NBC Deal Gives Hope

            Forget the monster deals Zach Parise and Ryan Suter scored this offseason, the league is more concerned with a much less publicized contract. That contract belongs to the National Broadcasting Company, or NBC, and it may be the catalyst that ends the impending lockout.

            Last year, the NHL and NBC Sports Group agreed to a 10-year deal that would make NBC and NBC Sports Network, formerly Versus, the exclusive homes for NHL action. The partnership extends until the 2020-2021 season.

            NBC and its cable station have aired and will continue to air special events such as the NHL Winter Classic, NHL All-Star Weekend, and “Hockey Day in America” in addition to the “Game of the Week.” The deal also encompassed a provision that stated NBC Universal would televise each game of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. This contract marked the first time the NHL and its broadcasting partner agreed to air the entire postseason.

The longevity and contents of the deal coupled with the NHL’s history of labor disagreements prompted NBC to stipulate that in the event of a lockout it would still pay the league the $200 million annual payout, though it would require the sacrificed games to be tacked on to the end of the contract. In other words, part if not all of the 2021-2022 season would be played and televised without compensation if there is a work stoppage.

The rate of inflation dictates that for NBC the monetary benefits of a lockout would outweigh the burden caused by the disruption of programming. This is very important for the league as the $200 million paycheck it receives largely contributes to the hockey related revenue that the NHL and NHLPA have battled for rightful shares of in year’s collective bargaining agreement.

November 23^rd marks the first nationally televised game of the 2012-2013 campaign. With this date in mind the money hungry owners may feel the pressure of striking a deal before they start losing the some of the revenue they so desire. 

Lockout Looms

            On September 15^th commissioner Gary Bettman is expected to announce the league’s decision to lockout the players. It will be the NHL’s second lockout in a decade and third in Bettman’s 19-year tenure.

            The divide between the owners and the players hinges on a word neither side can manage to define: hockey related revenue. This revenue is built by funds from ticket sales, ads plastered on the boards, grill covers with the team emblem, and so forth. With a few exceptions, hockey related revenue is everything hockey related but its meaning is still a bit equivocal.

            Currently the players own 57 percent of the revenue while the owners collect 43 percent. However, with the expiration of the collective bargaining agreement looming, the owners want a larger cut of the cash and they plan to suspend play until their requests are met.

            The owners initial offer to the NHLPA asked the players to cut their share of HRR to 43 percent. Upon reviewing a counter-proposal from the NHLPA and its director Donald Fehr, the league upped the player’s share to 46 percent; however, this too failed to make any headway.

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            Fehr and the NHLPA have asked for nothing in the CBA negotiations. In fact, by submitting a counter-proposal they have already agreed to take a pay cut. It comes down to what the owners believe they can squeeze out of an NHLPA that made huge sacrifices in the 2004-2005 lockout.

            In addition to gaining a more favorable share of HRR, the owners are also asking for a few more changes to the CBA. The league would like to institute a salary cap floor, set a contract term limit, and continue to place a portion of the players’ salaries in escrow.

            Most of the changes the league is attempting to make would aid the small market teams that have been losing money in past seasons. The players are sympathetic to this problem as they agreed to take less salary money in the next few years if the wealthier teams agreed to increase revenue sharing to help their less fortunate clubs.

             Finding this common ground provided some traction, but not enough. The stalemate continues and the likelihood of a lockout is all but guaranteed.  And it stinks worse than a pair of hockey gloves.