NHL reaches agreement with partner after bankruptcy declaration
Earlier this year, Bally Sports, who is the NHL's regional broadcaster for some of their teams, declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy after their owner revealed that the company is over $8 billion in debt.
The move to declare bankruptcy left 11 of the NHL's franchises scrambling to find new ways to broadcast their games locally, but now, it appears that the league and Diamond Sports Group, who owns Bally Sports, have reached an agreement.
According to ESPN, the NHL and Diamond Sports Group have reached an agreement for Bally Sports to remain the local broadcaster for 11 NHL teams for the remainder of the 2023-24 season. Once the season concludes, the local TV rights for those 11 organizations will be returned to the National Hockey League.
While there will be a reduction in rights payments for some teams, the local rights for those 11 franchises will revert back to the NHL at the end of this season." ESPN said.
The 11 National Hockey League franchises who have their local rights with Bally Sports currently are the Anaheim Ducks, Carolina Hurricanes, Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, Florida Panthers, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, St. Louis Blues and Tampa Bay Lightning. Fans in those 11 markets will now have some stability for the remainder of the season, which is great for everyone involved.
Source: ESPN
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