{"id":310105,"date":"2025-11-26T14:35:10","date_gmt":"2025-11-26T14:35:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/310105\/"},"modified":"2025-11-26T14:35:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-26T14:35:10","slug":"gary-bettman-nhl-is-more-than-holding-our-own-with-national-media-rights-agreements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/310105\/","title":{"rendered":"Gary Bettman: NHL Is \u201cMore Than Holding Our Own\u201d With National Media Rights Agreements"},"content":{"rendered":"

– Advertisement –\"Jim<\/a><\/p>\n

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman<\/a> believes the league\u2019s media business remains on solid footing in both the United States and Canada, even as the broader sports broadcasting marketplace continues to shift. <\/p>\n

During an appearance<\/a> on CNBC, Bettman said the league is benefiting from strong demand for live sports, stable partnerships, and a product that he insists is performing at its highest level in years.<\/p>\n

In Canada, Bettman said the league\u2019s media ecosystem is significantly healthier. He noted it is in better shape than the regional sports network landscape in the United States. He pointed to the league\u2019s newly completed<\/a> national rights agreement as evidence of long-term strength north of the border.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe regional sports networks are healthier in Canada than they are in the U.S. at this point. We had just done last spring a new national deal in Canada,\u201d Bettman said. He said the league is coming off a 12-year agreement with Rogers Sports & Media. That deal had been the largest media agreement in Canadian history. He added that the new deal is about two and a half times larger than the previous deal. Which shows the value of premium live sports in a fragmented media environment.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Bettman expressed confidence in the NHL\u2019s U.S. rights partners. He also said the league can maintain momentum as consumption habits continue to change. The league is in the middle of its seven-year agreements with ESPN and Warner Bros. Discovery, and Bettman said the NHL is encouraged by how those partnerships have unfolded. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have great deals in place in the U.S. right now with Walt Disney Company, principally ESPN, but with coverage on ABC,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Bettman acknowledged uncertainty around the future of Warner Bros. Discovery but suggested the league is prepared for any scenario, saying, \u201cWe\u2019ll see how that all sorts out if a sale takes place. But we remain bullish, optimistic about our future prospects, because the product, what\u2019s taking place on the ice right now, is incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beyond the media landscape, Bettman said the NHL\u2019s overall health is strong. He emphasized it remains as strong as ever. From franchise valuations to competitive balance, he said the league continues to trend upward. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe league has never been more competitive,\u201d Bettman said. \u201cOur franchises have never been healthier, and I think that\u2019s reflected with the trending in increased valuations over the last three years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated,\u00a0sign up<\/a>\u00a0for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.<\/p>\n

\"Barrett<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"– Advertisement – NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman believes the league\u2019s media business remains on solid footing in both…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":310106,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[556],"tags":[64,63,175929,175930,175931,794,9763,589,575,175932,85,175933,175934,175935,450,6142],"class_list":["post-310105","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-barrett-media","tag-barrett-sports-media","tag-cnbc","tag-espn","tag-gary-bettman","tag-ice-hockey","tag-nhl","tag-rogers-sportsnet","tag-sports","tag-sports-media-news","tag-sports-radio","tag-sports-television","tag-walt-disney-company","tag-warner-bros-discovery"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310105","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=310105"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310105\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/310106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=310105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=310105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=310105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}