Regional TV rights in 11 markets set to revert to NHL teams after Bally Sports’ bankruptcy

The NHL can breathe a slight sigh of relief.

The NHL will not have to scramble midseason to pull together plans for regional television coverage on the fly for nearly a third of the league’s teams, as it had once feared.

They’ll have nearly 10 months to figure out what’s next now. The parent company for regional television network Bally Sports said in a Texas bankruptcy court filing on Wednesday that it has agreed to pay negotiated rights fees for the remainder of the 2023-24 season, then the regional rights to all 11 markets serviced by Bally Sports will revert back to those clubs ahead of the 2024-25 season.

The NHL did reply to a request for comment on the bankruptcy filing. Bally Sports currently holds the regional TV rights to the Anaheim Ducks, Carolina Hurricanes, Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, St. Louis Blues and Tampa Bay Lightning.

Sources say the NHL has been in discussion with Bally Sports’ parent company since at least September. Diamond Sports Group said in a 2022 filing that it had accumulated $8.67 billion in debt Last month, the NBA reached a similar deal with Diamond, which a bankruptcy judge has approved. As part of this deal, the NHL teams in those markets will also have the right to broadcast certain games this season over the air. Bally Sports forewent the rights to the Arizona Coyotes ahead of this season and the league worked with Scripps Sports to produce and televise the games free over the air. After AT&T Sportsnet shuttered its business, the Vegas Golden Knights also ditched cable and went to a free over-the-air model with Scripps.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman told reporters on Monday in Dallas that the league had contingency plans in place to produce all non-nationally televised games for teams in those 11 markets in case Bally Sports walked away.

“The longer-term business strategy is something that’s going to have to evolve,” Bettman told reporters. “Obviously, with digital platforms and direct-to-consumer and cord-cutting and cord-nevers, the local sports media industry is going through a transformation, which I think will evolve over the next few years.”

That Bally Sports is agreeing to pay the bulk of the regional rights television fees for the remainder of this season is important news for clubs – and the league’s overall health. These fees, once a given, are worth hundreds of millions of dollars per season and count toward the overall $6.2 billion of hockey-related revenue that determines the salary cap.

Sources say the NHL is not expecting a material impact on overall league and club economics, and so the salary cap is still expected to rise to $87.7 million for 2024-25. But how the NHL attacks regional broadcasts next season and how that revenue will stack up compared to the once-guaranteed rights deals will be paramount before puck drop next October. They may have dodged a bullet now, but there is a lot of work ahead.

“If you’re an individual club, it will have an impact,” Bettman told reporters in Dallas on Monday night. “We’re mindful of that … We’re in a learning position in terms of looking [at] what the right business model is and how to maximize distribution to our fans. It’s going to be a work in progress.”