BLOG — Nov 23, 2024
NHL thriving as it hits midway point of current media rights deal
- The NHL is experiencing robust growth, with annual revenue surpassing $6 billion, driven by media rights agreements with Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery. The current contracts, worth nearly $4.5 billion over seven years, have significantly increased ratings, attendance, and player spending.
- Innovative broadcasting strategies are emerging, including the Seattle Kraken partnering with Amazon for local streaming rights and the Chicago Blackhawks launching the Chicago Sports Network. The Dallas Stars introduced a free, ad-supported streaming service, Victory+, while the Florida Panthers signed a multiyear deal with Scripps Sports for free local broadcasts.
- The league's viewership is rising, averaging 504,000 per game last season, with total attendance reaching a record 23 million. Additionally, Amazon is expanding its NHL presence with Prime Monday Night Hockey in Canada, marking Canada’s first exclusive national digital-only broadcast package.
The National Hockey League is experiencing significant growth as the league progresses through its current seven-year media rights agreements with Walt Disney Co. and Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. The convergence of generational stars and strategic advertising, along with the current media right deals, has led the league to increased ratings, record attendance, and revenue reportedly reaching an all-time high of over $6 billion annually. This offseason featured a groundbreaking NHL draft at Sphere in Las Vegas, the venue's first major sporting event, and a free-agency period totaling over $1 billion spent on players in the first 24 hours. Given that these trends are gaining momentum, the league appears poised for continued growth and another record-setting media rights agreement in upcoming negotiations.
The NHL is in the fourth year of its media rights agreements with ABC/ESPN Inc. and TNT Sports, collectively worth almost $4.5 billion over seven years. These deals run through the 2027–28 season and more than doubled the value of the league's previous contracts, which expired at the end of the 2020–21 season. Under the current agreement, ABC and ESPN are paying an average of just over $400 million per year, which includes four Stanley Cup Finals over the term, with the ability to simulcast or megacast on ESPN+ or other ESPN networks. Meanwhile, Turner Sports is paying almost $225 million annually on average and is set to host the Stanley Cup Final this season for the second time under the current deal.
Regional NHL coverage continues to evolve
This NHL season highlights a shift from traditional regional sports networks (RSNs) to hybrid and broadcast agreements, amid challenges like cord-cutting and team departures from RSN deals. S&P Global Market Intelligence Kagan projects RSN revenue will decline from $8.57 billion in 2019 to $5.82 billion by 2028.
Amazon has entered the local sports arena by acquiring streaming rights for the NHL's Seattle Kraken, allowing Prime members to watch non-national games at no extra cost. The Kraken also transitioned to TEGNA's Kraken Hockey Network, expanding its reach across the Pacific Northwest.
Similarly, the Chicago Blackhawks, NBA's Bulls, and MLB's White Sox launched the Chicago Sports Network, while the Dallas Stars introduced the ad-supported streaming service Victory+ for all their games. Kroenke Sports & Entertainment partnered with TEGNA for Avalanche and Nuggets games, available for free on over-the-air TV and via the subscription service Altitude+.
The Florida Panthers signed a multiyear deal with Scripps Sports to broadcast games for free in southeastern Florida and launched the Panthers Plus streaming app. The Utah Hockey Club, formerly the Coyotes, retained Scripps Sports for over-the-air broadcasts and introduced the UtahHC+ streaming service, offering access to live games for a subscription fee.
Consumer insights
Last season, and the third of the NHL's media rights deal with Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery, produced the league's best regular-season US audience since 2015–16. Games reportedly averaged 504,000 viewers per game, up 8% from 465,000 the previous season. In-arena, the NHL set a record for total attendance in a single season, with almost 23 million fans taking in games live during the 2023–24 regular season, more than any other in the league's 106-year history.
According to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence Kagan's US Media Census online consumer survey, conducted in the first quarter of 2024, the TV market in Buffalo, NY, had the highest share of respondents watching NHL games at 40%, while San Francisco recorded the lowest at 15%. Salt Lake City reported an 11%viewership, slightly below Phoenix's 17%, which is the original market for the Salt Lake franchise. Among sports markets without an NHL team, Baltimore, Cincinnati and Jacksonville, Fla., each had the largest share of NHL viewers at 17%.
Amazon expanding NHL's reach in Canada with Prime Monday Night Hockey
Amazon, Rogers Communications Inc. and the NHL unveiled a two-year partnership for Prime Monday Night Hockey in Canada, providing exclusive streaming access to all national regular-season NHL games on Monday nights for the 2024–25 and 2025–26 seasons. This agreement is the NHL's first exclusive national broadcast package with a digital-only streaming service in Canada.
At the start of the 2023–24 hockey season, Sportsnet debuted on Prime Video Channels in Canada, and this new Prime Monday Night Hockey deal enhances the 12-year agreement between Rogers and the NHL established in November 2013. Since 2021, the NHL has worked with Amazon Web Services Inc. to provide innovative in-game analytics and video highlights, aiming to enrich the fan experience.
As Amazon expands its NHL broadcasting this season, the streaming giant could soon pursue nationalbroadcasting rights in Canada as the NHL's historic $5.2 billion, 12-year deal with Rogers Communications isset to expire at the end of the 2025–26 season. Amazon holds an NFL package for Thursday night games and has established a long-term media rights deal with the NBA in partnership with Disney and NBC Universal,with the possibility of adding more NHL content to its sports broadcasting portfolio in the future.