NBC coverage

[PWBIII 0]

Yeah ive been watching it. Its pretty brutal. No wonder nobody watches the nhl on nbc. And how about having a game with someone other than the f-ing rangers.

[mik3 1]

I thought Millbury's been good today, he's calling Jagr out for all the stuff he's done pretty much since going to Washington. When the team's going well he shows a bit of heart, otherwise he just coasts.

[habsfan87 0]

I was happy to see them making an effort tho, I don't mind Pierre and Mike on TSN, I think NBC needs their own voice tho, it doesnt really fit the market imo. I say ya give it to JR when hes done and maybe having an american would be better. I agree with PW tho everytime I see an NBC game its at msg, we'll see how it goes in two weeks....NBC in Montreal lol

[mack 44]

I didn't bother recording it because I didn't want to see two shitty teams but I'm glad to hear that no "game of the week" will be worth taping.

[Theo 1]

McGuire ruins anything going on mid-game. Why they let him chime in at will, I do not know. Talk about annoying

And Milbury ruins the intermissions. Having him preach about how teams should be coached and such is akin to having Colton Orr teach you how to skate.

[habsfan87 0]

leave it to NBC to pump up the hockey market on playoff, and next superbowl sunday. and i never watch football but i watched the last 2 mins of gb/ny and no wonder why they don't like broadcasting hockey games, you dont have a stoppage every 5 seconds to show a damn commercial

[Trooper 8]

- Great to have the "Gillette Power Play" logo during the 2 minutes. Not.

Gilette Power Play logo= money

It's that simple. This is how leagues get exposure and revenue. While it may be annoying, it is reality.

[chippa13 1844]

I didn't bother recording it because I didn't want to see two shitty teams but I'm glad to hear that no "game of the week" will be worth taping.

You're talking about my 8th place Bruins, them's fighting words.

Well,no, not really.

[bbruins8 0]

7th place :) and climbing. Was a great game by our Black and Gold and I enjoyed watching them in HD as I barely get the chance because Center Ice doesn't do HD games in my area. It was almost worth having to listen to that morose, bitter dickhead Milbury badmouth Phil.

[docar15 1]

McGuire is being replaced by Mr. Methane.

[RadioGaGa 162]

McGuire is being replaced by Mr. Methane.

I wonder if that has something to do with the launch of TSN Radio in Toronto next month. Pierre will probably be key on there and have less time to travel with NBC.

[EDIT] n/m. He's moved to the Versus broadcast: http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Huge-changes-for-VERSUS-Pierre-McGuire-joins-NH?urn=nhl-317372

[hockeyherb 1]

I wonder if that has something to do with the launch of TSN Radio in Toronto next month. Pierre will probably be key on there and have less time to travel with NBC.

[EDIT] n/m. He's moved to the Versus broadcast: http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Huge-changes-for-VERSUS-Pierre-McGuire-joins-NH?urn=nhl-317372

Get ready to love you some more NBC/Versus. Sorry ESPN, shouldn't have given her up in the first place if you want her back now that the NHL went to the gym and got all sexy.

http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily/Morning-Buzz/2011/04/19/NBC-NHL.aspx

NBC and Versus have agreed to a deal to renew the NHL’s TV rights, according to execs close to the deal. A formal announcement is expected to come this afternoon. Specific deal terms are not known, but the bidding had gone above $200M per year. Fox pulled out of the bidding last week, and Turner pulled out yesterday, saying it could not find a business model to support the money the NHL appears to be getting in this negotiation. The NHL never came back to ESPN with a final bid, sources said. ESPN’s interest in picking up the package stayed until the end of the bidding process. But sources said it was too difficult for the NHL and ESPN to work around NBC and Versus’ matching rights.

