaic feature allowing subscribers to access up to four live games at one time, said the league.

In addition, subscribers paying a yearly fee of $19.99 for the NHL App can watch two minutes of action in every regulation period live with no blackout restrictions as well as the final minutes of any out-of-market game including overtime and shootouts, said league officials.

The league also plans to stream via Twitter a live game weekly as part of a deal with with the social media company announced this past summer. 

The past decade’s promise of digital convergence is manifesting in live streaming of major sports events attracting record audiences via smartphones, tablets, game consoles and PCs.

Consumers are taking advantage of TV everywhere and OTT streaming services that sports leagues and networks offer in increasing numbers, with mobile views augmenting the longer established out-of-market pay TV offerings.

“League Pass continues to grow, even as we introduced new packages,” David Denenberg, the National Basketball Association’s senior vice president of global media distribution, business affairs, told Multichannel News. “We’re focused on serving our fans no matter what platform they have with them.”

Full-season subscription-TV packages like NBA League Pass, Major League Baseball’s MLB.TV and the National Hockey League’s NHL GameCenter Live serve transplanted sports enthusiasts in out-of-market locations who want to keep following their hometown teams.

Digital extensions from the leagues have bolstered those services, leagues said. The NBA this season even added single-game pay streams. (The leagues won’t divulge the number of digital subscriptions, other than they’ve increased steadily.)

League and network officials don’t seem especially concerned about business-model-busting moves such as the live-streaming deal Twitter reached with the National Football League to stream 10 free games from its Thursday Night Football package.

“I have a hard time thinking that the best way to stream content to the masses is digital-only product,” said Rick Cordella, NBC Sports Group senior vice president and general manager, digital media. “There’s no power like broadcast television. We’re not going to make our content freely available.”

When NBC streamed in 2008 for the first time the Olympic Games, in Beijing, “We took a very cautious approach,” Cordella said. “The biggest fear initially was cannibalization: instead of people watching on a big screen TV on the wall, they would then watch on an iPhone or a desktop computer. Really that’s never the case.”

For NBC, the key to streaming live is authentication; users must prove they’re either a cable or satellite subscriber. “We’re part of the ecosystem, a larger machine. We think it’s the right model,” Cordella said.

That goes for anything that NBC broadcasts over the air, as well as NBCSN, the Golf Channel and regional sports networks, such as local NBA games, and NBC’s partnership with Telemundo’s Deportes, totalling 7,000-8,000 hours of content a year, not including the Olympics, which is another 4,500 hours. In mid-April, the first week of the National Hockey League’s Stanley Cup Playoffs scored for NBC Sports an 84% bigger digital audience than last year, Cordella said.

“Digital streaming attracts young affluent males who are tech-savvy and forward leaning: an attractive demographic to reach for advertisers,” Cordella said, adding that digital has its own ad load often with different creative even though they might be some of the same advertisers on-air. “In some case [advertisers] pay a premium to reach it.”

Livestream growth also is evident in other sports, such as soccer, golf and tennis.

The NeuLion-powered Major League Soccer service, MLS Live, grew its subscription base by 60% in 2015, according to Chris Wagner, executive vice president and co-founder of NeuLion.

NeuLion overall delivered OTT 63,000 live sports streams in 2015 and 30% higher video traffic than the previous year, Wagner said.

The new OTT product Univision Now, directed at 57 million Spanish U.S.-based speakers, expects digital traffic this June for the 32-match Copa America Centenario soccer tournament, involving national teams from North America and South America to be a bigger streaming deal than the 2014 FIFA World Cup was for Univision, he said.

“TV is still going to have the majority of [all sports] audiences,” Wagner said.

But digital is making inroads.

SIDEBAR: Sports Streaming Milestones

• Viewers of CBS Sports’s live stream of Super Bowl 50 consumed more than 402 million total minutes of coverage across laptops, desktops, tablets, connected TV devices and mobile phones, watching for more than 101 minutes each on average. During the game window, viewers consumed more than 315 million minutes of coverage, with an average minute audience of 1.4 million.

• NBA League Pass, the NBA’s live out-of-market subscription package, delivered a record 27 million video views and 1.2 billion total minutes viewed during the 2015-16 regular season. Globally, NBA.com and the NBA app netted a record 9.1 billion video views this season, up 160% over last year, and 3 billion visits, for a 27% year-over-year increase.

• This year’s NCAA March Madness Live, managed by Turner, garnered 73.5 million live streams and 18.1 million hours of live video consumption. When comparing this year with 2010, live streaming is up 84% and hours of live video consumption are up 54%.

• MLB Advanced Media’s At Bat app in 2015 established record levels of engagement including 13.1 million downloads (+21% YOY), 1.7 billion app starts (+40% YOY) and 8.4 billion minutes.

• WrestleMania 32-related content garnered more than 250 million video views across WWE.com, the WWE app and social media, (+122% YOY), setting a data traffic record of 8.6 TB on the AT&T network.

• Golf Channel Digital achieved its best week ever with The Masters from April 7–10, 2016 for total video starts (3.2 million) and total unique users (4 million). Additionally, Golf Live Extra saw a 23% increase in streaming coverage over 2015 for Golf Central Live From The Masters coverage, the best ever for Masters Week.

•CSN Bay Area Digital set a network record with 3.19 million minutes streamed for the historic 73rd regular-season Golden State Warriors win over the Memphis Grizzlies, surpassing the previous high, last Sunday’s Warriors-San Antonio Spurs game (3.15 million minutes streamed). For the full season, fans consumed 96.1 million minutes on CSNBayArea.com and via NBC Sports Live Extra (through 70 games), up 443% compared to the 2014-15 championship season.

• The NBC Sports section of Yahoo Sports delivered 3.5 million minutes in March, up 30% over March 2015, according to multiplatform data released by comScore.