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ESPN Interested In Hockey
by Paul on 05/19/08 at 11:29 PM ET
Comments (3)
via the AzCentral,
Despite the Versus extension there remains the possibility of a shared cable agreement with the NHL, but any ESPN deal likely would come with a rights fee and more compensation for Versus.
ESPN Senior Vice President of Communications Chris LaPlaca said via e-mail that he did not think ESPN was “engaged in negotiations at this point, in light of NBC extension and current Versus deal. We would be very happy to talk with the league in the future should the opportunity arise. In the meantime, we do have a digital rights agreement with the league and our recent hiring of Don Cherry to join Barry Melrose on SportsCenter gives you an idea of our commitment to the sport on that platform.”
more on the NHL broadcasts…
Filed in: NHL Media, Hockey Broadcasting | KK Hockey | Permalink
Comments
Ahh, but the difference is that the NHL isn’t terribly interested in ESPN anymore.
Too bad. ESPN only has themselves to blame though.
Posted by Primis on 05/20/08 at 09:31 AM ET
ESPN had such a grudge against the NHL after the lockout - minimal highlights and coverage on Sportcenter. Probably less than the WNBA for a few years. Now that the league has more or less recovered, and still has it’s smaller yet devoted fanbase, they’re interested again. I think that Versus has definitely improved and eventually should do a far better job of coverage than ESPN ever did. Now if they could only give it a break with the excessive Crosby coverage during the reg. season.....
Posted by Raoul from NYC on 05/20/08 at 04:56 PM ET
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Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.
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too little, too late ESPN brainiacs! Now we’re stuck with Versus, although they’ve improved dramatically. Thank God for Doc Emrick!
Posted by tomaz on 05/20/08 at 09:03 AM ET