The NHL’s rights fee is believed to exceed – by far – the $120M per-year average that ESPN paid from '99-'04, which marked the NHL’s largest contract to date. The league’s current deal with Versus is for $77.5M per year, while NBC has a revenue-sharing deal that does not involve a rights fee. Many execs inside the NHL favored ESPN, believing a deal with the network would guarantee more coverage on popular shows like “SportsCenter.” But NBC and Versus determined that the package was too important for Versus to lose. This marks the first big media rights negotiation since Comcast acquired NBC.

[Jason Harris 31]

More than doubling their annual rights fee is significant, but it's too bad the NHL couldn't negotiate a similar TV exposure as the NBA has with games showing on ABC, ESPN, TBS and NBATV. I suppose NBC is equivalent to ABC, while Versus is similar to TBS, so maybe it's more a shame they couldn't have added sone games to ESPN.

Still, I'm sure the NHL offices are high-fiving each other after picking up about $125M more per year.

[hockeyherb 1]

More than doubling their annual rights fee is significant, but it's too bad the NHL couldn't negotiate a similar TV exposure as the NBA has with games showing on ABC, ESPN, TBS and NBATV. I suppose NBC is equivalent to ABC, while Versus is similar to TBS, so maybe it's more a shame they couldn't have added sone games to ESPN.

Still, I'm sure the NHL offices are high-fiving each other after picking up about $125M more per year.

It really helped that the NHL had ESPN to use as a bargaining chip to get more out of NBC. I was thinking they're doing more than high fiving each other but this is a family site so I'll withhold my comment!

[Chadd 916]

Versus is much like ESPN was a couple decades ago, a growing sports network that is using hockey as a centerpiece of their network. Their coverage has been getting better every year, hopefully it continues to improve.

[oldman 1]

This came out in the Globe and Mail today in Canada. More money than I would have thought.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/nhl-set-to-announce-2-billion-tv-deal/article1991065/

[skeeter14 0]

This came out in the Globe and Mail today in Canada. More money than I would have thought.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/nhl-set-to-announce-2-billion-tv-deal/article1991065/

Good for the NHL. ESPN will really be pressed for content if the NFL and NBA are both in a lockout together.

[IniNew 53]

Good for the NHL. ESPN will really be pressed for content if the NFL and NBA are both in a lockout together.

You mean good for NBC/VS... I wonder if the NHL would have held out a little longer for solid news on the lockouts if they could have got more.

[magmajesus 0]

It'll be interesting to see if there is any talk about increasing the reach of this new channel - I'm sure the league was pressing to get into more homes. Hopefully NBC/Comcast takes advantage of their clout.

[Chadd 916]

Hopefully NBC/Comcast takes advantage of their clout.

Sadly, I think they will continue to play hardball with the satellite providers as they are the main competition to Comcast and their primary revenue stream.

[frankie56 0]

Thats a long contract. Wonder how the payments are structured.

[gxc999 7]

This sounds like a potentially gigantic error, the term is simply too long. If hockey takes off next year because of a basketball and/or football lockout, it'll be a big time underpayment for 8+ years...

[trevor13478 1]

Yeah yeah, the NHL gets more money, but are the fans going to get to see any more games? If your cable provider doesn't have versus you get to watch 5 weekend day games (hopefully you like PIT, NYR, PHI or WAS or you're boned) and the winter classic on NBC. Tough to get your product out there when nobody gets to watch it. It's great for people that have Versus and can appreciate the NHL standing up to ESPN and not letting the large network lowball them but come on, it would be nice to see some hockey on ESPN. Hell, they showed UVA-UNC mens lacrosse a few weekends ago...

[Trooper 8]

This sounds like a potentially gigantic error, the term is simply too long. If hockey takes off next year because of a basketball and/or football lockout, it'll be a big time underpayment for 8+ years...

With or without a lockout, the NHL isn't taking fans from either the NFL or NBA.

[gxc999 7]

With or without a lockout, the NHL isn't taking fans from either the NFL or NBA.

No, but it will create some NHL fans in the interim and probably in the long run as well. It's a pretty sound bet that a NFL/NBA lockout will at least help the NHL a little.