NBC executives are hoping that the National Hockey League (NHL) and its players’ union reach a new labor agreement and avoid a lockout that could leave the network scrambling to find a replacement for one of its sports programming mainstays.
Hockey is a linchpin of NBC Sports programming — the network signed a new US$2 billion, 10-year contract with the league last year. A strike or delay in the upcoming NHL season would throw cold water on the momentum it built up from the London Olympics, which nightly averaged 31.3 million viewers for the network.
Labor talks between the NHL and the union representing its players broke down last week over economic issues such as revenue sharing. The league’s owners have said they would lock out players if a deal is not reached by a Sept. 15 deadline. As of Wednesday afternoon, talks between the two sides had not yet resumed. The worst-case scenario for Comcast-owned NBC, which holds the exclusive national broadcast rights to NHL games, is for the entire upcoming season to be canceled. That is not without precedent. The NHL and its players union scrapped the entire 2004 to 2005 season after failing to achieve a labor deal.
A better, but not ideal, scenario for NBC would be a delay to the NHL season, similar to what happened to the National Basketball Association last year. The first regular season NHL game is scheduled for Oct. 11, but exhibition games start about two weeks earlier.
The timing could not be worse for Comcast, which is relying on hockey to build up the NBC Sports Network, its fledgling cable sports channel. A lockout would leave the network, previously known as Versus and the Outdoor Life Network, with major holes to fill in its prime-time lineup.
“The NBC Sports Network got some great lift and visibility and awareness with the Olympics and they’d like to keep that momentum by having the NHL,” said Jason Maltby, director of national broadcast TV at media buying firm MindShare.
Comcast’s plan was to couple the momentum generated by the London Olympics with hockey, whose television ratings have increased in recent years, as a way to brand the NBC Sports Network as a rival destination to Disney’s ESPN and the regional sports networks operated by News Corp’s Fox unit.
More viewers than ever before sampled the NBC Sports network during the Olympics, which aired live team sports during the games. The women’s US soccer final, for instance, garnered more than 4.3 million total viewers, a higher total than last year’s highest-rated Stanley Cup playoff game.
NBC Sports spokesman Chris McCloskey said in a statement that NBC is hopeful the labor situation will be resolved without disrupting the cable network’s lineup. However, if a lockout does occur, he said, the network can offer alternatives.
“In the event of a labor stoppage, we are preparing a selection of replacement programming that includes soccer, boxing, original programming, and college football, basketball and hockey,” McCloskey said.
In addition, NBC itself could be without the NHL’s signature Winter Classic game. The outdoor game, played on New Year’s Day, has turned into a marquee event that generates solid ratings and ad revenue for NBC.
The next match-up, between the Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs, is set to be played in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in front of 100,000 attendees.
Andre Mika, a TBA Global marketing executive and former producer of three Winter Classic broadcasts for NBC, said that the game is a big piece of NBC’s sponsorship pie and other than the Stanley Cup final, it is the highest-profile hockey event of the year.
“They need to make a plan. I am sure it’s a concern for NBC because right now they are already preparing for the game,” Mika said.
Out of the four major US sports, hockey attracts the smallest number of viewers, according to Nielsen. An average of 3.8 million viewers tuned into NHL games last year, compared with 23.1 million, who watched the NFL, 7.5 million who watched the NBA and 6.3 million who watched Major League Baseball. However, hockey viewership increased 52 percent last year from the 2010 to 2011 season, according to Nielsen, which is a much faster growth rate than that of any of the other major sports leagues.
NBC and the NBC Sports Network collected US$150 million in advertising from NHL games last year, according Kantar Media. The league’s increasing popularity, combined with the network’s need to lock-up marquee sports programming rights not owned by its rivals, led NBC to sign the new 10-year contract with the NHL last year.
Media buyers are anxious to find out if the season will be delayed or canceled because they may need to redirect advertising money intended for hockey.
“The stress on media buyers right now is far less than what the industry experienced last year with the NFL,” Neuman said.
Brazil has four teams, more than any other country, in the expanded Club World Cup that kicked off yesterday in the US, but for SE Palmeiras, the competition holds a special meaning: winning it would provide some redemption. Under coach Abel Ferreira since 2020, Palmeiras lifted two Copa Libertadores titles, plus Brazilian league, cup and state championships. Even before Ferreira, it boasted another South American crown and 11 league titles. The only major trophy missing is a world champions’ title. Other Brazilian clubs like Fluminense FC and Botafogo FR, also in the tournament, have never won it either, but the problem for Palmeiras
Lionel Messi drew vast crowds and showed flashes of his brilliance when his Inter Miami side were held to a goalless draw by African giants Al-Ahly as the revamped FIFA Club World Cup got off to a festive start on Saturday. Fans showed up en masse for the Group A clash at the Hard Rock Stadium, home to the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, but Messi could not fully deliver, his best chance coming through a last-second attempt that was deflected onto the crossbar. Inter Miami next face FC Porto on Thursday in Atlanta, while Al-Ahly, who benefited from raucous, massive support, are to
Sergio Ramos on Tuesday outfoxed two Inter players and artfully headed home the first goal for Monterrey at the FIFA Club World Cup. The 39-year-old Ramos slipped through the penalty area for the score just as he did for so many years in the shirts of Real Madrid and Spain’s national team, with whom he combined smarts, timing and physicality. Ramos’ clever goal and his overall defensive play at the Rose Bowl were major factors in Monterrey’s impressive 1-1 draw against the UEFA Champions League finalists in the clubs’ first match of the tournament. “There is always a joy to contribute to the
Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani on Monday wobbled through a 28-pitch first inning at home against the San Diego Padres in his first appearance on the mound since August 2023. Scheduled to throw as many as two innings, Ohtani went a single frame while allowing one run on two hits. He did not issue a walk nor strike out a batter. “Not quite happy with the results overall, but the takeaway for me is that I feel good enough to be able to make the next outing,” Ohtani said of his pitching performance. Ohtani still wound up with a positive impact
RSS