I know it. You know. We know it. The world of media is in crisis and it is going through a real revolution.
In sport, it’s worse (or it’s particularif you prefer this less pejorative term): it is increasingly difficult to make profitable the economic activities of a sports media, whether written, audio or video. It’s like that !
Most stations TV However, they understood that to achieve this, it was necessary at all costs to broadcast more sports (of quality and great reputation) live. Opinion shows now find their place on the Web…
Yesterday, a few hours before the start of the final series of the NBA, we learned via the Wall Street Journal that the Silver circuit had come – or will come in the coming days – to a new television agreement south of the border: NBC, ESPN And Amazon will pay more than $76 billion in order to be able to broadcast together the matches of the NBA on their respective platforms for 11 seasons. $76 billion is $76,000 million!
Bye-bye TNT (Warner Bros. Discovery)…
We are therefore talking about approximately $6.91 billion per season divided as follows:
$2.6 billion via ESPN (Disney), which will continue to present the matches of the annual final. Parts will also be accessible via the new site of streaming what will launch ESPN in 2025. In the end, Disney will pay more to have fewer matches, from what I understand…
$2.5 billion via NBCwhich plans to broadcast around fifty matches per season on NBC (the regular chain, since NBC Sports is no more), then 50 more on Peacockits network of streaming.
$1.8 billion via Amazonwhich will notably present regular season matches, series matches, the new tournament played during the season and type matches “play-in”.
There NBA should therefore receive revenues linked to the broadcasting of its matches between two and three times higher than before.
(Credit: YouTube.com)
What does this mean for the NHL?
We know that Gary Bettman and the NHL often take an example from NBA when the time comes “to innovate”.
The rights recently sold for $76 billion in the NBA, these are American national rights. In the NHL, these rights belong to ESPN, TNT And ABC until 2027-28. It’s not going to change right away…
But national rights Canadian will expire in two years almost to the day.
As the NBA came to an agreement a year before the end of its current American national contract, there is reason to believe that in a year, we will know THE the new broadcasters of national NHL meetings in Canada.
And according to excellent sourceswe don’t negotiate this kind of agreement on the corner of a table the month before. Negotiations have already started and they should lead to an agreement which will indeed be announced somewhere in June 2025 (if all goes well).
Rogers had bet and won the jackpot alone 10 years ago. The company, which had obviously already discussed it beforehand with Quebecor, subsequently resold the French-speaking Canadian national rights to TVA Sports.
According to what I am told, the next deal likely to be much more complex in two years.
There NBA will be broadcast on a network of TV traditional, another specialized, as well as on three streaming sites when the new deal will come into force south of the border. From what I hear, the NHL will follow in the footsteps of such a hybrid model as early as 2026-27 in Canada. We want to move towards streaming, but not only there like MLS and Apple.
We’ll need a partner TV English speaking person who is in sport and who is available from one coast to the other. There are only two possible partners: Rogers Or Bell. Some people believe that the two entities could combine, as is the case with MLSE right now, but all the people I’ve spoken to don’t dare refuse to believe it. Not yet at least!
Be careful though! Quite a few people believed that TVA Sports was going to win the French-speaking bid 10 years ago and you know the rest…
There will certainly be an exclusively business partner in the streaming, and not in the TV traditional. Since Amazon just picked up some domestic Canadian rights via Rogers just a few weeks ago (for the last two years of the current deal), I’d put my money on a Rogers – Amazon partnership if Mise-o-jeu offered the line , eh eh…
But what interests you is the Franco-Quebec market, right ?
Maybe we’ll leave Amazon THE luxury right to present the 22 national matches in French on its platform, but I rather believe that we will continue to have a partner TV traditional French-speaking tradition in Quebec. And there are only two real options once again: Bell and Quebecor.
According to what I hear, the relationship between Quebecor and the NHL is currently excellent and both the NHL and Quebecor would like to renew the current partnership. The problem: Quebecor is aware of having paid very too expensive for the rights 10 years ago and the NHL will wish it had more money with its next dealNot less.
I am also told that the relationship between Rogers and Quebecor, she is (really) not as good as in 2014. Could that cause a problem?
Could Bell (RDS) become a partner of Rogers on Quebec territory? It’s possible… but as long as we see the two companies collaborating in Quebec, why wouldn’t we see them collaborating on a national scale? Good question !
Oh yes…I wouldn’t be surprised to see Bell (Noovo) or Quebecor (TVA) broadcast some matches on the TV traditional Quebecois in the event that the company win rights. NBC will do it south of the border with NBA. Whatever Quebecor is currently afraid of doing so as not to reduce the number of subscribers to TVA Sports channels…
Prediction : we will learn in a year to the day that Rogers, Amazon and RDS will broadcast national NHL matches in Canada for around ten years.
Why RDS and not TVA Sports? Why an agreement Rogers–Bell in Quebec, but not in Canada?
Quite simply because I believe that Rogers will bet more than Bell for Canadian national rights… but that there will only be RDS to broadcast NHL games in French in Quebec. Pierre-Karl Péladeau said not so long ago that the survival of his sports channel depended on the CRTC and we are still waiting…
I don’t see how the channel – which has not yet secured its future – could right now negotiate rights that will sell for more than what it currently spends (too much) on. Even knowing very well that if she leaves all the room to Bell, it could end up being a disaster for her. #TVASports #Vidéotron #Hélix #ClubIllico #True
Joey PKP will not want to abdicate, but will it have the support of its “board”?
In short, I see national hockey returning to RDS (and occasionally being broadcast on Noovo).
Oh yes… I also think that CBC will retain its traditional (and free) “Hockey Night In Canada”. Gary Bettman is keen on it, it’s already produced by Sportsnet (Rogers) and it’s Rogers who pockets all the revenues from broadcasting on CBC. As for CBC, We are talking here about a state station which is very happy to have superb ratings (even without revenue) on Saturday evenings. #Its mandate
If my prediction ever proves correct, it will be interesting to see if TVA Sports will be better off without the enormous expenses currently incurred to broadcast NHL hockey or if, on the contrary, the channel will return irrelevant and disappear.
Regional rights: the real fight in Quebec
The truth fight (TV) in hockey – especially with the Canadian who never makes the playoffs – it will be done with the French-speaking regional rights currently held by Bell (RDS).
The NHL has a particular structure: it allows its teams to sell a majority of its matches regionally, which means that it is the Canadian who ultimately decides where 60 of its 82 regular matches are broadcast. You can bet that a majority of these matches will remain on RDS since Bell is also co-owner of the team…
But…
I’m pretty sure that some matches will be broadcast on Crave and or on an application that the Canadian could launch himself (Hello Réjean!). Already the CH has just announced that a television series on its reconstruction will be available exclusively on Crave…
“Force” the supporter to subscribe to a service streaming of one of your co-shareholders, it is currently in the era of time. Just like selling individual matches or a subscription to a new platform over which you would have control. 100%.
And this deal regional rights, it will expire at the same time as national rights. Discussions have probably already started there too.
In short, if you think that it is currently difficult to say to yourself: on Saturdays, I watch hockey on TVA Sports (or on Sportsnet Or CBC) and the other matches, I watch them on RDS, know that in two years, it will be even more complex. I really expect that meetings will not be accessible on the TV traditional and that several people hood. But hey, the other leagues have gotten there, the NHL is not going to escape it.
If you haven’t followed me, I invite you to reread this text a second time. It is heavy and complex, but it stands. Believe me !
