I've gotten a few emails regarding my thoughts on the new Canadian TV deal as Rogers committed $5.2 billion over the next 12 years to become the NHL's national broadcast partner north of the border, so I thought I'd share them in a blog.
The short of it is that the salary cap is going up, smaller market teams will benefit through revenue sharing, TSN is out, Sportsnet is in, this shift in broadcasting rights could have been avoided and while at first blush, it's a bummer that TSN's excellent game coverage will be greatly reduced, this also opens a lot of doors for new programming.
The Good The new deal means more games will be available to more viewers in more ways. With this huge influx of cash, the salary cap is guaranteed to go up, but more importantly, the teams taking part in revenue sharing will also greatly benefit.
The Bad The Worldwide Leader in Hockey Coverage will now only be able to broadcast regional games for the Jets and the Candaiens, the World Junior Championship and any other rights they can acquire. That is a huge bummer.
The Ugly According to this article by David Shoalts in The Globe and Mail this shift in the broadcasting landscape didn't have to happen. TSN basically went to the NHL with an offer only marginally higher than their current deal worth $40 million a year (important to note that they didn't have exclusive rights, but rather shared with RDS, Sportsnet and CBC) and fully expected the NHL to willingly accept it. Meanwhile, Rogers (parent company to Sportsnet) approached the NHL with a comprehensive plan to grow the game even more by making more games available - including those that don't involve a Canadian team - new programing that utilizes new technology and a boatload of cash, probably even more than the figure the NHL had in mind.
Rogers thought big and were willing to pay for it. While the NHL could have easily asked for some time to think about it and use that time to see if TSN would be willing to come up with a similar game plan and extend their relationship another 10+ years, it seems they didn't feel TSN earned that opportunity given their initial offer and chose to go with the network willing to go big or go home.
The Opportunity Things at TSN are sure to change, but the folks really in a pickle aren't the studio analysts, but rather the play-by-play and color analysts. The good news is that Sportsnet doesn't currently have the manpower to cover the games they'll now be responsible for, nor do they currently have the quality with the crew they do have. It's a near certainty that some of TSN's talent will move over, not to mention the opportunity to work with NBCSN in the US. Regarding the studio shows, the only change I see is in their approach. Instead of promoting games to air later that night, there will be more focus on features, news and analysis. There is no way hockey falls to the wayside at TSN as it did at ESPN when they lost their broadcasting rights. For starters, they're still able to broadcast games regionally, but beyond that they are committed to being on the forefront for hockey news - as evidenced by their coverage of this announcement even though it wasn't beneficial to them - and that will not change. Sure you tune into their games and their coverage is fantastic, but they wouldn't have as many studio shows if their content there wasn't as equally fantastic. Now they just have to up their game a bit and bring something new to the table. The bottom line is that they will continue to have NHL content with insiders and analysts, it will just be different. And then maybe in 2025, when the next round of negotiations start for these TV rights, TSN will be the network prepared to go big or go home.
If you'd like to read more on the fall out, I found this article from the National Post to be rather interesting.
In all, I'm eager to see just how Sportsnet arms themselves to shoulder this responsibility they've taken on - it's one thing to make the deal, it's another to live up to it - as well as how creative TSN will get as they adjust to the change. In general, competition is good and I think the fans will benefit with increased coverage.
Julie
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