Report: Sharks' poor TV deal could hinder future in San Jose

As the Sharks work on a "rebuild" on the ice, the future of the franchise in San Jose has been put in question as a result of the team's poor local television deal.

As per Mark Purdy of the Mercury News explains, "the Sharks' local television contract is not acceptable to them. They think it stinks. Stinks so bad, in fact, that it could affect the team's long-term ability to stay in San Jose and the Bay Area."

The concern over the team's TV deal spread to the National Hockey League offices, forcing commissioner Gary Bettman to intervene:

Commissioner Gary Bettman has taken the extraordinary step of personally intervening in the matter. Bettman has contacted high-level honchos at Comcast corporate offices in Philadelphia to see if the Sharks' local television deal can be reworked. Comcast is the parent company of Comcast Sportsnet Bay Area, which broadcasts Shark games. So far, the Bettman talks have not been fruitful.

As a point of comparison, the Toronto Maple Leafs pull in $41 million per season in local TV rights; the Sharks' deal, on the other hand, yields the team only $7 million. Fellow California-based teams - Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks - have $20 million-plus-per-season deals, similar to the Dallas Stars, New Jersey and the New York Islanders.

The deal was negotiated by the Sharks, and chief executive John Tortora said the Sharks are attempting to work something out to improve the yield:

We have expressed some concerns over our TV deal directly with Comcast. The deal, over time, has become substantially below the league average. Comcast has expressed a willingness to work with us in finding a creative solution that generates the appropriate value proposition for both sides.

Purdy cites the notion of relocation as being "extreme" and "almost unthinkable," but unless the situation improves, it may not be entirely impossible at some point down the road.

On a related note, popular TV analyst Drew Remenda was let go Tuesday, which may or may not affect ratings in 2014-15.