The NHL is officially returning to ESPN.
ESPN announced Wednesday that it has reached a seven-year media rights agreement with the NHL that takes effect next season. The news was first reported by Canadian channel SportsNet and the New York Post Tuesday.
According to Job And Associated PressESPN’s deal is worth about $400 million a year for what the Job terms the NHL “A” package. ESPN was already paying $100 million per year for its game streaming offering on ESPN+.
As previously stated, ESPN will broadcast the Stanley Cup Final exclusively for four of the seven years. In a first for the NHL, all seven games would be broadcast on the ABC broadcast network, with simulcasts on ESPN+ and additional ESPN networks.
ESPN and ABC schedule 25 regular season games per year. According to P.A.ABC will likely broadcast 10 of those games on Saturday and ESPN 15 on Thursday.
The ESPN networks will also broadcast one conference final per year, the annual NHL opening night games, the All-Star Game and the Skills Challenge, as well as “other special NHL events.” It was unclear whether the latter designation would include the Winter Classic, although ESPN’s college football commitments appear to rule out that possibility.
Linear television is only part of the problem. ESPN+ and Hulu are expected to broadcast 75 ESPN-produced regular season games per season, marking the first NHL games exclusively for an over-the-top platform. ESPN+ currently streams games available on local RSNs.
ESPN+ will also host the NHL’s out-of-market package, currently branded as NHL.TV, which includes 1,000 games per season.
ESPN announced Wednesday that it will bring back its old NHL theme song.
(ESPN PR News 3.10ESPN Front Row/Twitter 3.10André Marchand/Twitter 3.10AP 3.10)
