NHL announces 6-year media rights partnership with Major League Baseball
NHL and MLB commissioners Gary Bettman and Rob Manfred have signed a six-year digital media rights partnership, the leagues announced in a joint press release Tuesday.
As part of the agreement, Major League Baseball Advanced Media (MLBAM) will take over all of the NHL's digital platforms - including NHL GameCenter LIVE and NHL Center Ice - in an effort to enhance fan experience.
MLBAM will also provide the MLB Network's studio and production resources to enhance the NHL Network's daily broadcast, and take over the stats and analytics departments.
"They have the expertise to help us deliver new and exciting products to our fans, who crave compelling digital content," Bettman said. "We couldn't have North America better covered than with the power of NBC, Rogers, TVA, and MLBAM - an incredible convergence of technical, creative and production talent that is great news for our fans."
The takeover is expected to take effect in January of 2016, and could present a desirable upshot for the players.
Salary cap boost in $2.5-million~ range when/if new revenues from this deal are added to HRR. https://t.co/nAuLVDwAxv
— James Mirtle (@mirtle) August 4, 2015
But perhaps not so for current NHL employees.
NHL COO John Collins says "a number" of staff members on NHL side may ultimately be losing their jobs in this transition.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) August 4, 2015