Breaking News: Someone Thaw Out Barry Melrose.....Hockey's Coming Back To ESPN (Maybe)!
Monday, July 30, 2007
The NHL is in discussion with ESPN to bring Hockey back to the network for the 2008-2009 season. The league apparently approached the Leader to take over for NBC's 9 game schedule. There is one major setback though....Versus.
Versus holds cable exclusivity to all of the NHL’s games through 2011 and is paying the league a rights fee "in excess of $70[M] annually.” Sources indicated that the net would be “willing to waive that clause, but only if it gets something in return -- either a lower rights fee, a stronger schedule or a deal extension.”Here's to Hockey being back on SportsCenter!
NHL In Talks With ESPN About Bringing Game Back To ESPN2 (Sports Business Daily)
10 Comments:
Yes, of course.
I hope Mike & Mike will be in the booth with Melrose. sigh.
Maybe they'll give it the same push they give Arena Football and NASCAR. (I can only hope.)
Can't wait to see hockey back where it belongs!
I can't imagine ESPN2 only getting nine games. Even though everyone hates on ESPN, if they got the NBC deal, (which I think involved revenue sharing) they would promote the hell out of the NHL. And they would get a lot more than nine games. Please let this happen.
On second though, would ESPN getting the rights to the NHL be such a good thing? It seems everything they do sucks lol.
Oh well, can't be worse than Versus. The least they could do is find better announcers, tell FSN Florida that they can keep Dave Strader!
Praise be the Lord that the NHL gets back on ESPN, but I'd watch Jeremy Roenick get his jaw shattered by Derrian Hatcher on any network...too bad he's not around anymore.
Maybe we'll get Hilary Duff and Charlie Sheen discussing their new movie "FoodFight" during an Avs powerplay.
Or ESPN can get Roberto Luongo to paint an elephant on his mask in honor of the upcoming release of "Horton Hears a Who"
That would be a stumbling block, I assume, not a stepping stone.