Gary Bettman prefers to see the glass half-full.
On a day in which the NHL announced a U.S. TV contact with NBC that has no money up front and a new cable agreement with ESPN worth half the former deal, the league's commissioner was all smiles.
``The future for us on (U.S.) national television couldn't be more bright,'' Bettman said. ``We couldn't be more thrilled.''
The NHL's two-year deal with NBC is the same type of revenue-sharing agreement the network has with the Arena Football League. NBC will take the first chunk of income from advertising to cover production expenses, the NHL takes the next chunk and the two split additional revenue equally.
It seems unlikely the league will recoup the $120 million US a season it made under the five-year, $600-million deal that expires with ABC/ESPN after the Stanley Cup final.
``Before anybody judges how much we're going to make or not make, that's a discussion we're going to have to have in a couple of years,'' Bettman said on a conference call with NBC executives.
Neal Pilson, former president of CBS Sports and now one of the industry's leading sports television consultants, says the NHL should be commended.
``Keep in mind that they were going to lose the ABC portion of the ESPN agreement anyway,'' Pilson said Wednesday from Westchester, N.Y. ``And they're taking a reduced amount of money from ESPN in that new deal. So to offset the loss of coverage on ABC, I think the league was quite fortunate to be able to make the deal on NBC.''
In other words, the league was able to make the best of a bad situation.
``And remember that NBC is the No. 1 network here in the United States in prime-time demographics,'' added Pilson, who negotiated the AFL's deal with NBC in his role as consultant. ``They have a young audience at NBC and so does hockey. So it's a positive step for the league. It's not equivalent to the $120 million a year they get now but it will keep the league on network television.''
As for cable, the league's new deal with ESPN also announced Wednesday is reportedly a one-year $60-million agreement for the 2004-05 season with ESPN also holding a two-year option worth $70 million a year for 2005-06 and 2006-07.
Neither Bettman or ESPN would release financial details.
``I will confirm that it's less,'' Bettman said on a later conference call with ESPN executives.
``But quite frankly, I can't envision the NHL without ESPN.''
The deal calls for 40 games to be aired next season, down from 70 this year and 104 in 2002-03. In addition, all 40 games next year will be on ESPN2, not the main ESPN channel.
``But let's not forget ESPN2 reaches 85 million homes,'' Bettman said.
For the NHL to make any real money in the revenue-sharing deal with NBC, meanwhile, it needs its declining ratings in the U.S. to improve.
``If the ratings improve, they can generate more money, that's a given,'' Pilson said.
``I believe our viewership will increase and we will become more and more valuable to advertisers,'' said Bettman.
The regular-season ratings on ABC have declined 21 per cent since the 2001-02 season while last year's Stanley Cup final ratings were down 21 per cent from 1999-2000.
Dick Ebersol, chairman of NBC Universal Sports & Olympics, says that will change.
``We really believe NBC can bring a lot to this partnership,'' he said on the NBC conference call. ``The strength of NBC's distribution system is unmatched. Add to that our prime-time lineup, which has been No. 1 for nine of the last 10 years, and it will be very helpful in promoting the Saturday afternoon NHL telecasts.
``The NHL is kind of moving from the No. 4 network to No. 1, sort of like moving to a deluxe apartment.''
Ebersol says NBC will plug the NHL during its ``Must-See TV'' prime-time hours, giving it the kind of promotion he thinks ABC failed to deliver.
NBC, beginning in January 2005, will televise seven regular-season games and six Stanley Cup playoff games in regular Saturday afternoon time slots. In addition, NBC will broadcast Games 3-7 of the Stanley Cup final. ESPN will have the first two games of the final.
The NHL, meanwhile, returns to NBC after a 29-year absence. NBC also has a two-year option for the 2006-07 and 2007-08 NHL seasons.
``We have every intention at this juncture of going forward to four years and beyond,'' said NBC Sports president Ken Schanzer.
If next year's NHL season is cancelled because of labour issues, the deal would begin in 2005-06 and NBC wouldn't lose a dime.
NBC also happens to be airing the 2006 Winter Games, but whether NHL players will be in Turin seems doubtful at this point because of the league's labour problems.
``We're more focused on the (2010) Games in Vancouver for a lot of reasons, not just location but also timing,'' Bettman said. ``We're going to have to see what next season brings before we decide whether or not we're going to Torino.''
Participation in the Olympics is an item that must be agreed upon with the NHL Players' Association in the next collective bargaining agreement. International Ice Hockey Federation president Rene Fasel said last month that unless the league and the union resolve their problems by next January, there will definitely not be NHL players in Turin.
An Olympic hockey tournament without the best players would certainly devalue NBC's property but Ebersol refused to dwell on it.
``I am one of the world's great glass half-full optimists and I naturally assume that they will be there,'' Ebersol said. ``And until I get the phone call that something like that is not a probability, I focus on the dream-like quality of a hockey tournament in Torino that is centered around the stars of the National Hockey League.''
For that to happen, the league would have to avoid what appears to be a sure lockout once the current collective bargaining agreement expires Sept. 15.
``A quick agreement (with the NHLPA) would enable us to move forward on a whole host of fronts that we're having to step back for at the present time,'' Bettman said.