The National Hockey League's long-standing television partnership with NBC is about to come to an end following the 2020-21 season.
After partnering with ESPN to a seven-year agreement to become the primary broadcast partner on March 10, the NHL is partnering with Turner Sports to become the league's secondary broadcast partner.
It will be a seven-year agreement worth a reported $225 million per-season, which would see the NHL rights revenue increasing to $625 million per-year.
With this new TV deal, the NHL will have regular season, Stanley Cup Playoff and Stanley Cup Final games being televised on both TNT and TBS starting with the 2021-22 season and running through the the 2027-28 season.
“This agreement with the National Hockey League brings one of the most prestigious championships in sports to TNT and fuels our entire Turner Sports and Bleacher Report portfolio with even more premium content for many years to come,” said Chairman of WarnerMedia News and Sports, Jeff Zucker in a statement. “We’re delighted to spotlight the world’s best hockey league on our leading networks, while continuing to further elevate this marquee property through an ever-expanding array of digital platforms in the years to come.”
As part of this new deal with Turner Sports, the networks will televise all games of the Stanley Cup Final in three of the seven years, starting with 2023 and including 2025 and 2027. The other four years of the Stanley Cup Final, starting in 2021, will be televised on ABC. 2023 will mark the first time since 1994 that the Stanley Cup Final will be only televised on cable.
Meanwhile, ESPN and Turner Sports will each share one conference final series each season, along with half of the opening two rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Turner Sports will also be the new home of the NHL's Winter Classic, which is annually held outdoors on New Year's Day in a select location around the league. This will be part of a 72-game regular season schedule to be nationally televised every season on the Turner Sports networks.
This adds on to the 25 regular season games that will be televised each season on ABC or ESPN, plus an additional 75 games that will be nationally streamed on ESPN+ and Hulu.
The new agreement between the NHL and Turner Sports also includes other live streaming options, including HBO Max. In addition, Bleacher Report, which is owned by Turner Sports, will have expansive digital and highlights rights on its platform.
“Turner Sports is known for its outstanding sports coverage, quality and innovation and we are thrilled that this new partnership will provide our fans with the content they love on the platforms and devices of their choice,” said NHL commissioner Gary Bettman in WarnerMedia's official statement. “TNT is a proven and acclaimed destination for sports fans and we will also benefit from the deep connection Bleacher Report has with young digital-savvy fans. Having WarnerMedia join the NHL family as co-rightsholders for the next seven years gives us incredible reach, positions us well for the future as the media landscape continues to evolve, and will fuel continued growth for the NHL and our Clubs.”
The broadcast agreements with both ESPN and Turner Sports marks the first time since the 1998-99 season in which the NHL will have two network partners in the United States.
NBC has been airing NHL games on its networks since the start of the 2005-06 season following the 2004-05 lockout. The league and NBC are currently in the final year of a 10-year broadcast agreement.
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