ESPN gets the US rights to the 2016 World Cup

[Kovy27]

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=7565 ... l:topheads" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Sportsnet/TVA get the Canadian rights.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=7565 ... l:topheads" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

So...ESPN gets the rights. I'm sure NBC is not happy about it. Interested in seeing how ESPN does with hockey again. Bucci and Melrose should be a huge part of this.

Bettman said if it goes well, ESPN might be involved with the regular season, as well.

[dodint]

Ewww.

[mikey287]

On a non-American note...I'm very surprised TSN allowed themselves to be outbid for this...

ESPN better find some announcers for hockey...Buccigross calls games during the Frozen Four with Melrose and they're both bad at those respective things...hopefully they can use TSN guys like Chris Cuthbert or Gord Miller, but I'm guessing they can't because of NBC...

Perhaps Gary Thorne will take a break from baseball season to do it...Jack Edwards was contracted by ESPN back in the day, might have been the 4th or 5th guy in line, but there's a tie there...so perhaps him...perhaps Steve Levy...perhaps Sean McDonough, though that will be college football season for him...but they have so many college football-capable announcers, they wouldn't miss a beat...

[Avyran]

I like Buccigross (though his play-by-play is kinda lacking).

I don't like Melrose at all.

[Idoit40fans]

Espn cant be worse than what nbc offers.

[dodint]

It can.

[meow]

NBC has some decent personalities, but they get drowned out with the constant story lines and rivalry drum ups and other marketing garbage.

[columbia]

It can.

It will be.

[dodint]

Hope so.

[darkstar57]

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=7565 ... l:topheads

Sportsnet/TVA get the Canadian rights.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=7565 ... l:topheads" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

So...ESPN gets the rights. I'm sure NBC is not happy about it. Interested in seeing how ESPN does with hockey again. Bucci and Melrose should be a huge part of this.

Bettman said if it goes well, ESPN might be involved with the regular season, as well.

If Bettman is smart, he will try to do like the NBA has where multiple networks have regular season game and playoff games. More NHL games on tv is a good thing for revenues to the league as awhole

I think a Mike Tirco and Bucci both could be good. Or even John Gruden

Or

wonder what gary thorne and bill clement are up to these day

[mikey287]

Gary Thorne is a pxp guy for the Baltimore Orioles on MASN and Bill Clement is on the Flyers telecast or in studio...

[darkstar57]

Did not know what, Tirco will probably be the lead play by play guy

Although i always wanted Gus Johnson (Think he at fox now) to call hockey, he is great at play by play and really knows how to raise his enthusiasm to match the game

[dodint]

If Gruden calls a single game I'd tune out of the tournament.

[ulf]

If Gruden calls a single game I'd tune out of the tournament.

Can you believe the islanders are playing at the home of the nets? That means there's hockey nets, at the nets home! That's wild! I can't wait!

[MalkinIsMyHomeboy]

I support this only because I want ESPN to get co-rights with NBC for the regular season. More games need to be on national TV.

For example,NBCSN is only showing one game between today and Saturday (Rags/Wings today)

ESPN is showing two NBA games just today...

[skullman80]

I support this only because I want ESPN to get co-rights with NBC for the regular season. More games need to be on national TV.

For example,NBCSN is only showing one game between today and Saturday (Rags/Wings today)

ESPN is showing two NBA games just today...

NBA brings in more money for ESPN. ESPN has no reason to want NHL games at this point.

[no name]

More hockey period would be great. Would be nice to have more options to see the games. I don't even care about seeing the best teams, just as long as you can see a game.

During the afternoon the NHL channel shows the Canadian afternoon show. Which I thought was great, but it turns out to be so focused on the Toronto ML first and foremost, 2nd they focus on all the other canandian teams. Then they might talk of the rest of the NHL if something big is going on.

[MalkinIsMyHomeboy]

I support this only because I want ESPN to get co-rights with NBC for the regular season. More games need to be on national TV.

For example,NBCSN is only showing one game between today and Saturday (Rags/Wings today)

ESPN is showing two NBA games just today...

NBA brings in more money for ESPN. ESPN has no reason to want NHL games at this point.

but when they're not showing basketball and have to fill air time with a billion Sportscenters or a college basketball game no one cares about I think they'd love to have a hockey game on

[skullman80]

Sportscenter and college basketball probably get them better ratings than an NHL game would. I'd love the NHL to have a more widespread TV presence, but the audience just isn't there like it for other sports. If the NHL would make ESPN $$$$ i'm sure they would put them on their network real quick. Right now though they have other things that give them more $$$ than the NHL would.

[Staggy]

I'd like it if ESPN could work out a deal where they'd have one or two NHL games a week. Thursday nights are usually pretty dead for them and there's always a good slate of hockey games. Something like a weekly game at 8 or 9 on a Thursday will likely outdraw whatever third rate college game they're airing.

[the wicked child]

How would it be a bad thing if there were an extra game or two a week on national TV? I don't love ESPN, but some extra exposure for the sport is not a bad thing.

[FreeCandy44]

Ill go ask Bucci what he thinks about all this on Twitter. Brb....

[skullman80]

It wouldn't be a bad thing, I just think ESPN has no interest in doing it since it wouldn't make then any more $$$$$$.

[MRandall25]

It wouldn't be a bad thing, I just think ESPN has no interest in doing it since it wouldn't make then any more $$$$$$.

I did a report on ESPN and the sports they covered for a TV class.

The sports that they covered/spent time covering on Sportscenter (NFL, MLB, NBA) had higher ratings than sports they didn't cover (aka the NHL). Obviously, it's not exactly a chicken/egg deal, but I'll be dawned if there isn't some sort of correlation between sports ESPN covers and the ratings that sport gets.

Hockey had slightly higher ratings overall when it was controlled by ESPN than any other network. Perhaps, just perhaps, the NHL could get better ratings (and therefore, more money) with and for ESPN.

[MalkinIsMyHomeboy]

It wouldn't be a bad thing, I just think ESPN has no interest in doing it since it wouldn't make then any more $$$$$$.

I did a report on ESPN and the sports they covered for a TV class.

The sports that they covered/spent time covering on Sportscenter (NFL, MLB, NBA) had higher ratings than sports they didn't cover (aka the NHL). Obviously, it's not exactly a chicken/egg deal, but I'll be dawned if there isn't some sort of correlation between sports ESPN covers and the ratings that sport gets.

Hockey had slightly higher ratings overall when it was controlled by ESPN than any other network. Perhaps, just perhaps, the NHL could get better ratings (and therefore, more money) with and for ESPN.

I think ESPN and specifically Sportscenter drive ratings because it's the most watched sports show/network


They need to get someone better than Melrose though. He's not the most watcher friendly