Update: On Wednesday afternoon, ESPN announced that the deal to bring live NHL action back to their network was official.
Features of the agreement include:
— Exclusive coverage of the Stanley Cup Final on ABC in four years of the agreement, as well as half of the Stanley Cup Playoffs on ESPN or ABC each year
— 25 exclusive regular-season games per season on ESPN or ABC
— 75 national regular-season games per season to stream exclusively on ESPN+ and Hulu
— Over 1,000 out-of-market games available to all ESPN+ subscribers
Original
It's been a while since we've seen NHL action on ESPN — not counting ESPN Plus — but it seems as though a reunion is on the horizon.
According to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet, one of the NHL's United States media partners for the next seven years will be ESPN, as the two sides struck a deal that will begin in the 2022 season. As part of the deal, ESPN will reportedly get four Stanley Cup Finals between 2022 and 2028, in addition to streaming rights.
There has been no confirmation from the NHL on this report, nor have there been any details regarding the finances of the deal or what the other media company will be. However, the thought is that splitting rights between multiple partners, like the NFL, MLB and NBA do, would potentially be more lucrative than exclusive rights to one network.
ESPN most recently broadcast the NHL from the 1992-93 season through the 2003-04 season, and the network additionally featured the popular ESPN2 show "NHL 2Night," all of which came to an end after the 2004-05 lockout (via Michael McCarthy and A.J. Perez of Front Office Sports).
The news, as expected, brought a wave of nostalgia through social media, with many fans expressing excitement over the new reported partnership.
NBC's current 10-year, $2 billion deal, which has granted them exclusive U.S. media rights, will expire after this season.
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