NHL cements rights deal with Comcast's OLN
OLN at center ice
Aug 19, 2005
NEW YORK -- Comcast and the NHL outlined a new three-year agreement Thursday that will place regular-season and several postseason games exclusively on OLN.
The $200 million-plus deal vaults the Stamford, Conn.-based channel previously known as Outdoor Life Network into the realm of larger sports channels with a major, if troubled, sport. OLN, with distribution in 64 million homes nationwide on mostly basic cable, is known for carrying outdoor coverage and wall-to-wall coverage of the Tour de France but has less distribution and lower ratings than the previous rightsholder ESPN.
"This is a monumental acquisition for OLN," network president Gavin Harvey said.
The deal calls for 58 regular-season games, including some doubleheaders, to be aired on OLN nationwide on Mondays and Tuesdays beginning with the Philadelphia Flyers-New York Rangers season opener Oct. 5. OLN also will carry some of the postseason games as well as the early games of the Stanley Cup Finals; NBC is the other national rightsholder, but it hasn't gotten a chance to air any games since it got the rights during the yearlong lockout that spiked the 2004-05 season.
Harvey promised "a fresh season, fresh energy and new players" as well as high-quality coverage that viewers have come to expect from OLN. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in a conference call Thursday that the league is happy that the NHL will get a place of "presence, prominence and importance" on OLN.
"It will give us a better opportunity than ever before to connect with our fans and sports viewers," Bettman said.
OLN's games will showcase some of the rule changes the NHL secured in its recently approved labor agreement. Coverage changes include putting microphones on players and coaches, net cams and in-game interviews that put it in line with other sports. The league will get access to video-on-demand and streaming video capabilities from Comcast -- which also owns the NHL's Philadelphia Flyers -- and a boost of distribution on the digital tier for the launch of the NHL cable channel within the next two years.
"This multifaceted partnership will create exciting opportunities for our fans and us," Bettman said.
In declining to carry the NHL for the upcoming season, ESPN cited low ratings that haven't compared favorably to the substitute college football and basketball that ran last year instead of hockey. But Comcast chief operating officer Steve Burke said he isn't worried about the ratings or paying more than ESPN would have, had the channel kept it. (ESPN declined an option that would have given it hockey for $60 million last year.)
"Hockey I think is going to change and evolve tremendously in the next two years," Burke said. Harvey agreed and said that OLN likes sports that have deep, passionate fan bases.
"I think we can bring a focus to (hockey) and storytelling and coverage that will be something new," Harvey said. "We're optimistic about growing the sport."
OLN said they were in discussions with talent and producers for their new NHL package.
Comcast is playing it close to the vest as to whether the NHL rights deal is a precursor to making OLN a competitor to the sports powerhouse that is ESPN. Comcast is a leading candidate to take the NFL's proposed late-season Thursday-Saturday primetime package if that is ever offered.
"We've been improving OLN consistently and relatively under the radar for the past couple of years," Harvey said. That not only includes intensive coverage of the Tour de France -- which also has been OLN's highest-rated sports property -- but also the Boston Marathon, USSA Skiing and Snowboarding and soon the America's Cup.
"This is about making (OLN) better than it is today," Burke said.
As the incumbent rightsholder, ESPN had until late Wednesday to decide whether it would keep hockey by matching an offer that Comcast made to air the games on OLN. But ESPN president George Bodenheimer late Wednesday repeated what the network has said all along: The ratings didn't justify the price.
"Given the prolonged work stoppage and the league's TV ratings history, no financial model even remotely supports the contract terms offered," Bodenheimer said.
Bettman said he had talked to Bodenheimer and outgoing ESPN executive vp Mark Shapiro about highlights on the network's "SportsCenter" and had been assured it wouldn't change much even if the network didn't carry hockey.
"They will continue to cover us in a meaningful and significant way, which is what we expect and the fans of this sport deserve," Bettman said. "We anticipate continuous highlight coverage of our games."
The $200 million-plus deal vaults the Stamford, Conn.-based channel previously known as Outdoor Life Network into the realm of larger sports channels with a major, if troubled, sport. OLN, with distribution in 64 million homes nationwide on mostly basic cable, is known for carrying outdoor coverage and wall-to-wall coverage of the Tour de France but has less distribution and lower ratings than the previous rightsholder ESPN.
"This is a monumental acquisition for OLN," network president Gavin Harvey said.
The deal calls for 58 regular-season games, including some doubleheaders, to be aired on OLN nationwide on Mondays and Tuesdays beginning with the Philadelphia Flyers-New York Rangers season opener Oct. 5. OLN also will carry some of the postseason games as well as the early games of the Stanley Cup Finals; NBC is the other national rightsholder, but it hasn't gotten a chance to air any games since it got the rights during the yearlong lockout that spiked the 2004-05 season.
Harvey promised "a fresh season, fresh energy and new players" as well as high-quality coverage that viewers have come to expect from OLN. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in a conference call Thursday that the league is happy that the NHL will get a place of "presence, prominence and importance" on OLN.
"It will give us a better opportunity than ever before to connect with our fans and sports viewers," Bettman said.
OLN's games will showcase some of the rule changes the NHL secured in its recently approved labor agreement. Coverage changes include putting microphones on players and coaches, net cams and in-game interviews that put it in line with other sports. The league will get access to video-on-demand and streaming video capabilities from Comcast -- which also owns the NHL's Philadelphia Flyers -- and a boost of distribution on the digital tier for the launch of the NHL cable channel within the next two years.
"This multifaceted partnership will create exciting opportunities for our fans and us," Bettman said.
In declining to carry the NHL for the upcoming season, ESPN cited low ratings that haven't compared favorably to the substitute college football and basketball that ran last year instead of hockey. But Comcast chief operating officer Steve Burke said he isn't worried about the ratings or paying more than ESPN would have, had the channel kept it. (ESPN declined an option that would have given it hockey for $60 million last year.)
"Hockey I think is going to change and evolve tremendously in the next two years," Burke said. Harvey agreed and said that OLN likes sports that have deep, passionate fan bases.
"I think we can bring a focus to (hockey) and storytelling and coverage that will be something new," Harvey said. "We're optimistic about growing the sport."
OLN said they were in discussions with talent and producers for their new NHL package.
Comcast is playing it close to the vest as to whether the NHL rights deal is a precursor to making OLN a competitor to the sports powerhouse that is ESPN. Comcast is a leading candidate to take the NFL's proposed late-season Thursday-Saturday primetime package if that is ever offered.
"We've been improving OLN consistently and relatively under the radar for the past couple of years," Harvey said. That not only includes intensive coverage of the Tour de France -- which also has been OLN's highest-rated sports property -- but also the Boston Marathon, USSA Skiing and Snowboarding and soon the America's Cup.
"This is about making (OLN) better than it is today," Burke said.
As the incumbent rightsholder, ESPN had until late Wednesday to decide whether it would keep hockey by matching an offer that Comcast made to air the games on OLN. But ESPN president George Bodenheimer late Wednesday repeated what the network has said all along: The ratings didn't justify the price.
"Given the prolonged work stoppage and the league's TV ratings history, no financial model even remotely supports the contract terms offered," Bodenheimer said.
Bettman said he had talked to Bodenheimer and outgoing ESPN executive vp Mark Shapiro about highlights on the network's "SportsCenter" and had been assured it wouldn't change much even if the network didn't carry hockey.
"They will continue to cover us in a meaningful and significant way, which is what we expect and the fans of this sport deserve," Bettman said. "We anticipate continuous highlight coverage of our games."
Share on LinkedIn
