With the NHL entering the final year of its television deals with NBC and Versus, the league’s second-in-command expressed his satisfaction with the status quo.
In an interview with Puck the Media, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said the NHL is “very pleased” with NBC and Versus, and the league has “no desire to go anywhere else.” Daly: “They?ve done a good job for us and hopefully we?ve done a good job for them, hopefully.”
NBC acquired the rights to the NHL in 2004, with Versus joining a year later. Both networks began airing NHL coverage during the 2005-06 season.
Daly also agreed when asked if the NHL is a “better television attraction” now than it was in 1994 and 1999, the “last time the [league] got a big payday from TV networks.” Currently, NBC does not pay the NHL a rights fee.
While Daly noted that the league wants “to get value for the content we provide,” he would not be “specific” on the importance of a rights fee to negotiations with NBC.
