NHL News & Notes

Tuesday, June 14, 2005

Talks with ESPN may have ended, but the National Hockey League has reportedly been holding discussions with another U.S. cable network about carrying  NHL games next season.

Both Street and Smith's Sports Business Journal and  Multichannel News have reported the league has held some discussions with Spike TV, a unit of the MTV Networks.

Spike TV is apparently looking for a no rights fee, revenue sharing deal. That's similar to the kind of deal ESPN offered and the league rejected. 

But apparently that hasn't ended the talks. Street and Smith's Sports Business Journal reports Spike TV is waiting for the league to put an offer on the bargaining table.

Neither the league nor Spike TV would comment on the talks.

Spike TV is apparently look to fill a void that will be left when it discontinues running World Wrestling Entertainment's Raw series in September.

Spike TV, which bills itself as the first network for men, already has some sports programming including a series on NBA rookies and the martial arts series, Ultimate Fighter.  It also carries re-runs of CSI, Star Trek spin-offs and movies.

Cable Network Subscribers RK Network Subscribers 1 Discovery 89.9 million 1 ESPN 89.9 million 3 CNN 89.4 million 3 TNT 89.4 million 5 USA Network 89.2 million 6 Nickelodeon 89.1 million 6 TBS 89.1 million 6 Spike TV 89.1 million 9 A&E Network 89.0 million 10 Lifetime Television 88.9 million 11 ESPN2 88.8 million 11 Weather Channel 88.8 million 13 TLC 88.7 million 14 MTV 88.5 million 15 C-SPAN 88.4 million 16 Headline News 88.3 million 16 HGTV 88.3 million 16 ABC Family Channel 88.3 million 19 History Channel 88.2 million 20 QVC 88.1 million

Spike TV reaches 89.1 million subscribers, which puts it in a tie with Nickelodeon and Superstation TBS as the  largest cable networks according to the National Cable and Telecommunications Association.

ESPN is tied for first with 89.9 million subscribers while ESPN2, which would would have carried NHL games, ranks 11th with 88.8 million subscribers. 

Two other possibilities that have been mentioned, outside of the league still working out a deal with ESPN, include TNT and some kind of national deal with Fox Sports Net.

A spokesman for Fox told Multichannel News: "We love our regional approach to the NHL. If an economically viable national package were presented to us, we would certainly take a look at it."

As for TNT, Turner Sports president David Levy had this to say to Mediaweek: "We looked at the NHL in the past and were not able to come up with a financial model that worked for us. But if the NHL approaches us with a model that works for both of us, we would certainly look at it. Hockey is a proven professional sport, so if the NHL has any ideas, we would look at it."

Negotiators to take a break

NHL and NHLPA negotiators met for a combined 12 hours Monday and Tuesday in Toronto and plan to meet again beginning either Thursday or Friday.

Wednesday will be set aside for internal business for both the league and the PA. The NHL Board of Governors is expected to vote on approving the sale of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks to Henry and Susan Samueli.